She never imagined love would begin with a marriage she didn't want. Forced into a union to save her family, Elena promised herself one thing, she would never love her husband. But the man she hated was nothing like she expected... And the heart she tried to protect slowly betrayed her.
I never thought my life would change on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.
The hospital corridor smelled of antiseptic, fear, and quiet despair. Fluorescent lights flickered above me as I sat on a cold metal bench, my fingers clenched tightly around the medical bill in my hands.
The numbers didn't make sense.
They were too big.
Too cruel.
Too final.
My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes. I wiped them away angrily, but they kept coming.
This couldn't be happening.
"Miss Moore," the nurse called softly, her voice gentle in a way that made my chest ache. "Your mother needs the surgery within the week. Waiting any longer would be... risky."
Risky.
A polite word for fatal.
I nodded, forcing my lips to move even though my throat felt tight. How could I tell her I didn't have the money? How could I tell my mother that surviving depended on numbers I could never afford?
I felt small. Helpless. Ashamed.
That was when he appeared.
Adrian Blackwood.
I noticed him before he spoke-tall, composed, dressed in a way that screamed control and wealth. He didn't belong in this hospital, among crying families and worn-out hope. He belonged somewhere else. Somewhere untouched by desperation.
His eyes met mine, calm and unreadable.
"I can help you," he said quietly.
I looked up sharply. "Help me?"
"I'll pay for your mother's surgery."
For a second, I couldn't breathe.
Hope rushed through me like warmth after freezing cold. Then fear followed, sharp and immediate. Nothing in my life came without a price.
"There's a condition," he added.
Of course there was.
"What condition?" I whispered.
He paused, as if weighing my fate in silence.
"Marry me."
The world tilted.
"What?" I stood up so fast my head spun. "That's-no. I don't even know you."
"This marriage will be in name only," he said calmly. Too calmly. "One year. After that, we divorce. No complications."
I laughed shakily. "You can't be serious."
But when I thought of my mother lying weak and pale in that hospital bed... my strength crumbled.
That night, I cried until my chest hurt.
And the next morning, with shaking hands, I signed the papers that changed my life forever.
Standing beside Adrian at the small registry office, I felt nothing but emptiness.
This wasn't love.
This was survival.
And as I said I do, I made myself a promise-
I would never fall in love with my husband.
I had no idea how cruel fate could be.
Chapter 1 The Marriage I Never Wanted
02/01/2026
Chapter 2 The First Night
02/01/2026
Chapter 3 A Small Gesture
02/01/2026
Chapter 4 Moments Between Us
02/01/2026
Chapter 5 A Surprise of Care
02/01/2026
Chapter 6 When Silence Speaks
03/01/2026
Chapter 7 Standing Beside You
03/01/2026
Chapter 8 The Weight He Carries
03/01/2026
Chapter 9 When the World Notices
03/01/2026
Chapter 10 Where I Belong
03/01/2026
Chapter 11 Learning to Stand
03/01/2026
Chapter 12 When Standing Alone Hurts
03/01/2026
Chapter 13 The Weight of Silence
07/01/2026
Chapter 14 After the Noise
07/01/2026
Chapter 15 The Quiet Tests
07/01/2026
Chapter 16 The Cost of Being Seen
07/01/2026
Chapter 17 The Question of Legacy
07/01/2026
Chapter 18 The Body Keeps the Score
08/01/2026
Chapter 19 The Space Between Yes and Goodbye
08/01/2026
Chapter 20 Preparation
08/01/2026
Chapter 21 Departure Without Leaving
08/01/2026
Chapter 22 Fault Lines
09/01/2026
Chapter 23 Negotiation
09/01/2026
Chapter 24 Echoes
09/01/2026
Chapter 25 Thresholds
09/01/2026
Chapter 26 Conditions
09/01/2026
Chapter 27 Waiting Rooms
10/01/2026
Chapter 28 Decision Theory
10/01/2026
Chapter 29 Aftermath
10/01/2026
Chapter 30 Maintenance
10/01/2026
Chapter 31 Fractures
12/01/2026
Chapter 32 Repair Work
12/01/2026
Chapter 33 What Remains
12/01/2026
Chapter 34 The Shape of Time
12/01/2026
Chapter 35 The Weight of Ordinary Days
12/01/2026
Chapter 36 When Distance Isn't Absence
12/01/2026
Chapter 37 The Quiet Return
12/01/2026
Chapter 38 What We Carry Forward
12/01/2026
Chapter 39 When the Future Knocks
12/01/2026
Chapter 40 Choosing Without Certainty
12/01/2026