The rain pounded against the glass windows of the café like a relentless warning, but Alisha didn’t move. Her coffee had gone cold, untouched for the past fifteen minutes. She glanced at her phone again. No messages. No missed calls. Just silence.

She was beginning to think this meeting was a mistake when the bell above the door rang, and a man walked in.

Tall. Impeccably dressed. Eyes sharp as winter frost.

Everyone else in the café seemed to fade when he entered. His presence was not just powerful—it was commanding. Alisha recognized him instantly from the magazines: Ethan Li, the ruthless CEO of Li Corporation, a man who had built an empire out of nothing… and destroyed anyone in his way.

And now he was walking toward her table.

“You’re late,” she said coolly, masking the storm inside her.

Ethan glanced at his Rolex. “Three minutes. You’re early.”

She almost smiled. Almost.

He sat down without asking. No small talk. No smile.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” he said. “I need a wife.”

Alisha blinked. “Excuse me?”

“This isn’t a joke,” Ethan continued. “I need someone who can play the role for one year. We get married, stay married for twelve months, and after that, we go our separate ways. Quietly.”

Her heartbeat quickened. “Why me?”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. “You have no family, no ties, no scandals. You’re clean. And desperate for money.”

Alisha flinched. It was true. Her mother was gone, her father never existed in her life, and the debts left behind by her ex-fiancé were swallowing her whole.

“I’ll pay you one million dollars,” he said. “Half now, half after the divorce.”

She stared at him. “You could have anyone. Why not hire an actress?”

He looked her in the eye. “Because actresses leak stories. You? You need silence more than I do.”

Her fingers trembled under the table. This was insane. But so was her life. Rent overdue. Bank account bleeding. And no future.

“What do you get out of this?” she asked.

“Control of my company,” Ethan replied flatly. “My grandfather made it a condition. No marriage, no full ownership.”

“And love?” she challenged, testing him.

Ethan’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t believe in it.”

She should’ve walked away. She should’ve said no.

But instead, she asked, “When do we start?”

Ethan reached into his briefcase and slid a folder across the table. “Tonight. This is the contract. Read it carefully. Once you sign, there’s no backing out.”

Alisha opened the folder, her hands still slightly shaking. The terms were clear. Cold. Businesslike. Just like him.

As her eyes skimmed the final clause, she froze.

“You will not fall in love with me. Violation of this term will void the payment.”

Her gaze snapped up. “Is this a joke?”

Ethan’s eyes were unreadable. “No emotions. No attachments. Just a deal.”

Alisha hesitated for only a second longer before picking up the pen.

But before the ink touched paper, Ethan added one final sentence.

“Oh, and one more thing...”

She looked up.

“If anyone finds out this is a contract marriage, we both lose everything.”

And just like that, she signed her name—unaware that the man across from her was hiding a secret that could burn them both.

---