She was 24 years old, a recent graduate from a well-known university with a degree in pharmacy. This should have been the beginning of a new life. But after her father, Mr. Arun, passed away a year ago, her life changed drastically. Her stepmother, who used to smile sweetly, suddenly kicked her out, throwing all her belongings out of the house without any pity.

And now, the orphanage where she lived was also being evicted and could no longer accommodate her.

"The orphanage is only for children, dear... not for adult women," said the Mother Superior sadly. There was nothing wrong with it, but it still felt painful.

That afternoon, Kinara wandered through an elite residential area in the city center, trying to find a cheap rental, something impossible in such an expensive area. But hope often appears in the wrong places.

Her steps stopped when she saw three boys crowding around a little boy. They were pushing him, laughing at his weakness.

Reflexively, Kinara stepped forward, "Hey, what are you doing?!"

The children were surprised and stepped back. The bullied boy had pale white skin, big wet eyes, and neatly combed hair. He looked at Kinara as if he had just seen a savior.

Then that voice echoed, "Mommy!"

Kinara froze. "W-what?"

But the boy immediately burst into a hysterical cry.

"Mommy doesn't want Aska anymore, does she? Mommy wants to throw Aska away!" His voice broke the afternoon's calm.

Residents nearby stopped. Judging gazes began to rain down.

"Oh my god... she wants to abandon her child?"

"How cruel of the mother..."

"Beautiful, but like that..."

Kinara almost collapsed. "No! I'm not..."

But Aska's crying grew louder until her ears rang. Kinara panicked terribly.

"Hey, hey... don't cry, people will misunderstand..."

Suddenly the boy moved closer and whispered quickly, "If the pretty sister wants to pretend to be Aska's Mommy... Aska will be quiet."

Kinara almost howled. "W-what?!"

His crying became even more piercing. Finally, Kinara raised her hand as if surrendering to fate.

"Okay! Okay! I'm your Mommy! Now be quiet, okay!"

In an instant, the crying stopped. Aska blinked sweetly, wiped his own cheeks, and then grabbed Kinara's hand.

"Let's go home."

"Home?! Home where?!"

Aska turned, pretending to cry again. Kinara hurriedly covered his mouth.

"Don't cry! Oh my god... are you playing a trick on me?!"

Aska giggled, then loudly scared the children who had been bullying him.

"Watch out! This is my Mommy! The most evil stepmother, a monster who eats naughty children!"

The three boys immediately ran away in fear. Kinara held her waist, frustrated.

"Oh my god... what's wrong with you?!"

Aska immediately hugged her thigh.

"Mommy come home with Aska... please..."

Just for a moment, just for a moment, and but that innocent gaze shattered all of Kinara's defenses. She finally nodded in surrender. The house they arrived at was not a house but more like a palace.

A large gate opened automatically, a well-maintained green garden, high glass walls, rows of luxury cars. Servants lined up to welcome Aska's arrival.

"Young Master Aska!" exclaimed a servant. "We have contacted Mr. Arman. We were very worried..." The servant's words hung in the air when he saw Kinara standing next to Aksa.

Aska pointed at Kinara.

"Mommy come inside, okay. If Mommy doesn't come in, Aska doesn't want to come in either!"

The servants simultaneously stared at Kinara as if seeing a creature from another planet.

"Mommy...?"

Kinara wanted to disappear from the face of the earth. She was led into a magnificent living room with sparkling crystal chandeliers. The servants stood surrounding her like security guards watching over a class A prisoner.

Then outside a few moments later, the sound of a car was heard. All the servants immediately straightened their bodies, lined up neatly, and bowed.

The main door opened, a man entered the house with an aura that made the air turn cold. A firm jaw, a handsome face without a smile, eyes as cold as steel, but he was sitting in a wheelchair. Accompanied by his assistant, Rudi.

He is Mr. Arman Pramudya. A young CEO, known to be ruthless in business, cold in his personal life. And now, a soul-searching gaze fell right on Kinara.

Aska ran to hug the legs of his father's wheelchair. "Daddy! This is Aska's new Mommy!"

Rudi froze, the servants held their breath. Kinara wanted to escape through the window. But Arman stared at her without blinking, without a sound, without expression but enough to make Kinara's heart almost stop.

The hanging silence felt so thick that Kinara could hear her own heartbeat. Arman kept staring at her as if analyzing a threat, not a young woman who didn't even know what was happening.

Without taking his eyes off Kinara, Arman said coldly,

"Rudi."

His assistant immediately bowed. "Yes, Sir."

"Ask her... how much money she needs."

Kinara's eyes widened, Rudi swallowed hard, turning hesitantly towards Kinara.

"E... Miss. Mr. Arman wants to know... the amount of money you expect."

'Money?' Kinara felt the blood rush to her head. She stood up from the sofa roughly, making the servants tense up simultaneously.

"What do you mean by asking that?!"

Arman was still silent. His gaze remained cold, unshakable in the slightest. Kinara pointed at Aska.

"Your son dragged me all the way here! I didn't come begging for money!"

'Father? Am I that old?' Arman frowned.

The servants were immediately shocked. Some covered their mouths, some bowed, even Rudi held his chest in shock. Kinara continued, her voice rising uncontrollably.

"I don't need your money! I didn't even know whose house this was until I came in! Aska kept forcing me to come along! So don't you dare accuse me as if I came here to ask for payment!"

The room suddenly became incredibly deadly silent. The servants were stunned. No one had ever heard anyone talk to Arman Pramudya like that.

A senior servant even whispered softly,

"Oh my god... this is the first time anyone has dared to scold Mr. Arman since the accident..."

Arman did not move, did not blink. Showing not the slightest surprise. His gaze changed not to anger, not to annoyance but like someone who had found a new puzzle that he had never seen before. Aska instead smiled widely, incredibly proud.

"Daddy, Mommy is brave, right? Isn't she cool?"

Kinara almost grabbed the child and covered his mouth.

Rudi swallowed hard. "Sir... should I..."

Arman raised his hand slightly, stopping the sentence. He finally opened his mouth, low and flat.

"Women usually come to this house for two reasons," he said softly, but the coldness pierced to the bone. "Money... or attention."

Kinara snorted in annoyance. "Then I'm not the usual woman."

Arman raised his eyebrow slightly as if that was the biggest expression of surprise he could show.

He looked at Rudi again.

"Take her to the study."

Rudi's eyes widened. "To... the study, Sir?"

All the servants turned with disbelieving expressions. No foreign women or even business partners had been allowed into Arman's study since the accident.

Arman looked back at Kinara.

"If you're telling the truth," he said coldly, "you'll explain it directly to me. Without the child's drama."

Kinara gritted her teeth. Aska immediately hugged Kinara's legs tightly.

"Mommy has to come along! Daddy don't be mad at Mommy, okay!"

Arman looked at his son, for a moment there was a soft glimmer but it disappeared as quickly as a breath. Kinara swallowed hard, looking at Arman's wheelchair, looking at his cold gaze, the man had never even smiled since entering the room.

"Rudi,"

"Yes, Sir."

Arman stared at Kinara without blinking, his body tense even though he was just sitting in a wheelchair. The room felt too small, too quiet. Aksa sat beside Arman, looking worried, biting his lip while constantly looking at Kinara, as if afraid of losing the woman he had only known for a few minutes, but who had managed to quell all his tantrums.

"Aska, go out first," Arman said softly but sharply. Aksa immediately shook his head quickly. "Don't want to. I want to be here with Mommy Ki..."

"Rudi," Arman's voice changed to a deeper tone, "take him out."

Rudi nodded. Aksa immediately stiffened. "Daddy, don't want to! I..."

"Aksa." One word that came out of Arman's mouth, cold and flat, made Aksa immediately get off the chair. Aksa immediately fell silent. His tiny eyes welled up, then he bowed his head and followed Rudi's steps out of the room. Each small step sounded like a blow to Arman's chest, but he couldn't waver. The door closed, and the room was again plunged into silence.

Now it was just Arman, Kinara, and the tension that could break at any moment. Arman stared at Kinara for a long time. The woman looked nervous, but did not avoid his gaze. There was something in Kinara's eyes that could tame Aksa. That was a fact, a fact that made Arman decide on something he never wanted to do.

"Sit down," Arman finally said.

Kinara obeyed, her hands clasped anxiously in her lap.

"You know," Arman's voice was soft but full of pressure, "Aksa has never been this calm before. He never stops running away. Never stops... looking for a mother figure."

Kinara bowed her head, letting the words touch something in her chest. Arman continued, "I have no other choice."

Kinara's eyes lifted. "What do you mean?"

Arman locked his gaze. "Marry me."

Kinara was shocked, the chair beneath her almost shifted. Her breath caught as if something had hit her chest.

"W—what?" her voice was almost inaudible.

Arman's face hardened when he saw the expression of surprise. At that moment, his eyes turned cold, offended, bitter. As if Kinara had just laughed at the fact that he was trapped in a wheelchair or the malicious rumors that had been circulating since the accident.

People said there was an important part of his body that no longer functioned. The gossip pierced his pride every day. And Kinara's reaction just now cut even deeper.

"I don't need sympathy," Arman hissed. "This isn't a real marriage."

Kinara froze.

"Contract," Arman said firmly. "For Aksa's sake, you'll be in this house as my wife until he's old enough to understand the situation. After that, you're free to leave."

Kinara opened her mouth, but Arman continued without giving her a chance.

"I'll pay you whatever you want, no matter how much!"

"We'll sleep separately," he continued, his voice like cold steel. "I just need you here, for him, not for me."

Kinara looked at the man for a long time. At this moment, their world felt trapped between despair and faint hope. After a moment, she nodded.

"Yes... I agree."

Without her realizing it, her expression radiated something like relief. There was a small joy, only for a moment, that arose because she really needed a place to live. Needed stability and to be a stepmother, and she thought it was just a job.

Arman saw the change. Saw the small smile that appeared without being able to be hidden. And his whole body stiffened and in his heart, he muttered coldly,

'Right... all women are the same. In the end, all they're looking for is money. Not me, not Aksa, and only... what I can give.'

Arman's gaze dimmed, but his voice remained flat as he said,

"Good, our contract starts today."

And suddenly, Kinara realized that her life had just entered a storm that would never be the same again.

Arman pressed the intercom button on his desk. His voice was flat, without a hint of hesitation.

"Rudi, come in!"

In less than a minute, the door opened and Rudi stepped in. His face was stiff; he knew that whenever Arman called him into the study, there would be an important order.

"Yes, Mr. Arman?"

Arman did not answer. He simply pushed the files on his desk aside, creating empty space, as if the room had to be clean before a big decision was announced.

"We're getting married," Arman said suddenly.

Rudi took a half step back, almost tripping over the air. His gaze alternated between Arman and Kinara, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Ma... married, sir?"

"Yes." Arman snorted softly. "Take care of everything immediately. Marriage registration, schedule at the civil registry, and draw up the contract."

The tone was cold, harsh, a final decision that left no room for discussion.

Rudi swallowed. "Sir... sorry, but..."

"Rudi." Arman interrupted without looking at his assistant. "This is all for Aksa."

Silence hung in the air. Unexpectedly, the sentence softened. There was a heavy burden rolling in Arman's chest every time he spoke about the child—a burden that only he and God knew.

But before Rudi could answer, a small voice was heard. Clearly breaking the tension in the room. The sound of the door hinge creaking softly.

All heads turned. Aksa stood there, half his body hidden behind the door, his cheek pressed against the wood, his round eyes sparkling. He had been peeking since earlier, listening to every word about the marriage.

As soon as he heard "for Aksa", the boy immediately ran over to Kinara like a chick finding its mother.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Aksa hugged Kinara's leg tightly, his tiny face beaming, unaware of how complicated the decisions that the adults in the room had just made were.

Kinara could only respond with a wry smile that was a mix of amusement, worry, and disbelief.

'Oh my god... no one knows what this kid is thinking and how naughty he is?' she thought as she stroked Aksa's head.

From his wheelchair, Arman watched the scene. His fingers gripped the chair tightly.

Because for the first time in a long time, the house was filled with the sound of small laughter that did not come from pain.

And for the first time, Arman decided on something not for himself,

but for the boy who was now smiling in the arms of the strange woman.

The next morning.

The sky was still gray when the doors of the civil registry office opened. The cold morning air greeted the three people who emerged, Rudi pushing the wheelchair, Arman in a neat black suit, and Kinara walking beside them, clutching a small maroon book.

A marriage certificate, still new, still smelling of ink, but it felt like a burden as heavy as a mountain in Kinara's hands. Meanwhile, for Arman, the book was just a legal paper.

Rudi handed Arman's marriage certificate to his lap.

"Everything is complete, Sir."

Arman nodded flatly. There was no happy expression, no bridegroom's smile, no holding hands. Only a sharp, piercing, and calculating cold gaze on anyone nearby.

He turned to Kinara.

"From now on," he said softly, but firmly like a judge's gavel, "you are Aksa's caregiver."

Kinara stopped in her tracks.

Arman continued, "Your job is simple. Take care of him, pay attention to him. Don't act beyond the limits, you are not..."

Kinara turned around, looking sharply at Arman, her voice rising.

"Stop."

Rudi was startled. Kinara gripped the marriage certificate even tighter.

"Don't call me a caregiver."

Arman raised an eyebrow. "That's the reality."

"No." Kinara stepped closer, standing right in front of the man, eyes meeting eyes, one full of fire, one frozen cold.

"I am your wife, Mr. Arman. And I am Aksa's stepmother, like it or not. This marriage is legal. My name is on that book. I will not pretend to be a babysitter."

Arman held his breath for a moment. No woman had dared to defy him so closely since the accident, his gaze hardened.

"This is a contract."

"Contract or not, my status is still your wife." Kinara leaned in slightly, both eyebrows raised in defiance.

"And I will love Aksa... yes, say whatever you want."

Rudi was stunned, even the birds above seemed to stop chirping. Arman narrowed his eyes, clearly displeased.

"You..."

"Like it or not," Kinara cut in quickly, "I am not a robot carrying out your task list. I will hug him if he cries. I will scold him if he is naughty. I will act like a mother, not a babysitter you can fire if you don't like it."

Arman was silent, only his jaw hardened.

The morning breeze blew the ends of Kinara's hair. The woman stood tall, not retreating, not intimidated even though she was facing a CEO who was known to be untouchable by anyone.

Finally, Arman only frowned and turned away.

"Rudi, let's go home!"

His shoulders were tense, his tone was cold, but in his eyes there was something else, something he didn't admit, surprise and a bit of annoyance and for some reason there was interest.

Meanwhile, Kinara followed behind, holding her marriage certificate. With steady steps, with a heart that had not faltered in the slightest.

They were just about to head to the car when a luxury sedan slammed on the brakes right in front of the civil registry office door. The door opened quickly, and out came a young man in a neat suit along with a beautiful woman with heavy make-up.

Kinara froze, she saw the man, he was Rayyan, her ex-lover whom she once loved with all her heart before he stabbed her in the back.

And the woman beside him, she was Mimi, Kinara's stepsister who kicked her out of the house after Kinara's father died.

The world felt small, Rayyan saw Kinara then glanced at the marriage certificate in her hand and a look of disgust immediately appeared on his face.

"Oh," he said cynically, "so this is how you get back on your feet after breaking up with me, Kinara? Find a crippled man, so you can exploit his money?"

Mimi nudged Rayyan's arm while laughing.

"No wonder she disappeared from the house. Turns out you're selling yourself in a new form, huh. A rich crippled man? Wow, Kinara, I have to admit... you can do anything for money."

Rudi looked at Kinara with a tense face, waiting for her to get angry, or cry, or run away. Arman did not react, his gaze was empty, flat, but his jaw hardened. Kinara sighed, then raised her chin.

"What's important," she said loudly, "is that my current husband is rich with a lot of money."

Rayyan immediately stopped laughing. Kinara stepped closer, a thin smile forming on her lips.

"And you, Rayyan? A poor man whose life can only leech off women. What do you want to say about me?"

Rayyan's face turned red. Mimi gasped, not expecting Kinara to be so biting.

Rayyan stepped forward, snapping, "You will regret it, Kinara! Because starting today, I am officially working with a big company, Mission Bar! A company that will make me much higher than your position!"

Rudi turned his head slowly towards Arman. The CEO's face did not change, only one thing was visible, Arman's forehead furrowed. Mission Bar, that company belonged to him. But Arman remained silent, there was no need to explain anything to strangers. There was no need to retaliate. Arman Pramudya did not lower his level. Kinara, without knowing this, just laughed lightly.

"Oh?" She leaned in slightly. "Good for you, but don't forget... you've only been able to get into a company if someone else carries you."

Rayyan was really about to explode. But before he had a chance to get any closer Kinara moved quickly. She stood beside Arman's wheelchair, holding the side of the backrest then said in a sweet, contemptuous voice,

"Let's go home, my husband."

She glanced at Rayyan and Mimi.

"Don't mind crazy people."

Rudi almost smiled, and really almost smiled seeing Kinara's brave attitude against her ex-lover and stepsister.

Rayyan froze, Mimi snorted roughly, her face turning as red as a rotten tomato. Kinara got into the car elegantly, as if those two were nobody in her life. Rudi pushed Arman's wheelchair in, closing the door gently.

Rayyan was still shouting outside, but the sound faded as the car started moving.

Inside the car, it was quiet and felt very quiet. Kinara looked straight ahead, but could feel Arman's piercing gaze from beside her.

A gaze that was difficult to read, a gaze that was either appreciating her courage or was actually assessing her stupidity.

However, that day, in front of her ex-lover and stepsister, Kinara finally felt something that had been lost for a long time.

'This woman is hard to guess, is she crying?' Arman thought as he saw Kinara secretly wiping the sides of her eyes.