CHAPTER 1

The top floor of Langston Appliances wasn’t merely an office—it was a glass fortress, suspended high above Los Angeles and watching the city throb with its usual restless energy. On ordinary nights, the view stretched endlessly, stars colliding with ribbons of traffic lights below. But tonight, it didn’t matter.

Carter Langston stood straight with his hands shoved into his pockets, staring at nothing in particular . His reflection glared back, sharp suit, harder eyes. 

He was only twenty-seven, yet somehow already running a company. The title of CEO sat on him like iron chains, a weight that could flatten men who’d lived twice as long. Still, he carried it. He has broad shoulders and a sharp jaw. He look like a man in control But his gut was a storm.

Behind him, Reginald Langston lounged like he owned the place. Scotch in hand, silver hair perfectly in place, legs crossed as if this were nothing more than a chat after dinner. Once, he had been the king of this empire. Now he was the dethroned relic—and still smug about it.

“You never change, do you?” Carter’s voice came low, steady, but there was iron under it. He didn’t have to shout—each word landed sharp, cutting all the same. “You went behind my back. Again.”

Reginald chuckled, a sound too dry to be amused. “Behind your back? Come on, Carter. I answered their questions. Investors like honesty.”

“Honesty?” Carter spun, his fists curling tight. “You told them about Elena. About the divorce. You knew exactly what that would do.”

The words landed heavy in the room. Everyone in the industry knew about the Takahashi deal. Billions on the line. And the one condition: stability. No scandals. No messy baggage. Carter had spent six months burying that disaster of a marriage. His father had just dug it up with one smug sentence.

Reginald set his glass down with a pointed clink. “They asked. What was I supposed to do—lie? You made a circus of that marriage, paraded her around, and then let it explode. They deserve to know who they’re tying themselves to. And frankly, they’re not looking for a young playboy CEO with a file full of tabloid clippings. They want a man who can keep his house in order.”

Carter closed the distance in two strides, his shadow falling across the older man. “You were never supposed to be in those rooms. I pushed you out for a reason. This deal isn’t just about numbers—it’s about the future. My future. And you—what? You couldn’t stand watching me succeed where you failed?”

A flicker crossed Reginald’s face, gone before Carter could read it. “Failed?” he said, almost laughing. “I built this company from the ground up. Without me, you’d still be flipping burgers. You think the Takahashis care about your vision? They care about image. A CEO who can’t hold on to his wife looks like a liability.”

The words punched harder than Carter wanted to admit. 

Images hit him in fragments—Elena’s smile twisting into betrayal, sleepless nights under the cold lights of a courtroom, headlines shouting his shame across the city. And underneath it all, the same sick thought eating at him: his father had been behind it, pulling strings in the dark, just like always.

“You don’t care about family,” Carter said. His voice was flat, cold as ice.

 “You nearly ruined us with your scandals and reckless spending. I cleaned it up. I saved this company. And now, because you can’t stand being irrelevant, you’d rather tear it down than let me stand on top.”

Reginald rose, still tall, still carrying the old weight of authority. “Irrelevant? Don’t fool yourself. I gave this family its name. But fine, play the victim. The truth is simple: the Takahashis won’t sign until they see stability. They want a wife by your side. No wife, no deal.”

Silence pressed in. The city glittered outside, mocking him. A wife. After Elena, the word itself was poison. He had sworn never again. Marriage was weakness. Love—just a fairy tale for fools. He’d sworn never again, not after Elena.

But the truth clawed at him: without it, without the show of it, everything he’d built would crack apart and fall.

The window threw his reflection back at him. Not the sharp suit. Not the title. Just a man in the glass, cold eyes, a worn-out face, staring back at him like he was the problem.

His chest pulled tight. The breath he pushed out didn’t feel steady—it felt like giving up.

“I’ll deal with it,” he muttered, barely a sound. The words shook, weak, more like a plea than a promise. Like he was trying to make himself believe it.

Reginald gave a short, bitter laugh. “Handle it? What are you going to do, conjure up a fiancée out of thin air? The press would rip it to shreds.”

But Carter’s eyes narrowed, and a dangerous idea began to spark. “Not conjure. Compete. If they want stability, I’ll give them a show they can’t look away from.”

Before his father could speak, Carter’s phone buzzed—his reminder. The press was waiting. Cameras, questions, the feeding frenzy. He straightened his tie, slid the mask of control back over his fury. “Stay out of this, Dad. Watch me.”

He walked out, with anger then straight to the elevator which carried him down but it did nothing to cool him off. Doors slid open and the noise hit—flashes, shouting, cameras in his face. Reporters crowding in, everyone talking at once, shoving mics like weapons.

The conference room was madness. Hot lights, bodies pressed close, questions flying over each other. He pushed through all the noise and stood watching them for a second then he began. 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said at last, his voice low, steady, unshaken.

 Silence dropped over the room. “Yes, the rumors are true. I’m single. But not for long.”

A ripple of shock.

He leaned in, letting the pause. “Starting tomorrow, I’m launching The Langston Challenge. A contest. Open to women who believe they can stand beside me—not just in name, but in every way that counts. Strength, skill, presence. The winner will be my partner in every sense—marriage, business, legacy.”

The room erupted. Reporters gasped, cameras snapped. Carter spoke right through it. “Applications open tomorrow. Heiresses, CEOs, whoever thinks they’re good enough—prove it. But know this: I don’t compromise. Not in business. Not in life.”

He left the podium and the room broke apart to noise, flashes of camera chasing him down the hall. His phone buzzed again. A new text lit the screen:

You think a contest will hide your secrets? Watch your back.

Carter’s blood went cold. His jaw tightened. Who the hell was it? His father? A rival? Or someone he thought he’d buried in the past?

In the shadows of the corridor, his fury hardened into resolve. The game was on. But the

real danger was already closing in.