LOGINAfter Nora West discovers that her four-year relationship had been nothing more than a cruel joke, the last thing she expects is for her twin brother to collapse from exhaustion and land in the hospital. That incident brings her face to face with Alan Reed, Noah’s billionaire boss, a cold and emotionally distant man whose family has been pressuring him to move on from the woman he lost years ago. When Alan asks Nora to marry him, Nora says yes knowing they both have something to gain from it. Nora walks into the arrangement with a broken heart and no expectations. After everything she went through with her ex, she no longer believes love is worth the risk. Alan, on the other hand, is convinced all he needs is a contract wife to satisfy his family and maintain appearances. But living together slowly changes everything. What starts as an arrangement turns into friendship, quiet comfort, late-night conversations, and stolen kisses neither of them planned for. The closer Alan gets to Nora, the more guilty he begins to feel, like caring about her somehow betrays the woman he once loved. While Nora once believed nothing could hurt more than heartbreak, nothing prepares her for falling in love with a man who swore never to love again.
View MoreThe conversation split naturally after lunch. Alan, his brothers, and his father disappeared into business talk while his mother and grandmother started arguing over the wedding guest list.Alan had been clear that, excluding his immediate family, only twenty relatives were allowed. His grandmother and mother were having a hard time deciding which twenty made the cut and which branch of the family tree was getting pruned.My eyes wandered across the room and landed on Lory. She immediately mouthed, "Come with me."She tilted her head toward the hallway. I glanced at Alan. Lory responded by making a face that very clearly translated to ignore him.Then she picked up her phone and started typing. She set it face down on the table. About a minute passed before it started ringing. She cut the call without looking at it. It rang again. She cut it again.The third time, her mother looked up. "Lory, either answer that phone or turn it off. It's distracting.""Sorry, Mum." She pushed her chai
Alan's text came in at half past ten.*I'll be there at 1. Be ready.*Noah had already warned me about his punctuality, so getting ready early wasn't even a question. By twelve fifty, the teal dress was on, my purse on the bed, and I was standing in front of the mirror for what had to be the fourth time.Alan texted at exactly one p.m., not a second late, asking me to open the door. Grabbing my purse, I headed out immediately.Noah was sprawled across the couch watching something on his phone when I passed through the living room."Have fun," he said without looking up.Opening the front door, I found Alan standing outside, dressed in a white fitted shirt. His gaze flicked over me before he gave a small nod that felt like approval."Is Noah home?""Yes," I replied, turning back toward the house and calling his name through the doorway.A loud groan came from the living room. "What is it?"Noah appeared at the door a few seconds later. One look at Alan and suddenly he remembered how to
The floor felt like the right place to be, my back against the wall and my knees pulled up as I stared at nothing in particular.Noah's reaction wasn't a surprise. Not really. But knowing something was coming didn't always soften the landing.The worst part wasn't even the argument. It was how badly I wanted his support. He was the only family left. The other half of everything. Going into something this big without him standing beside it felt like walking into a room with no floor.I sat there for hours, thinking, sulking, replaying the conversation on a loop until my bedroom door finally opened.Noah came in without knocking, which was just his way. He crossed the room and lowered himself onto the floor beside me, close enough that his shoulder touched mine. For a moment, neither of us said anything."I'm sorry for walking out." His voice was quiet."I understand why you did.”A long breath left him. "I still hate this. I still wish you'd told me before agreeing so I could've talked
Since I was meeting Alan's family tomorrow, I decided to buy myself something decent to wear.Running through my wardrobe mentally, there wasn't anything suitable enough. Most of the outfits that could have passed were gifts from Damien, and there was no way I was wearing any of those. I made a mental note to deal with them later.Three hours later, after walking through what felt like every store in the mall and changing my mind at least twenty times, I finally found a teal dress.Before that, every dress seemed to come with a problem attached to it. One looked too formal. Another looked like I was attending a funeral. One was so tight I nearly got stuck trying to take it off.By the end, my feet hurt and my patience was hanging by a thread.The dress solved a problem I had been struggling with all afternoon. It wasn't too flashy, but it wasn't plain either. The one thing I had quickly learned about wealthy people was how much appearances mattered in their world. I didn't want to sho
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