The rain hit New York like a curse that evening loud, relentless, and hiding secrets in its downpour. Kara pressed her hands deeper into her coat pockets, her shoes soaked through as she stood before the looming steel-and-glass skyscraper.
The Valentine Group.
A building that scraped the sky, owned by a man colder than the marble his floors were made of. Xavier Valentine the billionaire CEO, a ghost in the tabloids, a tyrant in the boardroom.
And her future husband.
Kara blinked against the rain. She could turn back. She should. But she wouldn't. Not with her mother lying sick in a clinic, not with her younger brother still in school, not when she held the last chance to save them all in her trembling hands.
She stepped inside.
The warmth of the lobby didn't reach her bones. Two suited guards scanned her silently. They already knew who she was. Everyone in Xavier's empire did by now.
The elevator took her to the top floor silent, smooth, and far too fast. By the time it opened, she was barely composed.
The office was vast. Black and chrome. Silent. A fireplace crackled in the distance, casting shadows against the walls. And there he stood.
Xavier Valentine.
Six-foot-three. Midnight-black suit. Hands in his pockets like he ruled the world and maybe he did. His gaze swept over her like a storm cloud.
"You came," he said.
Kara nodded. "You offered. I accepted."
He didn't smile.
"You've read the terms?"
"Marry you. Keep the press away. Smile at your charity galas. Sleep in separate bedrooms. And walk away in six months with a generous check," she recited flatly.
He raised an eyebrow. "You forgot: no falling in love."
Kara snorted. "That won't be a problem."
But even then, her stomach twisted.
She hated him. She hated this. But her hands were tied with invisible chains.
"You understand what this marriage gives you?" he asked.
"Yes. Money."
"No. Protection."
She frowned. "From what?"
His eyes darkened. "Things you don't want to know."
He stepped closer. Too close. She caught his scent smoke, leather, and something dangerous. He handed her a pen.
Kara hesitated.
This wasn't just a contract. This was a sentence.
A mistake.
A trap.
But also the only way to survive.
She signed.
Xavier took the paper, folded it once, then lit the corner in the fireplace.
She stared. "What?"
"I don't need proof," he said quietly. "Only obedience."
Her mouth went dry. "And if I break the rules?"
"You lose everything. And I find you."
The fire snapped.
Kara felt the walls shift. The air changed. The billionaire in front of her no longer felt entirely... human.
"Are you threatening me?" she asked, voice thinner than she liked.
"I'm warning you," he replied. "Don't fall for me, Kara. And don't run."
That night, she moved into the Valentine estate a castle carved from stone and silence. Staff didn't speak to her. Rooms stayed locked. One hallway was off-limits. Xavier's rules were absolute.
He didn't dine with her.
He didn't touch her.
But he watched her. Always.
And Kara? She learned how to smile on cue. How to walk in heels that blistered her feet. How to act like Mrs. Valentine while wondering how the hell she ended up here.
She would survive this. She would take the money, save her family, and leave.
What she didn't know was this:
She was already pregnant.
And five years from now when Xavier Valentine lost his memory in a car crash the truth would come back to haunt them both.