This is a work of fiction with no connection to real events or real people.

It may contain explicit sexual content.

...

With those initial notes out of the way, let's meet the main characters:

James Weyland

An heir to a major automobile manufacturing empire and the entire Weyland family fortune.

A notorious playboy known for his vanity, good looks, and the constant speculation surrounding his personal life.

He used to enjoy sports, whiskey, and the nightclub scene, but lately he hadn't been going out nearly as much. Everyone said it was because of his mother's illness — but there was something else keeping this playboy trading wild nights out for quiet evenings at home...

James had suffered an accident while playing sports years ago, one that left him with a trauma and an unexpected diagnosis: he would never be able to have children. He kept this hidden from everyone, but the truth would eventually come to light.

Though never confirmed, the press almost always had James linked to some relationship or another — something he never acknowledged, even as he was constantly photographed in someone's company.

The truth was that any woman hoping to be with James should have given up long ago, because secretly, he was already a married man...

Katherine Vieira Santa Maria (Kate Vieira)

Kate was a medical resident on the verge of completing her training. A deeply solitary person, she had grown attached to a terminal patient — Sara Weyland, James's mother. Because of that emotional bond, Kate ended up agreeing to Sara's final wishes before she left this world.

In addition to marrying James, Kate had agreed to try for a pregnancy — to give Sara the chance to have a grandchild. And because of that, she found herself more entangled with James than she'd ever intended.

But that involvement came with consequences. The few people who knew about her relationship with James despised her, calling her a gold digger — after all, she was apparently an orphan who'd gotten into medical school on a scholarship, someone who supposedly didn't have two cents to her name.

What no one knew was that James wasn't the only one keeping a secret. Kate, who went by Kate Vieira, had hidden her surname — Santa Maria. She had a secret of her own: she wasn't just any medical student. Kate was, in fact, a billionaire.

...

It was nighttime, and Kate had just stepped out of the bath. She'd prepared her body carefully, massaging her skin with scented oil before slipping into a set of black lace lingerie.

She dried her hair and tossed it to one side, then finished the look with a sheer negligee that completed the seductive ensemble.

Kate took a deep breath and left her bedroom, heading straight to the room next door — her husband James's bedroom.

She stepped inside, quickly shut the door, and stood there, leaning against it. Despite knowing how to seduce him, she still felt a twinge of hesitation, fearing rejection.

James was lying in bed with his laptop on his lap, wearing nothing but a pair of striped pajama pants. When he heard the door open and close, he immediately set his laptop on the nightstand and turned to look at his visitor.

His gaze traveled over Kate's body involuntarily. She was dressed exactly the way he liked. That sheer negligee revealed so much and yet hid everything he wanted to grab at that moment.

His eyes blazing, he leaped from the bed and reached Kate in a single stride.

She felt cornered by the man in front of her. He seized her arms and pinned them above her head, giving her no chance to move. James attacked her lips in a fierce, possessive kiss.

Her lips were soft and sweet, he thought. Her body was firm and voluptuous. Her scent was intoxicating, and her personality unlike any woman he'd ever been with.

In one motion, James threw Kate onto his bed. Reason had already abandoned him — every one of his senses craved only one thing: to feel Kate intensely.

Kate let out a moan and closed her eyes, feeling her husband's mouth kissing every part of her body, parched with desire.

Even though she'd entered this marriage under unusual circumstances, it wasn't as if she'd married some repulsive man. James was young, in the prime of his thirties — a playboy coveted by high society, not just for his wealth, but for his seductive looks and elegance.

He smelled incredible. His light brown hair was always neatly trimmed, his beard perfectly groomed, and his athletic body showed well-defined muscles.

In bed, he was like a god. He dominated and could send his woman to heaven over and over, tirelessly.

And there went yet another brand-new negligee. Kate let out a sigh as James, in his ferocity, tore through another one of her nightgowns and ripped it off completely.

"James!" she tried to protest, but he silenced her, attacking her lips again, kissing her as though this were the last time he'd ever taste them.

He'd arrived home from a trip that day. A whole week without seeing his wife — his desire was boiling over. He didn't even bother undressing her fully. He simply pulled her panties aside and thrust into her all at once, rough and sudden.

Kate let out a low moan, feeling him fill her completely, and the pleasure of being taken.

James laced his fingers through Kate's, pressing his lips to hers while delivering hard, deep thrusts, driven wild by how quickly she'd gotten wet.

Kate wrapped her legs around his hips, begging for more — begging him to go faster and harder.

Without hesitation, he drove into her relentlessly, his kisses urgent, his hand caressing and gripping her body with overwhelming desire.

Completely consumed by pleasure, Kate couldn't hold back and melted into a long, mind-shattering orgasm.

As she writhed beneath him, James watched, growing even more crazed with lust at the sight of this woman who never hid the pleasure in her expressions.

"More, James! Don't stop — I want more," she said between moans, digging her nails into his back.

He couldn't resist. He took her again with raw hunger and fervor. If there was one thing that undid this man, it was when she begged him between moans to send her over the edge again.

It was three in the morning when Kate woke. She didn't need her alarm — her body, despite being pushed to its limits, still responded to its programmed wake-up at three a.m.

She was trapped in James's arms. He held her possessively, her body pressed against his.

Kate tried to wriggle free, attempting to be gentle so she wouldn't wake him, but it was impossible. She had to push him away.

But he wouldn't let go. A grunt escaped his lips, and he said in a low voice, eyes still closed:

"You're not going anywhere today, Katherine. I'm not satisfied yet. I want more."

Kate took a deep breath, and a tear nearly slipped from her eye. She thought about how James saw her as nothing more than his bedroom toy, his object of pleasure. The only reason he didn't want her to leave was that he wasn't done with her yet.

Kate shoved him and jumped out of bed before he could grab her back. Then she started picking up her lingerie scattered across the floor.

"Kate, stay. I'm asking you." Kate heard her husband's voice and saw him sitting up in bed, watching her. His brows were drawn together, and he looked slightly irritated.

"I can't, James. You know better than anyone that I need to get to the hospital. My shift starts soon."

"You're just a resident, Kate. I don't understand—"

"I'm a resident, but someday I'll be a full doctor. The residency is exactly how I get used to the routine for when I'm practicing."

"Is that really it? Are you just training for medicine, or is there another reason?"

"What reason, James?" Kate looked at him, irritated. She already knew where this conversation was headed.

"Edward."

"Oh, stop right there! I've already told you — Edward is just the chief surgeon at the hospital. And I've also asked you not to meddle in my work, James. I couldn't care less what you do for a living or what you do outside this house. I'm asking you to do the same for me. Stay out of my life. You're not my real husband — our marriage is just an arrangement."

One thing that infuriated Kate was when James tried to interfere with her professional life. She couldn't understand why he'd suddenly become so bothered by her residency at Santa Maria Hospital.

Actually, she did know. It started after he met Edward, the hospital's chief surgeon, with whom Kate had a sibling-like bond.

She didn't believe James acted this way out of jealousy — it was spite. To her, he was a spoiled playboy who saw her as a little toy no one else was allowed to touch.

Kate didn't believe there was any love in this marriage, since the only times they talked or interacted was when they were in bed.

She was convinced that James — a billionaire, owner of one of the most famous sports car brands, famous and handsome — would never publicly acknowledge his relationship with an orphaned medical student.

That's right. Despite being married for three years, very few people knew about the marriage. James kept appearing in gossip-page photos as a bachelor, surrounded by women desperate for his attention.

And while he was out partying, Kate was at the hospital, caring for patients.

So how did she end up in this marriage? Well, it all started with one of the hospital's patients — Sara Weyland.

Sara was James's mother, a patient with a terminal illness. She was so debilitated that all the hospital doctors could do was provide palliative care to extend her life a little longer.

Kate had always treated patients with great warmth and dedication, and from the moment she met Sara, the two shared an inexplicable connection.

Kate had never known her parents, and Sara, despite her illness, was a cheerful, affectionate woman — especially toward Kate.

She remembered Kate's birthday and encouraged her studies. She quickly became a mother figure to Kate, who found in her a taste of something she'd never had — a mother's love.

Sara's dream was that before she died, she could see her son married to a good woman and that he would give her a grandchild. That was all she wanted.

But James refused relentlessly. He didn't want children and was even willing to marry his ex-girlfriend, Miranda. Sara, however, didn't like Miranda and suggested he marry Kate instead, for whom she had the highest regard.

James couldn't refuse, because his mother owned half the shares of the automobile company, and she blackmailed him — telling him that if he didn't marry Kate, she'd donate her shares to a charity.

Kate accepted because she'd developed an unusual attachment to Sara, almost an emotional dependency, and she knew Sara's days were numbered. She figured the marriage wouldn't last long.

But it lasted three long years — three long years that Sara fought to stay alive, all because she held out hope of seeing Kate pregnant.

Sara convinced Kate to try getting pregnant without James knowing, since he'd been absolutely inflexible about refusing to grant a dying mother's wish. Kate agreed to the plan.

Having a child was Kate's dream — to give a child everything she never had. She'd already been considering single motherhood, so Sara's plan aligned perfectly with her own ideas. If the father didn't want the baby, she'd raise the child on her own, just as she'd planned.

And so, for three years, Kate had been trying to get pregnant. It hadn't been hard to get things going with James, which was exactly why she considered him a womanizer. How could a man who seemed to despise her pounce on her at the first attempt at seduction? He was worthless, according to Kate. But she wasn't as tough as she pretended. Her heart was starved for love, and it wasn't long before she fell for James.

Because of that feeling, after leaving the house and standing at the intersection waiting for the light to turn green, Kate felt a tightness in her chest.

A powerful wave of regret washed over her. She kept replaying the words she'd said. It wasn't true that she didn't care what he did outside the house, especially at parties. Every single time she saw photos of him surrounded by women, she was consumed by jealousy.

Yes, he wasn't her real husband — but he could be. She wondered if they should have a real conversation about feelings, about their future. A conversation about the possibility of making this relationship real, after Sara was gone.

Kate glanced at herself in the rearview mirror. She was always in scrubs, her nails always trimmed short, her face bare. She didn't wear makeup or provocative clothes like the women who threw themselves at James. Still, she knew she was an attractive woman — he proved it himself every time he couldn't resist throwing her into bed the moment he saw her.

Kate thought that maybe the reason he wouldn't claim her publicly was her social status — her being apparently an orphan on scholarship. But that was the version of the story she'd told everyone. She really was an orphan, but her financial and social standing was far greater than anyone imagined.

With that thought, Kate decided against going to the hospital. She turned around and drove back to the Weyland mansion. She hoped to find James still in bed and pick up where they'd left off.

Three years into this marriage, and she thought that maybe — just maybe — he had some feelings for her too.