ALPHAS REGRET LUNAS RISE

My seven-year marriage to the heir Kobe Kidd began as a contract. I was the respectable placeholder wife he needed. In exchange, I got the stability I'd craved my whole life. I kept my side of the bargain perfectly, except for one mistake: I fell in love with him.

Then, his first love, Felicie, came back into the picture. Suddenly, I wasn't a wife; I was an obstacle. After our car crashed, he scrambled to save an unconscious Felicie from the wreckage, leaving me trapped inside the smoking vehicle without a second glance.

I survived the explosion, only to face something worse. When Felicie was stabbed by her own violent ex after using me as a human shield, she told Kobe I’d hired the man to kill her.

He believed her instantly.

He didn't check the cameras. He didn't ask me a single question. He just looked at me with pure, undiluted hatred and had me thrown into the mansion's cold, dark basement.

I was locked away for days, screaming for a man who had already left me to burn. I finally understood. It didn’t matter what the truth was. I wasn't her, and that was the only crime that mattered.

So I finalized our divorce, walked away without looking back, and started a new life. But months later, he found me. He showed up in my small café an ocean away, his eyes full of regret, begging for a second chance.

He said he finally knew the truth.

He said he loved me.

Chapter 1

"The transfer will be completed within three days. Make sure the papers are ready." Delma Puckett' s voice was steady, a stark contrast to the storm raging outside the window.

On the other end of the line, the lawyer, a man hired by her mother-in-law, sounded pleased. "Of course, Mrs. Kidd. The amount is satisfactory. Mr. Kidd will be ready to sign."

Delma ignored the title. It wouldn't be hers for much longer. "Good. I'll be there this afternoon."

She hung up without waiting for a reply, her fingers resting on the phone for a moment before she set it down. Her gaze fell on the platinum wedding band on her finger. It was heavy, studded with diamonds that seemed to catch and hold the gloomy light from the window, but they gave off no warmth.

It was a perfect ring. A symbol of a perfect, seven-year marriage to a perfect heir, Kobe Kidd. But it was all a facade.

She twisted the ring, the metal cold against her skin. The coldness took her back seven years, to another rainy day.

It was the first time she had seen him.

The rain was relentless, soaking the city in a gray misery. Delma was working as a waitress for a high-end catering company, a side job to make ends meet. The event was a lavish garden party, hastily moved indoors, at a mansion in the wealthiest part of town.

She saw him across the crowded room, a man who stood out not just for his tailored suit, but for the intense focus in his eyes. He was Kobe Kidd. Even someone like Delma, who didn't follow celebrity gossip, knew his name. The Kidd family was practically royalty in this city.

He wasn't looking at the business magnates or socialites around him. His attention was entirely on a stunningly beautiful woman with fiery red hair.

"That's Kobe Kidd," a guest whispered near Delma's station. "He's been chasing Felicie Richardson for months."

"She's playing hard to get, but who could resist him?" another replied with a laugh.

Delma knew the name. Felicie Richardson was an actress on the rise, famous for her beauty and a string of well-publicized, short-lived romances.

But Felicie didn't look like she was playing hard to get. She looked annoyed.

"Kobe, please," Felicie said, her voice loud enough for those nearby to hear. "I'm trying to talk to my friends." She turned her back on him, a clear dismissal.

He didn't flinch. He simply waited, his posture unchanging. A few minutes later, he had a waiter deliver a small, velvet box to her table. Felicie opened it, and her friends gasped. A diamond necklace glittered inside.

Felicie smiled, a tight, practiced expression. She didn't put it on. She just snapped the box shut and handed it to a friend, who quickly pocketed it.

Later, Delma was clearing plates near the patio doors when she heard Felicie talking to that same friend.

"Why don't you just tell him you're not interested?" the friend asked. "You know you're still seeing Mark."

Felicie laughed, a sharp, unpleasant sound. "Are you crazy? As long as he's interested, the gifts keep coming. Besides, the attention is good for my career. Let him waste his time. Men like him have plenty of it."

Delma felt a knot of disgust tighten in her stomach. She had grown up in the foster system, bounced from one home to another. She knew the value of a dollar, the weight of every meal. To see such casual cruelty and wastefulness made something in her snap.

She watched as Felicie finally left the party, breezing past Kobe without a second glance. He stood there for a moment, his handsome face unreadable, before turning to leave.

On sheer impulse, Delma put down her tray of empty glasses. She walked straight up to him as he neared the exit.

"She's using you," Delma said, her voice low but clear.

Kobe stopped. He turned to look at her, his eyes cold and assessing. He took in her simple black-and-white uniform, her plain face. She was nothing like the glamorous women he was used to.

"She has a boyfriend," Delma continued, her heart starting to pound. "She just likes the gifts and the attention. She was laughing about it with her friend."

He remained silent, his expression unchanging.

Delma took a breath, the craziest, most desperate idea of her life bubbling to the surface. "You need a wife, don't you? Someone to satisfy your family, to look the part. You're wasting your time and money on her."

She met his gaze directly. "Marry me."

His silence stretched, heavy and unnerving.

"It would be a contract," she pressed on, her voice gaining strength. "I won't love you. I won't cheat on you. I will play the part of the perfect wife. In return, I get financial security. A home. Something I've never had. I'm a much better investment than she is."

For the first time, a flicker of something-surprise, maybe amusement-crossed his face. He studied her for a long, quiet moment.

"Fine," he said.