The rain poured relentlessly over the city, turning the streets into shimmering rivers of reflected lights. Ava Hart tightened her grip on the worn umbrella in her hand as she rushed toward St. Mary's Hospital, her soaked sneakers splashing through puddles.

Her phone vibrated again.

She didn't need to look to know who it was.

The hospital.

Her heart sank anyway.

"Ava Hart speaking."

"Miss Hart, this is a reminder that your mother's surgery has been scheduled for tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, if the remaining payment isn't completed before midnight, we'll have no choice but to postpone the operation."

Ava stopped walking.

Her throat tightened.

"Please..." she whispered. "Can't you give me one more day?"

"I'm sorry. Hospital policy doesn't allow that."

The call ended.

For several seconds, Ava simply stood there as the rain drenched her hair and clothes.

Tomorrow.

She had until tomorrow.

If she couldn't find the money...

No.

She refused to think about losing her mother.

Her mother was all she had left.

Inside the hospital room, the familiar scent of medicine wrapped around her.

Her mother smiled weakly from the bed.

"You look exhausted, sweetheart."

Ava forced herself to smile.

"I just came from work."

"Did you eat?"

"Of course."

It was a lie.

She hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon.

Her mother reached for her hand.

"You've been working too hard because of me."

"Don't say that."

"I'm only becoming a burden."

Tears burned behind Ava's eyes.

"You are my family. You'll never be a burden."

Her mother smiled sadly.

"When your father died, I promised him I'd always protect you."

"You already did."

"No..."

Her mother's voice trembled.

"I wanted you to live happily. Instead, you've spent years sacrificing everything."

Ava squeezed her hand.

"I'll figure this out."

"You always say that."

"And I always do."

She prayed that this time wouldn't be different.

Three hours later...

Ava walked out of yet another office building.

Rejected.

Again.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hart."

"We're not hiring."

"We've filled the position."

"You don't have enough experience."

The words echoed endlessly inside her mind.

She checked her bank account.

$214.63.

The surgery cost...

$250,000.

The difference felt impossible.

A car horn startled her.

A sleek black Rolls-Royce pulled up beside the curb.

Its tinted window slowly lowered.

A middle-aged man wearing a tailored suit stepped out.

"Miss Ava Hart?"

She frowned.

"Yes?"

He bowed politely.

"My employer would like to meet you."

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."

"We haven't."

She took a cautious step backward.

"I don't know your employer."

"He knows you."

Every instinct told her to walk away.

"I'm not interested."

The man calmly handed her a black envelope.

"My employer asked me to give you this before you decide."

Curious despite herself, Ava opened it.

Inside...

A hospital invoice.

Her mother's.

Paid in full.

She stared at it.

"What is this?"

"A gift."

"No one gives away two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

"My employer does."

"Why?"

"You'll receive your answer once you meet him."

Ava looked from the paper to the luxurious car.

This had to be a scam.

It had to be.

Yet the hospital seal looked genuine.

"What if I refuse?"

The man smiled faintly.

"Then we'll cancel the payment."

Her heartbeat quickened.

"You can't do that."

"We can."

Silence stretched between them.

Finally...

She climbed into the car.

Twenty minutes later...

The Rolls-Royce stopped in front of Blackwood Tower.

Ava craned her neck upward.

The skyscraper pierced the clouds.

She knew this building.

Everyone did.

It belonged to Blackwood Group.

The wealthiest company in the country.

The receptionist greeted them immediately.

"This way, Miss Hart."

Private elevator.

Top floor.

Each passing second made her more nervous.

The doors opened.

The office beyond was breathtaking.

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glittering city.

Dark wood.

Marble floors.

Luxury in every direction.

Standing before the windows was a tall man in a perfectly tailored black suit.

Broad shoulders.

Powerful posture.

His hands rested behind his back.

Without turning around, he spoke.

"You're late."

His voice was calm.

Cold.

Commanding.

Ava frowned.

"I didn't exactly ask to come here."

He slowly turned.

For one suspended moment...

She forgot how to breathe.

Sharp jawline.

Piercing gray eyes.

Dark hair neatly styled.

He looked less like a businessman and more like a man carved from stone.

Every inch of him radiated power.

"Sit."

She remained standing.

"You paid my mother's hospital bill?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I needed your attention."

Her brows knitted together.

"So this is blackmail?"

"No."

"It's manipulation."

"I prefer negotiation."

She crossed her arms.

"What do you want?"

He picked up a thin folder from his desk and placed it before her.

She opened it.

Her eyes widened.

Marriage Contract.

She looked up instantly.

"What kind of joke is this?"

"It isn't one."

"You expect me to marry you?"

"For one year."

She laughed in disbelief.

"You've completely lost your mind."

His expression didn't change.

"You need money."

"I'll find another way."

"You've spent six months trying."

Her smile vanished.

He knew.

How?

"I know everything about you, Miss Hart."

A chill crawled down her spine.

"Who are you?"

He extended a hand.

"Damien Blackwood."

Her heart skipped.

Everyone knew the name.

The youngest billionaire in the country.

CEO of Blackwood Group.

Feared by competitors.

Admired by investors.

Untouchable.

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to."

"I won't marry a stranger."

"You won't remain strangers for long."

She shoved the contract back toward him.

"My answer is no."

She turned toward the door.

Then his next words stopped her cold.

"If you leave now..."

"...your mother's surgery will be canceled within the hour."

Ava slowly turned around.

Her fists clenched.

"You said the bill was paid."

"I also said it could be canceled."

"You monster."

"I've been called worse."

Tears welled in her eyes.

"You'd use my mother to force me?"

"I'm offering you a choice."

"This isn't a choice."

"It is."

Silence swallowed the room.

Damien slid a pen across the desk.

"Marry me for one year."

"When the contract ends, you're free."

"And if I refuse?"

His gray eyes met hers without emotion.

"Then walk away."

Ava stared at the contract.

Then at the pen.

Then at the man who had just placed her entire world on one impossible decision.

Outside, thunder roared across the sky.

Inside...

Her future waited for a single signature.

The room was so quiet that Ava could hear the ticking of the antique clock mounted on the wall.

Her gaze remained fixed on the contract lying on Damien Blackwood's desk.

One signature.

That was all it would take to change the course of her life forever.

She swallowed hard.

"You really don't believe in asking nicely, do you?"

Damien leaned against his desk, his expression unreadable.

"If asking nicely worked, you wouldn't be standing here."

"I'd rather work three jobs than marry a man who threatens sick women."

His eyes remained calm.

"I threatened no one. I'm simply giving you two choices."

"One of those choices destroys my life."

"The other saves your mother's."

Ava clenched her fists.

She hated that he was right.

No matter how much she despised him, the reality remained the same.

Without the surgery...

Her mother wouldn't survive.

"You planned this."

"I did."

"You investigated me."

"Yes."

"Why me?"

For the first time since she'd entered the office, Damien hesitated.

"Because you meet every requirement."

"Requirement for what?"

"My wife."

Ava blinked.

"That doesn't answer anything."

"It answers enough."

She stared at him in disbelief.

Was this man always this impossible?

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the contract.

"I'm reading every word."

"You should."

She flipped through the pages.

One year.

They would live together.

Appear in public as husband and wife.

Attend family and business events together.

Neither party could reveal the true nature of the marriage.

At the end of twelve months, they would divorce quietly.

Her eyes stopped on another clause.

"No romantic relationship?"

Damien nodded.

"This marriage is business. Nothing more."

She continued reading.

Each month, she would receive a generous allowance.

Her mother's medical expenses would be fully covered.

A luxury apartment.

A personal driver.

A wardrobe prepared by professional stylists.

Everything she could possibly need.

Everything except freedom.

She frowned.

"There has to be a catch."

"There is."

"I knew it."

"My family wants me married."

"So you're using me to fool them?"

"Yes."

She laughed bitterly.

"You're unbelievably honest."

"Lying wastes time."

Ava closed the folder.

"I still don't understand why you chose me."

"You have no criminal record."

"So?"

"You've never sold private information."

"..."

"You've cared for your mother alone for years."

Her heart skipped.

"You've rejected money that came with illegal conditions."

She stared.

"You even returned a wallet containing twenty thousand dollars to its owner instead of keeping it."

She had almost forgotten about that incident.

"You know too much about me."

"I make it my business to know the people I work with."

"I'm not applying for a job."

"No."

His gray eyes settled on hers.

"You'd be accepting one."

An hour later...

Ava walked out onto the balcony overlooking the glittering city.

She needed air.

Needed space.

Needed to think.

How had her life turned upside down in a single evening?

The balcony door slid open.

Damien stepped outside.

He stood several feet away, leaving enough distance between them.

"You don't like me."

She scoffed.

"Is that supposed to be a question?"

"It wasn't."

"You've known me for less than an hour, and you've already manipulated me."

"You'll find I don't care whether people like me."

"I noticed."

The wind carried strands of her damp hair across her face.

She brushed them away.

"What happened to you?"

Damien looked at her.

"What?"

"No one becomes this cold for no reason."

His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

"That's not your concern."

"I figured."

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

The city lights sparkled below.

Finally, Ava broke the silence.

"If I agree..."

"...my mother gets the surgery tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"No tricks?"

"No."

"You'll never hurt her?"

"I don't involve innocent people in my personal affairs."

She searched his face for any sign of deception.

She found none.

Cold.

Arrogant.

Calculating.

But strangely...

Honest.

"I have one condition."

Damien folded his arms.

"Go on."

"You never use my mother against me again."

He considered her request.

"Agreed."

"And you don't control my personal life outside the contract."

"As long as it doesn't affect our public image."

She nodded slowly.

"I want that in writing."

"It already is."

He opened the contract and pointed to the clause.

Sure enough...

There it was.

Ava exhaled.

"I hate how prepared you are."

"I planned this for months."

Her eyes widened.

"Months?"

"I don't make important decisions overnight."

The next morning...

St. Mary's Hospital buzzed with activity.

Ava sat beside her mother's bed, unable to stop smiling.

"The doctors said everything's ready," her mother said happily.

"I told you everything would work out."

"You did."

Guilt twisted inside Ava's chest.

Her mother had no idea what it had cost.

A knock came at the door.

The same suited man from yesterday entered.

"Miss Hart."

She immediately stood.

"What is it?"

"The car is waiting."

She glanced at her mother.

"I'll be back soon."

Her mother smiled.

"Don't worry about me."

Outside the room, the suited man handed Ava a garment bag.

"Mr. Blackwood asked that you wear this."

She unzipped it.

Inside was an elegant ivory dress.

Simple.

Beautiful.

Far more expensive than anything she had ever owned.

"There must be some mistake."

"There isn't."

"I'm not wearing this."

"You'll be meeting Mr. Blackwood's family today."

Her stomach dropped.

"Today?"

"Yes."

"I haven't even signed yet!"

"You will."

His confidence irritated her.

Less than an hour later...

Ava stepped out of the limousine in front of an enormous mansion surrounded by perfectly manicured gardens.

Blackwood Estate.

She had only seen it in magazines.

Damien stood at the entrance in another impeccably tailored black suit.

He looked as composed as ever.

His gaze swept over her.

"You clean up well."

She rolled her eyes.

"That's the closest thing to a compliment I've heard from you."

"It's an observation."

He extended his arm.

She ignored it.

"I'm still deciding whether this marriage is the biggest mistake of my life."

"It probably is."

She stared at him.

"You actually admitted that?"

"I don't deal in false expectations."

A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

For one brief second...

He almost looked human.

Almost.

The mansion doors opened.

An elegant older woman stepped into the foyer.

Her sharp eyes landed on Ava before narrowing with obvious disapproval.

"So..."

She looked Ava up and down.

"This is the woman you've decided to marry?"

The room fell silent.

Ava could already tell...

Winning over the Blackwood family was going to be far more difficult than surviving Damien himself.

Ava stood frozen at the entrance of the mansion as every pair of eyes in the grand foyer settled on her.

Judging.

Measuring.

Dismissing.

The elegant woman standing before her looked to be in her late fifties. She wore an emerald silk dress that probably cost more than Ava earned in a year. Her perfectly styled hair and diamond jewelry reflected the prestige of the Blackwood family.

"So?" the woman repeated, her voice sharp. "Have you suddenly lost the ability to speak?"

Before Ava could answer, Damien stepped beside her.

"Mother."

His tone was calm but firm.

"This is Ava Hart."

"So I've heard."

The woman crossed her arms.

"I expected better."

Ava bit the inside of her cheek.

She had dealt with rude customers before.

She could deal with one more.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Blackwood."

The older woman didn't return the greeting.

Instead, she looked Ava up and down once again.

"A waitress."

Ava blinked.

"You investigated me?"

Mrs. Blackwood gave a humorless smile.

"I always investigate women who suddenly appear beside my son."

"I'm no longer a waitress."

"Because you lost your job."

A heavy silence followed.

Ava's cheeks burned.

Damien finally spoke.

"That's enough."

His mother turned toward him.

"You expect me to welcome a complete stranger into this family?"

"I expect you to respect my decision."

"And since when have you made decisions without consulting me?"

"Since I became CEO."

The words landed like ice.

Mrs. Blackwood's expression darkened.

For a moment, Ava thought the argument would continue.

Instead, another voice interrupted.

"Brother."

A tall young man descended the staircase with an amused grin.

Unlike Damien, his smile was warm and effortless.

His light brown hair was slightly messy, giving him a relaxed appearance.

"So this is my future sister-in-law?"

He extended a hand toward Ava.

"I'm Lucas Blackwood."

She shook it.

"Ava."

"It's nice to finally meet someone capable of making my brother nervous."

Damien raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not nervous."

Lucas laughed.

"Sure."

For the first time since arriving, Ava almost smiled.

At least one member of this family seemed normal.

Dinner was held in a formal dining room that looked more like a royal banquet hall.

A chandelier sparkled overhead.

A table long enough for twenty people sat in the center of the room.

Crystal glasses.

Silver cutlery.

Everything screamed wealth.

Ava felt completely out of place.

The servants placed dish after dish before them.

She barely touched her food.

Mrs. Blackwood noticed immediately.

"Not hungry?"

"I am."

"Then eat."

Ava picked up her fork.

Across the table, Damien silently continued eating.

Apparently, family dinners were always this uncomfortable.

"So," Mrs. Blackwood began.

"When exactly did you two meet?"

Ava glanced at Damien.

He answered smoothly.

"Several months ago."

"Oh?"

"And why have we never heard of her?"

"I value privacy."

His mother smiled knowingly.

"No."

"You value control."

Lucas cleared his throat.

"Mother..."

She ignored him.

"What does your family do, Miss Hart?"

Ava placed her fork down.

"My father passed away years ago."

Mrs. Blackwood showed no sympathy.

"And your mother?"

"She's recovering from surgery."

"I see."

Another pause.

"So you have no family connections."

"No."

"No inheritance."

"No social standing."

"No business background."

Every sentence felt like another slap.

Finally, Ava looked directly at her.

"No."

Mrs. Blackwood leaned back in her chair.

"Interesting."

Ava forced herself to remain calm.

"You seem disappointed."

"I simply fail to understand what my son sees in you."

Before Ava could answer, Damien calmly put down his glass.

"I chose her."

His voice carried effortlessly through the room.

"That should be enough."

His mother looked furious.

"It isn't."

"It has to be."

After dinner, Ava escaped into the mansion's enormous garden.

The cool evening air helped ease the tension in her chest.

She wandered along a stone pathway lined with roses until she reached a marble fountain.

"What are you doing out here?"

She turned.

Lucas approached with two cups of coffee.

"I figured you could use one."

She accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks."

He leaned against the fountain.

"My family can be... intense."

"That's one way to describe them."

He laughed.

"Mother has always wanted Damien to marry someone from another wealthy family."

"I guessed."

"She had candidates picked out years ago."

Ava sighed.

"I'm beginning to think I should run while I still can."

Lucas studied her.

"Can I ask you something?"

She nodded.

"Do you actually love my brother?"

Her grip tightened around the cup.

What could she possibly say?

No.

She barely knew him.

"We're still getting to know each other."

Lucas smiled knowingly.

"A diplomatic answer."

"I've had practice."

"Well..."

He lowered his voice.

"Whether you love him or not..."

"...you're the first woman he's ever brought home."

Ava frowned.

"Seriously?"

Lucas nodded.

"My brother doesn't date."

"At all?"

"No."

"Then why is he suddenly getting married?"

Lucas's smile faded.

"I wish I knew."

Meanwhile...

Inside Damien's private study...

Mrs. Blackwood slammed the door shut behind her.

"You've embarrassed this family."

Damien remained seated behind his desk.

"I disagree."

"You could marry any woman in this country."

"I know."

"Instead, you choose a poor waitress."

"Ava is more than qualified."

"For what?"

"My wife."

His mother scoffed.

"You barely know her."

"I know enough."

Mrs. Blackwood narrowed her eyes.

"There must be another reason."

Damien remained silent.

"I knew it."

She stepped closer.

"This marriage has nothing to do with love."

He met her gaze.

"It doesn't."

"I knew it."

"So stop trying to interfere."

"I won't."

Her expression hardened.

"I'll find out exactly who Ava Hart is."

Damien stood.

When he spoke again, his voice was colder than ice.

"If anyone harms her..."

"...they answer to me."

Even his own mother hesitated.

She had seen that look before.

It was the same expression Damien wore just before destroying his business rivals.

Without another word, she left the study.

The door clicked shut.

Damien walked to the window overlooking the gardens.

Below, he spotted Ava laughing softly at something Lucas had said.

For the first time in years...

A faint smile almost reached his lips.

Almost.

But neither of them noticed the woman watching from the mansion's second-floor balcony.

Her manicured nails dug into the railing as hatred burned in her eyes.

"So..."

she whispered.

"That's the woman who stole my place."

She pulled out her phone.

"It's time to come home."

On the other end of the line, a familiar female voice answered.

"I'm booking the next flight."

A slow smile spread across the woman's face.

"Good."

"Damien Blackwood is about to remember who he truly belongs with."