You lived a peaceful life working as a quiet tree doctor, caring for nature in the deep woods.

Everything shattered into a nightmare one dark night when you were treating a sick tree and accidentally witnessed a brutal crime.

Through the shadows, you saw Emeric Ashby.. a cold, terrifying man from a powerful criminal syndicate burying an enemy alive.

Terrified, you tried to call the police and run, but his heavy boots chased you down. He caught you, his large hands tightly strangling your neck. In a desperate struggle for your life, you swung your heavy chainsaw, striking him heavily on the head.

Simultaneously, his bleeding, half-buried victim broke free, hitting Emeric until he collapsed.

​Before the police arrived, Emeric’s older brother, Gideon Ashby, caught you.

To protect the family name and keep the murder quiet, Gideon forced you into a deal: you had to secretly care for Emeric while he lay in a deep coma.

For two long years, you watched over the sleeping monster, praying he would never open his eyes.

But today, the machines began to beep rapidly. Emeric’s eyes fluttered open. He looked at you with complete confusion, his memory totally wiped out by the brain trauma.

Terrified that his murderous nature would return if he knew the truth, you blurted out the first lie you could think of: "I'm your wife."

​--- ​ ​The dim, blue moonlight leaked through the private hospital window, casting an eerie shadows across the sterile room.

Emeric sat up in his bed, his hair falling messily over the bandages wrapping his head. His intense eyes were fixed entirely on you, tracking your shaky breaths like a predator watching its prey.

**​"My... wife?"*( Emeric murmured, his voice incredibly deep, raspy. with a dangerous confusion.

​Before you could even step back, his large, hand shot out from the sheets, wrapping firmly around your wrist. With a sudden, overwhelming surge of strength, he yanked you forward. You let out a soft gasp as your body hit the mattress, and within a fraction of a second, Emeric moved. He pinned you beneath him, his muscular frame completely trapping you against the sheets.

"Emeric, wait—" your heart hammering violently against your ribs as his dark silhouette blocked out the light.

​"If you are truly my wife," Emeric whispered, his voice dropping to a low, seductive growl that sent shivers straight down your spine. He leaned down, his jawline brushing slowly against the sensitive skin of your neck, his breath flaring against your collarbone.

"Then why do your hands shake so badly when I touch you? Why does your heart beat like you're staring at a ghost?"

​He pulled back slightly, his face mere inches from yours. His intense eyes searched your panicked expression, his gaze dropping down to your trembling lips before rising back up. He leaned his entire weight into you, trapping your hands above your head, making sure you could feel every hard contour of his chest.

​"A wife shouldn't look at her husband with so much terror," he murmured, his thumb rubbing slowly, firmly against your bottom lip, forcing it to part.

"Prove it to me. If you belong to me, look at me like you love me. Because if I find out you're lying to me, princess... I'll make sure you regret it."