His Dutiful Wife, His Undeniable Love

Chapter 1

Word Count: 814 | Released on: 23/06/2025

e from the recycled air she' d been breathing for weeks. Her boots crunched on the gravel driveway leadin

ch, wiping her hands on her apron. Her smile

e home

r into a tight hug.

sed yo

. Come on in, I ma

shake the feeling that something was off. Her mother' s usual cheerfulness was strained, a thin veil over a deep

everyth

her fork. The pretense fell awa

Ava. Something your father and I... w

ade Ava' s stomach tighten. She put

t is

tte said, her voice quiet. "A pro

through possibilities. Deb

ng," Charlotte continued, her gaze fixed on the tablecloth. "I

ion deepened.

, her eyes filled with a mi

Between you and h

what? An arranged marriage? Mom, this i

ic, so suffocating, i

was your father's partner. During a botched raid, your father saved his life. Took a bullet that

he foundation of her father' s le

. Jonathan... he's in failing health now, Ava. Hi

s legacy settle on her shoulders.

would only stand if, when the time came, you weren't seriously involved with s

er life was her music, her band, the road. There was no one.

ted family from New York," Charlotte

zed on the table. She glanced at t

It's Jonath

ly hear her mother' s side of the conversation

new urgency. "He's not doing well. He wants to

onor her father' s promise. Her father, who she respected above all

internal surrender. "I' ve heard things. He's a highly respected architect.

vorite meal now seeming like a distant memo

m. I'll m

gged with relief. "They w

. Two days. It wa

her phone, a professional headshot. "He seems li

a character in a story someo

Chapter End

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His Dutiful Wife, His Undeniable Love

CAMILLE BERRY Romance

“The familiar scent of Texas dust welcomed me home after weeks on a sold-out tour, but my mother's strained smile hinted at trouble. Over chicken-fried steak, she dropped a bombshell: an arranged marriage. Not in some period drama, but right here in the 21st century, between me, Ava Monroe, a musician building her own destiny, and Liam Sterling, the grandson of a man my father saved. It was a life-debt, a "gentleman's agreement" from before I was born, now pushed forward by a dying patriarch. I was blindsided, reeling from the archaic notion. This wasn't some fantasy; it was a contract, turning my life into a political maneuver for family honor. The agreement had a cruel twist: it only stood if I wasn't "seriously involved" with anyone. My single status, a consequence of artistic devotion, suddenly trapped me. They rushed the wedding, leaving me married to a handsome stranger who was meticulous, practical, and almost unsettlingly stoic. He treated me with perfect respect, yet his emotional distance left me feeling like a beautiful, but hollow, exhibit in his immaculate penthouse. Then came Victoria. Liam' s long-time, sophisticated pursuer, who saw me as an obstacle and made it clear I was an unwanted intrusion. A seed of raw jealousy took root, twisting my stomach. Was I just fulfilling a duty? Was he secretly longing for someone from his own world, someone who understood his life without constant explanation? Did he even want me, or was I just the inconvenient fulfillment of an ancient pact? I ran. But as I stood on the edge of a bridge, terrified before a charity bungee jump for all the world to see, facing a very real fear, a single thought consumed me. I desperately wished for Liam. And he appeared. He found me, just when I needed him most, pulling me into a fierce, possessive kiss. "I was jealous," he growled. That simple, honest confession shattered every barrier. He chose me. He always chose me. Amidst the chaos of my public life, my arranged marriage was finally becoming a love story, a destiny I was ready to embrace.”