The Cold CEO's Secret Contract Bride

“Fresh out of prison and facing a parole violation, Candace Price was kicked onto the streets by her abusive aunt. To avoid going back to a cell, she accepted a desperate lifeline: marrying her former mentor's son, a supposedly ordinary supermarket manager named Gauge Bailey. But right after they signed the papers, this "simple" manager handed her the keys to a multi-million-dollar penthouse at The Elysian Towers. Before she could even question his bizarre wealth, her new mother-in-law faked a medical emergency. From her hospital bed, the older woman slapped a priceless heirloom jade bracelet on Candace's wrist. "I need to know the family line is secure. You have three months to get pregnant." Suffocating under the pressure of being treated like a mere breeding vessel, Candace tried to reach out to her new husband. Instead, she discovered he had deliberately declined her contact request and completely erased her number from his phone. The humiliation hit her like a physical blow. Why agree to this marriage if he held her in such utter contempt? And who exactly was this cold, imposing stranger who lived in a billionaire's playground while claiming to stock grocery shelves? Staring at the rejected notification on her screen, a cold, hard resolve settled in Candace's chest. She slid the heavy jade bracelet off her wrist and locked it away in a dark drawer. If he wanted a sham marriage, she would play along. She would use his penthouse and his name to build her own independence, and when the time came, she would be the one to walk away.”