Overshadowed since childhood—that's been my inexorable role. My sister Catherine commanded every room, hoarded every conversation, absorbed every ounce of parental attention and love. When she vanished, my family didn't hesitate to bind me to Rhys Granger, the billionaire heir they'd always craved. A powerful man. A ruthless businessman. Devastatingly attractive in ways that made you question your sanity. For years, I'd fantasized about him in secret. This engagement felt like fate finally choosing me. Like I'd finally earned my moment to matter, to be the one who actually mattered. Then came the night he struck me over a chipped mug—a worthless thing Catherine had gifted him years before. The realization hit harder than his hand. I wasn't his desire. I was merely a substitute. A warm body filling an absence. Worth infinitely less than broken ceramic and faded memories. I hit him back without hesitation. I walked away without looking back. I prepared for the consequences—my parents' volcanic fury, Rhys's vindictive retaliation, his family's calculated revenge. What I needed was oblivion. What I needed was to drown myself in alcohol and self-pity. That's where he found me. Magnetic. Lethal. The kind of dangerously attractive that makes poor choices feel inevitable. I'd glimpsed him only once before, years earlier in passing. At the bar that night, our eyes locked, and every rational thought dissolved into nothing. I pulled him toward the nearest hotel without a word and proceeded to undress him with all the desperation of someone with nothing left to lose. Reckless. Foolish. Absolutely ill-advised. Also: absolutely the best sex of my entire life. Because my mysterious stranger isn't actually mysterious at all. He's wealthier than Rhys by astronomical margins. More influential than my entire family combined. Exponentially more dangerous to every carefully laid plan I've ever made. And he's decided I belong to him now.