Curiosity drew him to her; a promise of restful nights brought her to him. Their year-long secret marriage came with simple terms—mutual gain, pure pleasure, no emotional entanglement. Yet he proved possessive in ways she never anticipated. While he claimed the right to torment her, anyone else who dared would face devastating retribution. Observers pitied him, convinced she was beneath his station. That changed the moment her true identities surfaced: a prodigy hacker, a miraculous healer, a phantom operative whose skills defied comprehension. Sympathy shifted. How could such an extraordinary woman bind herself to a man confined to a wheelchair? The answer came when he rose from that chair, unveiling the empire he'd quietly constructed during years of supposed helplessness. Envy replaced judgment as the world witnessed their combined brilliance and magnetism. But fortune's blessing masked a bitter truth she finally grasped—within his heart, she was merely an echo of someone else's memory. Love, she discovered, was poison dressed in sweetness. Believing in it meant surrender.