BLURB: Sydney was just trying to find a father figure for her daughter. Zeke Forbes had everything: wealth, power, and legacy, except for the one thing he never knew he needed—her. Desperate to help her daughter Michaela, who was being bullied at school for not having a father, Sydney agrees to an arranged marriage with Zeke. He gave his mother one condition: his identity must remain a secret. As the heir to the powerful Forbes empire, Zeke believes women come for the money only. But neither of them expected the past to catch up. Years ago, Sydney was the victim of a horrific setup; her stepmother hired someone to violate her. But instead, she ended up in a stranger’s bed: Zeke’s. That one night, which gave her Michaela, has changed her life ever since that day. Years later, a familiar ring on her father-in-law’s finger sparks suspicion. A DNA test confirms the unthinkable: Zeke is Michaela’s father. Then comes another shock: Zeke is revealed on live TV as the heir of the Forbes family. Now, everything Sydney thought she knew crumbles. Will she confront Zeke with the truth? Will he admit what really happened that night? And if he does… can she ever forgive him?
View More“You’re a wh*re. Get out. We don’t want to see you here again,” Katherine hissed, her voice sharp as shattered glass. She shoved Sydney and her younger sister Helena toward the door, her perfectly manicured hand clutching Sydney’s arm with surprising strength.
Helena stumbled, catching herself against the doorframe. “Please, we have nowhere else to go—”
Katherine’s eyes narrowed. “I said get out. And don’t ever come back to this house.”
The door slammed behind them with a finality that made Sydney’s chest cave in.
…
“Ouch!”
A car sped past, splashing cold, dirty water onto her skirt. Sydney blinked hard as the sting of reality brought her back. She was standing outside her daughter’s school, waiting for a cab to head to City Hall for her marriage entry.
Twelve years ago, after her mother died of cancer, everything changed. Her father remarried Katherine, his secretary. A woman with a painted smile and poison in her heart. Katherine came with a daughter, Bonnie, and quickly made it clear that only one girl in the house mattered.
Sydney had been fourteen. Helena was only ten, the same as Bonnie. They should have been sisters, but the lines had been drawn from the start.
After college, Sydney had joined her father's jewellery business, bringing his designs to life with delicate hands and a precise eye. She wanted to make him proud.
Two weeks before her twenty-first birthday, her father asked her to attend an exclusive gala in his place. “Just represent the family, Syd. I will be stuck in meetings,” he had said, kissing her forehead.
It was at the Brightcanon Hotel, owned by the infamous Forbes family. Katherine had insisted on choosing Sydney’s dress, pretending to care. But unknown to her, she had arranged something far more sinister.
That night, after a single glass of wine, Sydney’s world started to spin. Her legs felt heavy. Her head buzzed. She barely remembered a man helping her to a room.
She was aware of soft sheets, of someone’s presence. But everything was foggy.
Knock, knock, knock.
She had left the room stumbling and went knocking on another when the man Katherine hired to sleep with her entered the bathroom.
The door creaked open. “Who are you?” Zeke Forbes asked, squinting.
He reeked of whisky and exhaustion. His friend Dan had insisted he crash in one of the hotel rooms rather than show up drunk at the family mansion.
Sydney stumbled forward, her eyes unfocused. “It’s me,” she mumbled before collapsing against his chest.
Zeke barely registered the weight of her before she crawled into the bed and fell asleep. He followed, too numb to process it all.
The night dissolved into silence.
“I see you have been busy,” Dan smirked the next morning, standing in the doorway with a keycard in hand. “Get up. We are late for the investors’ meeting.”
Zeke groaned, pulling the covers tighter. “Dan…?”
“Yes. Meeting. Now.” Dan’s eyes drifted to the woman curled up beside him. “Didn't think you had it in you.”
Zeke sat up sharply. His eyes widened. “What the hell…? Who is she?”
“You don’t know her?”
“No.”
Sydney’s face was buried in the pillow, her back rising and falling with each breath.
Dan shrugged. “We will deal with it later. You have got five minutes.”
Zeke hesitated. Something didn’t sit right. He didn’t remember anything. Still, something told him to act. He took off his family ring, a gold band with an engraved lion crest, and slipped it onto her finger.
“This stays between us.”
Dan raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Your secret is safe.”
When Sydney woke up, the room was empty.
She pulled the covers around her, eyes darting, stomach churning. Her head throbbed. Her dress lay crumpled on the floor.
“No, no, no…” she whispered.
Her skin prickled as memories refused to come. She had been drugged. She was sure of it. But by who? Why?
She dressed in silence and left the hotel, trembling.
At home, Helena flung the door open.
“Syd! Where have you been? I called you all night!”
Sydney dropped her bag. “I… I don’t remember,” she said, her voice breaking. “I think something happened to me, Lena. Something bad.”
Helena’s eyes filled. “It’s Dad.”
Sydney froze. “What?”
“He… he is in the hospital. There was an accident. He is in a coma.”
The words shattered her.
She couldn’t breathe. Her world tilted. Helena kept talking, but the sound was distant. All Sydney could feel was the crushing weight of guilt, confusion, and fear.
Two months later, the ultimate blow: she was pregnant.
The rest fell like dominoes: Katherine’s disgust, her uncles’ betrayal, and the eviction.
Just like that, they had nothing.
Present Day
Sydney gasped, staring down in disbelief.
“Seriously?” she muttered, brushing at the stains, but the damage was done. Her heart sank. “I can’t show up like this. I’ll have to go home and change first.”
She raised her hand. “Taxi!”
A yellow cab pulled up, tires hissing on the wet asphalt. She slid into the back seat.
“Crest Street, please.”
As the cab pulled into traffic, her phone buzzed. The name on the screen made her inhale sharply, Mrs. Grace Forbes.
The elegant older woman had insisted on this arrangement after Sydney helped her one rainy evening outside the hospital.
A simple act of kindness that snowballed into something bigger than she could have imagined. Grace had decided then and there; Sydney would be perfect for her eldest son.
In the months that followed, she had made her intentions clear. Her son, Zeke, was too focused on work. Too closed off. People whispered unkind things about his aloofness, his disinterest in women. Even about his masculinity.
Grace didn’t care what they said. She just wanted to see him with someone real. Someone who could anchor him.
Sydney hesitated for a moment, then answered. “Hello, Mrs. Grace.”
“Sydney, darling, where are you? We are already at the hall waiting.”
“I’m so sorry. There has been a little… issue with my dress. I got splashed on my way out.”
“Oh dear. Did it tear?”
“No, not that. It’s just… dirty now. I didn’t want to arrive looking like a mess.”
Grace’s voice softened. “I understand. Do what you need. We will wait.”
“Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”
They hung up.
At Karyn’s Restaurant, sunlight streamed through the large windows, casting a soft golden glow over the table where Sydney sat with Derek and Michaela. The late afternoon air was warm and laced with the scent of fresh bread and roasted herbs. Michaela, legs swinging beneath her seat, focused intently on the colouring page given to her by the waitress.Derek watched them both, a bittersweet ache twisting in his chest. Michaela didn’t recognize him; she had only ever heard his voice over phone calls and video chats from overseas. Now, she sat across from him, a little older, a little wiser, and already trying to navigate the harsh realities of childhood.As they waited for their order, the conversation drifted into deeper waters.“Michaela needed a father figure,” Sydney said softly, her voice laced with determination. “She was being bullied at school. Some of the kids said things… cruel things.”Derek looked down at his hands, the words catching in his throat.“I couldn’t bear to see
His expression shifted, confused, uncertain. “Sydney… Are you… married?”She looked down, startled. “Oh, this,” she said, fiddling with the band. “I forgot to take it off. I wouldn’t want people asking too many questions.”Derek didn’t speak. He stared at her, as if trying to process a truth he never imagined.She could almost hear the heartbreak in the stillness between them.Someone had got there first.Derek had harboured a quiet crush on Sydney since their university days. Through shared ideas, group outings, and late-night study sessions, he had always hoped, prayed even, that someday, Sydney might look at him differently. Not as a friend. But as someone who could mean more.Yet, that day never came.To Sydney, Derek had always been a gentle friend. The reliable shoulder. The one who listened without judgement. She trusted him with her secrets, her fears, even her dreams, but not this one. Not the marriage. Not even Helena, her sister, knew. Only her five-year-old daughter had b
“Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart,” Grace chimed in, beaming. “Zeke will come help you move.”Zeke shot his mother a sharp glance, but Grace ignored it completely. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and triumph.Sydney gave a soft laugh. “That’s kind of you, but I think I can manage.”Still, the thought of Zeke stepping into her small two-bedroom home made her nervous. It wasn’t much, but to her and Michaela, it was everything.As they stepped outside the hall, Sydney exhaled. She had told Michaela the night before:“Your new dad will join us soon. Our family is going to be whole.”Her daughter’s eyes had lit up with joy.That joy alone was worth every ounce of this uncertainty.Zeke leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his mother’s cheek.“I will see you during the weekend,” he murmured, not looking at Grace but speaking the words for someone else.Sydney.But his gaze never drifted in her direction. He couldn’t bring himself to.Grace, ever perceptive, caught it. The words were coldly disg
From across the waiting area at City Hall, Zeke Forbes let out a sharp breath, having overheard his mother’s side of the conversation. His jaw tightened, eyes still glued to the screen of his phone.“She’s already making excuses,” he muttered under his breath.For months, his mother had been relentless, praising Sydney’s kindness, her poise, and her strength. He had agreed to the arrangement only to stop the endless pressure to go on blind dates and business mergers disguised as introductions.Now here he was, suited up for a forced marriage, although it came with a condition: she must not know his real identity. He wasn’t expecting love, but he did expect punctuality.Thirty minutes later, a cab pulled up outside the city hall.Sydney stepped out, freshly dressed in a soft blue dress that hugged her figure modestly. Her curls were still damp from the quick shower she had taken, and her cheeks were flushed from rushing.She spotted Grace waiting near the marble steps and approached w
“You’re a wh*re. Get out. We don’t want to see you here again,” Katherine hissed, her voice sharp as shattered glass. She shoved Sydney and her younger sister Helena toward the door, her perfectly manicured hand clutching Sydney’s arm with surprising strength.Helena stumbled, catching herself against the doorframe. “Please, we have nowhere else to go—”Katherine’s eyes narrowed. “I said get out. And don’t ever come back to this house.”The door slammed behind them with a finality that made Sydney’s chest cave in.…“Ouch!”A car sped past, splashing cold, dirty water onto her skirt. Sydney blinked hard as the sting of reality brought her back. She was standing outside her daughter’s school, waiting for a cab to head to City Hall for her marriage entry. Twelve years ago, after her mother died of cancer, everything changed. Her father remarried Katherine, his secretary. A woman with a painted smile and poison in her heart. Katherine came with a daughter, Bonnie, and quickly made it cl
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