LOGIN“We’re friends,” I said, voice barely steady. Aaron’s lips curled, slow and cruel. “No, we’re not.” “Friendship’s too pure for this.” His hand slid to my waist, hot and claiming as he yanked me flush against him. “Do friends kiss like this?” He kissed me. Hard. Possessive. “Or grab each other like this?” A squeeze to my ass. A gasp. “Or think filthy little thoughts?” His breath burned against my ear. “Touch themselves to it?” My cheeks flamed. My body betrayed me. “Stop lying, Venus.” His voice was a growl. “I feel it. Every time I’m near you.” I whispered, “But you don’t even like me.” His smile was pure sin. “I don’t have to like you to fuck you.” Then the offer: “Let’s get it out of our system. No lies. No strings. Just truth.” He grabbed my chin, eyes lit with hunger. “Say the word, princess.” A whisper against my lips— “I’ll ruin you.” And God help me… I wanted him to. --------- Aaron Sinclair needs a bride to claim his inheritance. Venus Astor needs a miracle to save her dying mother. What begins as a cold contract marriage spirals into a dangerous game of buried trauma, stolen identities, and forbidden attachment. He’s ruthless, closed off, and refuses to love. She’s resilient, lost, and refuses to stay unloved. But when secrets unravel revealing a stolen childhood, a tragic past, and a vengeful stepmother, their fake marriage is the only thing standing between them and destruction. In a world ruled by power and silence, will love dare to speak first or break them both instead?
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“You’ll be fine, Mom. I promise.” I smiled, even if it felt like lying through my teeth. “My job pays well, I’ve got savings, we’ll handle the chemo soon.” I had to be strong. For both of us. She gave a weak sigh, eyes glistening. “You shouldn’t be wasting your life on me, Venus. You’re only twenty-two. You should be out there living, dancing, falling in love…” “Stop.” I tucked a stray curl behind her ear and kissed her forehead. “You don’t worry about anything. I’ve got us.” Her voice dropped. “How’s your dad?” My jaw clenched. Of course, she couldn’t meet my eyes. The man hadn’t visited once since her diagnosis. “I haven’t seen him since Sunday,” I said flatly. “And I hope I don’t. It’s been peaceful.” She opened her mouth—probably to defend him again—but I stood. “I have to get to work, Mom. I’ll see you later.” “Thank you for coming every day, sweetheart. I don’t deserve you.” “You do,” I said, hugging her. “I’m your daughter. That’s all that matters.” ------ I hailed a cab, dropped into the backseat, and clutched my bag like my life depended on it. Inside was the file. The file. The one Aaron Sinclair had tossed onto my desk last night like a time bomb. You’d check twice too if you worked for a man like him—dangerous in Dior, heartless in Hugo. He’s the kind of man who walks into a room and makes gravity shift. Broad shoulders. Razor jaw. Hazel eyes that could slice through you if his words hadn’t already done it. To every other woman, he’s a fantasy. To me? A nightmare in tailored suits. Two months working under him, and I swear he gets off on making my life miserable. Impossible deadlines, inhuman workload, cold stares that could freeze hell itself. And yet he hasn’t fired me. Because no matter how much he wants to break me, I always deliver. Why not quit, you ask? Because I can’t. I was a waitress before this, barely surviving. This job is the reason my mother has a bed in a hospital and not a floor in a rundown clinic. I have a degree, yes. But the world doesn’t pay in potential, it pays in cold, hard results. The cab pulled up in front of the towering steel-and-glass building I now called hell. I paid, got out, and took a deep breath. Showtime. ------ The second I stepped into my office—just a thin wall away from Mr. Sinclair’s—the intercom rang. “My office. Now.” No greeting. Just that voice. Sharp. Clipped. Cold. “God, give me strength,” I muttered and walked to his door. Knock. “Come in.” I entered and stood straighter than usual. “Good morning, Mr. Sinclair. You called for me?” He didn’t look up right away. When he did, those hazel eyes locked on mine like a sniper's target. “Sit,” he said, irritation laced in every syllable. I sat. The silence stretched. Long enough to make me fidget. Then— “Marry me.” I blinked. My brain stalled. “What?” “Don’t make me repeat myself,” he said smoothly, like he hadn’t just shattered reality. And just like that, my nightmare said he wanted to make it legal.AARONNine years.Nine years since we stood in Connor’s office and signed a contract that was supposed to last three.Three years of convenience.Of arrangement.Of mutually beneficial optics.That was the plan.No one planned for love.No one planned for twins with identical stubborn streaks and identical loyalty. No one planned for a third baby girl who believed cake was a human right. No one planned for betrayal, or fear, or a problem that would test the seams of everything we built.And yet here we were.Nine years later.Standing in the backyard of the house that once felt like a fortress.Now it just felt like home.There was no aisle.No elaborate décor.Just trimmed hedges, late-afternoon sunlight spilling gold across the grass, and the soft hum of life continuing beyond our walls.Venus stood across from me.Not dressed like a bride.Not dressed for spectacle.Just herself.Steady.That was the word that kept returning.Steady.My mother stood a few feet away, composed but em
AARONThe news broke on a Tuesday morning.Not as a whisper.Not as speculation.But as a headline.ANDREA MARLOWE ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF KIDNAPPING, CONSPIRACY, AND UNLAWFUL SURVEILLANCE.By noon, every major outlet had picked it up. By evening, analysts were dissecting it like it was a corporate scandal instead of the unraveling of something far uglier.I stood in my office, the television muted, watching her face flash across the screen.Polished mugshot.Hair pulled back.Chin lifted.Defiant.Even in custody, she looked like she believed this was temporary.Venus sat on the couch across the room, silent, Iris curled against her side. The kids didn’t understand the full weight of what was happening, and I intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.Connor stepped into the doorway quietly.“It’s everywhere,” he said. “The board’s already calling.”“They’ll manage,” I replied.He studied me for a moment. “You going?”“Yes.”Venus looked up at that.“To see her?” she asked.
AARON“About everything.”The words hung between us: fragile and unavoidable.Venus stood by the kitchen window, sunlight cutting across her face in soft afternoon lines. Outside, the kids were still playing—George pushing Sabine too high on the swing while pretending he wasn’t showing off, Iris watching with that careful half-smile she wore now.Two days.It had only been two days.And yet it felt like we had lived a lifetime in between.I leaned back against the counter, folding my arms loosely. Not defensive. Just steadying myself.She turned fully toward me.“Start talking,” she said quietly.There was no anger in her voice.Which somehow made it harder.I exhaled slowly.“Rick,” I began.Her expression shifted immediately—confusion first, then something sharper.“He was Andrea’s mole,” I said.She blinked. “Rick? That Rick? The one who—”“Yes.”The word tasted bitter.“He was feeding her information for months,” I continued. “Access codes. Schedules. Security rotations. She had l
VENUSTwo days later, the house was loud again. Not the sharp, fractured noise of crisis. Not the low murmur of fear that had lived inside these walls for weeks. Real noise. Children arguing over cereal. Sabine laughing too loudly at something George insisted wasn’t funny. The faint hum of the television no one was actually watching. It should have felt normal. Instead, it felt fragile. Like glass glued back together—beautiful, functional… but still aware of the cracks. I stood in the kitchen doorway and watched them. Iris sat at the table between George and Sabine, a bowl of fruit untouched in front of her. Her fingers moved slowly over the edge of the table, tracing invisible lines. Sabine leaned against her shoulder more clingy than usual, as if proximity itself was reassurance. George sat straighter than he ever had before. Older. His eyes flicked toward Iris every few seconds, checking without making it obvious. When Sabine bumped her too hard reaching for t
VENUSI knew it would be tasking to convince her not to go back to that house.But I never expected her to be so harsh about it.I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.I chanted the words in my head all the way home.The door clicked shut behind me.I dropped my purse onto the console, han
VENUSWhen Aaron sat back beside me, presence steady as steel, I felt his gaze drift to me.Low enough that no one else would hear, he leaned in, voice a dark murmur meant just for me.“Good job. You handled yourself well.”A faint smile tugged at my lips. I nodded—small, controlled—careful not to
VENUS“You’re so comfortable,” I mumbled, snuggling deeper against him.“Don’t get used to it,” came his grumpy voice, rumbling beneath my ear.Too late for that, Aaron Sinclair.Somehow, we’d ended up sprawled on the couch—me half-draped over him, limbs tangled, his shirt thoroughly drenched with
VENUSI woke from the most pleasant sleep I’d had in ages and guess what?Bam—it was Monday.Aaron wasn’t there when I opened my eyes. Not surprising. The man was probably halfway through conquering the world already. I stretched, yawned, and forced myself out of the cocoon of warmth I’d melted int
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