When our paths crossed, animosity ignited instantly between us. Mykel Creed—a devastatingly handsome billionaire CEO wrapped in arrogance and shallow charm—wasn't the type to surrender his heart. Yet I, Adley Kross, a fiercely independent woman who rejected the family empire, did the unthinkable: I proposed to a complete stranger for my inheritance. Desperation drives poor decisions. Marrying him was mine. The contract seemed straightforward until reality proved otherwise. My carefully constructed walls crumbled as his touch ignited something primal within me. Every kiss deepened the betrayal of my own resolve. My heart refused to obey the logic that brought me to his penthouse, his bed, his life. *** Wealth and conquest consumed my existence until Adley Kross demanded the impossible—marriage to the woman who wielded her words like weapons against me. I should have refused. I didn't. She challenged everything I believed about myself. Those silver eyes haunted my every decision, her body against mine more intoxicating than any empire I'd built. What started as a transaction became an obsession I couldn't control. Bound by contract, enslaved by desire, I discovered that possessing her mattered far more than possessing billions. But admitting that truth could destroy us both—or finally set us free.