Chapter two

Photos from the church, her in her white dress, him holding her hand as they left.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. “This is everywhere.”

Sebastian nodded calmly. “I tried to contain it, but someone leaked the photos before my team could act.”

“Your team?” she echoed.

He leaned back in his chair. “I told you, I’m taking over the Hart Conglomerate. The media follow our family’s every move. The moment my name surfaced, the press exploded.”

Olivia pressed a hand to her forehead. “This is a nightmare. Everyone at the office will know. My family”

“Then it’s time we control the story,” he interrupted gently.

Her eyes flew to his. “Control the story?”

“Yes,” he said. “We make it believable. We make them think it’s real.”

She stared at him, stunned. “You want me to pretend this marriage is real?”

“For a while,” he said. “Until things settle.”

Her voice trembled. “Why? Why would you even want that?”

Sebastian’s expression softened. “Because my return to the U.S. isn’t just about family, it’s business. Investors want to know I’m stable, responsible, grounded. Having a wife, especially one the public already adores as the wronged bride, helps that image.”

Olivia blinked, disbelief flooding her. “So you want me to be your fake wife?”

He met her gaze squarely. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Olivia stood abruptly, pushing the chair back. “This is insane! You can’t just use me for your business image!”

“I’m not using you,” Sebastian said calmly, his voice low. “I’m offering you a deal.”

“A deal?” she repeated bitterly. “Do I look like a business transaction to you?”

His jaw tightened slightly. “No. But you need something too, don’t you?”

She froze.

“You need to rebuild,” he continued quietly. “Your pride. Your confidence. Maybe your career. After what Jack did, people will whisper. They’ll pity you. But as Mrs. Hart?” He paused. “They’ll respect you.”

Olivia’s chest ached. He wasn’t wrong, and that made it worse.

Sebastian reached into a folder beside him and slid a piece of paper across the table. “I had my lawyer draft something this morning.”

She hesitated before picking it up. It was a contract, simple but clear.

She would live with him as his wife for six months. Public appearances only. No intimacy required. In return, she’d receive financial independence, protection from the press, and the restoration of her dignity.

At the bottom, space for her signature.

“You’ve thought of everything,” she said bitterly.

“I’m thorough,” he said evenly.

“Do you even realize how cold this sounds?”

“I’m offering you a way to start over,” he said. “You can hate me for how I did it, but I’m not your enemy, Olivia.”

Something in his tone, calm, firm, unexpectedly kind, made her chest tighten.

She set the papers down, shaking her head. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

He leaned forward slightly. “Then don’t decide now. Stay for a few days. Think about it.”

Her throat tightened. “Why me?” she whispered.

Sebastian’s gaze softened. “Because when I saw you standing there in that church, I saw someone who deserved better. And because”, he hesitated, his voice lowering, “something about you wouldn’t let me walk away.”

The air between them thickened, heavy with tension neither of them wanted to name.

Just then, Sebastian’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and sighed. “My brother.”

“Joel?” she asked quietly.

He nodded, answering the call. “Joel. Yes, I saw the news. No, I didn’t plan it. Yes, she’s here.”

He listened for a long moment, then said, “I’ll handle it,” and hung up.

Olivia watched him carefully. “He’s not happy, is he?”

“Let’s just say he’s surprised.”

She bit her lip. “You didn’t tell him about the wedding?”

Sebastian gave a dry laugh. “Would you have believed me if I told you I married a stranger yesterday?”

She couldn’t argue with that.

By afternoon, Olivia found herself on the terrace overlooking the city, her thoughts tangled in chaos.

Sebastian joined her quietly, holding two mugs of coffee.

“Still thinking about it?” he asked.

She nodded. “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that I married a stranger or that I’m considering staying married to him.”

He smiled faintly. “Both are pretty extreme.”

“You’re not helping.”

“I’m not trying to,” he said. “I’m just being honest.”

She turned to look at him. “Why are you so calm about all this?”

“Because life rarely goes according to plan,” he said. “You can either fight it or make it work for you.”

Her lips parted slightly. “You really believe that, don’t you?”

“I have to,” he said softly. “It’s how I survived everything I lost overseas.”

She blinked. “What did you lose?”

He didn’t answer right away. His gaze lingered on the skyline, eyes shadowed. “Let’s just say I learned that not everyone who loves you stays.”

Olivia fell silent, sensing there was pain behind his calm exterior, a story he wasn’t ready to tell.

And somehow, that made her trust him a little more.

That night, long after he’d gone to his study, Olivia sat by the window, looking out over the glittering city.

Maybe he was right. Maybe she did need to rebuild.

And maybe just maybe this was her chance to turn her pain into something stronger.

When Sebastian returned hours later, he found her sitting on the couch, the contract open on the coffee table.

She looked up at him, her expression unreadable. “I’ll do it,” she said quietly.

His brows lifted slightly. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I’ll be your wife for six months.”

Sebastian studied her for a long moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen.

“Then, Mrs. Hart,” he said softly, handing it to her, “let’s make it official.”

As she signed her name beside his, a strange calm settled over her.

Not love. Not yet. But something solid. Something real.

And though neither of them realized it then, what began as a contract would soon turn into something far more dangerous, something neither of them could control.

The morning sunlight poured through the penthouse windows of Sebastian Hart’s Manhattan apartment, stretching in soft gold across the polished marble floors. The city below was already awake, horns blaring, sirens wailing, the heartbeat of America pulsing through glass towers.

Sebastian sat on the edge of the gray sectional sofa, his jaw tense, the phone pressed against his ear. He hadn’t slept since last night. Not that he expected to.

He was now a married man.

To a woman whose name he had learned only after the priest declared them husband and wife.

Olivia Bennett.

The name had echoed in his mind all night. The woman who stood in white, her hands trembling as tears traced lines down her cheeks. The woman he couldn’t bear to watch crumbled before the world’s cruel eyes.

Now, sitting in his silent apartment, the adrenaline had worn off. Reality was setting in.

And so were the consequences.

He drew a deep breath and hit the number saved under “Joel, kid bro.”

It rang twice before a groggy voice answered, mixed with the soft hum of waves in the background.

“Sebastian? Bro, it’s six in the morning here. What’s going on?”

Sebastian leaned forward, pressing a hand to his temple. “You’re still in Hawaii?”

Joel chuckled sleepily. “Still enjoying my honeymoon, yeah. You’re supposed to be back from London, right? How's jet lag?”

“Jet lag is the least of my problems right now.”

The tone of Sebastian’s voice made Joel pause. “Okay, you sound serious. What happened?”

Sebastian hesitated, then exhaled. “I got married.”

There was silence. Then a sharp laugh. “You what? To whom? Don’t tell me you finally proposed to that model you were seeing before you left.”

“No,” Sebastian said flatly. “I married a stranger. Yesterday. At the wedding of the company staff that you said I should represent you.”

For a long moment, Joel said nothing. The only sound was the ocean crashing faintly through the receiver.

Then, “I’m sorry, come again?”

Sebastian closed his eyes. “It was supposed to be one of your staff’s weddings. You mentioned it before you left: the marketing manager and one of the admin assistants. Jack and Olivia.”

Joel’s voice shifted, alert and awake now. “Yeah, yeah, I remember. What about it?”

“Well, the groom didn’t show up. The bride was left at the altar, crying. And before I knew what I was doing, I walked up and said, ‘I’m her husband.’”

“You what?” Joel shouted so loud that Sebastian had to pull the phone away from his ear.

“I married her,” Sebastian said calmly. “Legally. The priest went through with it. The whole crowd saw. Cameras were there.”

There was a long, stunned silence on the other end.

Joel finally spoke again, his tone flat. “You’ve officially lost your mind.”

Sebastian leaned back, staring out the window at the skyline. “Maybe. Or maybe I just couldn’t stand seeing someone break like that.”

“You married a stranger out of pity?” Joel groaned. “Seb, do you have any idea what you’ve done? The press is going to have a field day. You’re a Hart, for God’s sake. The name alone could start a media frenzy.”

“I know.”

“Dad’s going to lose it.”

“I know.”

“And Mom, oh, she’s going to call every senator’s wife she knows before lunch.”

Sebastian rubbed his face, his exhaustion deepening. “That’s why I’m telling you first. I’m going to call them next.”

Joel let out a sharp sigh, then softened. “Who is she, at least? This Olivia?”

Sebastian’s gaze drifted to the empty teacup on the table. “She works for the company. Quiet, polite. From what I can tell, she’s been with Hart Conglomerate for three years. She thought she was marrying that idiot Jack, who, by the way, disappeared with another woman.”

Joel cursed under his breath. “That’s it. I’m firing him the second I get back. That’s a PR nightmare on its own.”

“It gets worse,” Sebastian muttered. “Someone from the press was at the ceremony. Pictures are already circulating online. ‘Mysterious Groom Rescues Jilted Bride.’ They don’t know who I am yet, but they will soon.”

Joel groaned again. “You’re serious?”

“I’m deadly serious.”

The sound of shuffling came through the line. Joel must have gotten out of bed, pacing. “You know how Dad is about image. He’s been grooming you to come home and take the chair. The last thing he wants is a scandal before the board votes next quarter.”

Sebastian’s tone hardened slightly. “I didn’t do it for the company.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean it won’t affect it.” Joel sighed, frustration mixing with worry. “Just look, tell them before they hear it on the news. You know how Mom gets when she’s blindsided.”

“I’ll call them now,” Sebastian said quietly.

“And Seb?”

“Yeah?”

Joel’s voice softened. “You’ve always been the one to follow your heart. Just make sure this time it doesn’t destroy you.”

Sebastian smiled faintly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

When the call ended, he sat there for a long moment, staring at his reflection in the window.

Then, bracing himself, he dialed another number.

The line picked up after two rings.

“Sebastian?” His mother’s elegant voice, sharp and warm all at once. “Oh, darling! You’re back in New York, aren’t you? Your father mentioned that your flight landed yesterday. Why haven’t you called?”

“Hi, Mom,” Sebastian said, forcing calm into his tone. “I was going to call last night, but something unexpected happened.”

His father’s deeper voice cut in from the background. “What now? Please tell me it doesn’t involve flying through a storm again.”

Sebastian swallowed. “No. It’s not about flying. It’s about a wedding.”