The central premise of that CEO romance involves a mistaken identity that forces the main character into a marriage contract with a cold, powerful businessman. It follows the classic set-up of a contract marriage, usually stemming from some kind of mix-up at a hotel or a case of mistaken identity during a one-night stand. The female lead, often from an ordinary background, finds herself legally bound to this aloof CEO who initially views the arrangement as a mere business transaction. The plot then unfolds as a slow-burn realization of genuine feelings, complicated by external scheming, ex-lovers reappearing, and the inevitable revelation of a secret pregnancy.
A lot of the conflict revolves around the push-and-pull between the CEO's growing, unrecognized attachment and his stubborn insistence on control, contrasted with the heroine's struggle to maintain her independence and dignity within the gilded cage. You'll see all the expected tropes: the overbearing mother-in-law, the jealous rival from a business family, and a dramatic separation arc before the final reconciliation. What makes some versions of this story stick is how the initial 'mistake' becomes the foundation for a real partnership, though the journey there is filled with manufactured angst and grand, public declarations of love.
The narrative engine is really the CEO's gradual thawing from an emotionless tycoon into a devoted, possessive husband, often triggered by seeing the heroine in a new light or by a threat from a third party. It’s pure wish-fulfillment escapism, scratching that specific itch for a transformative love that sees and cherishes the protagonist's true worth against all odds. The ending almost always circles back to the initial mistake, reframing it as fate’s intervention rather than a mere accident.