Contract Marriage: I've always loved you

He never expected to fall for the woman he met during a brief encounter. For a while, she seemed impossible to forget. Then he discovered a side of her that changed everything. Feeling deceived, Steve convinced himself that whatever existed between them had been a mistake. He walked away and promised himself that their paths would never cross again. Fate had other plans. An unexpected agreement brings them together once more—this time as husband and wife. Their marriage is temporary. Their rules are clear. And neither of them is supposed to develop real feelings. But living beneath the same roof with the woman he once cared about proves far more difficult than Steve expected. Every disagreement reminds him why he wanted to stay away. Every unexpected moment makes him question whether he ever truly understood her. And the longer their marriage continues, the harder it becomes to separate resentment from the feelings neither of them wants to admit still exist. * “You can't keep walking away whenever you're angry,” Steve says. I turn toward him. “And you can't keep acting as though being your wife means you get to make every decision.” His expression changes. “This marriage has rules.” “Rules that end when the agreement ends,” I remind him. “I'm your temporary wife, Steve. Don't forget that.” For once, he has no immediate answer. Then his voice becomes quieter. “Maybe that's exactly what I'm trying to forget.” * What began as an agreement was supposed to have an ending. But old misunderstandings are beginning to unravel, hidden truths are coming to light, and their carefully constructed boundaries are becoming harder to maintain. Will their complicated marriage give them a second chance to understand each other? Or will the truth that separated them once before bring their temporary marriage to its inevitable end?