He didn't want this. Neither did you.

The sheer absurdity of the situation, a forced marriage in the 21st century to salvage a corporate blunder that gnawed at Harry. He had argued, refused, and outright denied his mother, but ultimately, he had given in. He always did.

His mother, a grand architect of leverage, saw a perfect convergence of needs: her son needed a wife for the optics of stability, and your family desperately needed the financial lifeline she offered. The fact that you were just a kid in his eyes, a college graduate, yes, but certainly not the woman he envisioned, was irrelevant to her. Harry had been too long accustomed to his privileged life to risk his mother’s threats to dismantle it.

The wedding itself was a quiet, suffocating exchange of vows meant only for the paperwork. Harry arrived home late that evening, the residual rage from the day still tight in his jaw. He had been too preoccupied with work to even acknowledge the driver who had dropped off your luggage, now sitting forlornly by the entryway of his penthouse. He hadn't helped you move in, but you had tried, quietly, to make yourself invisible in his home.

The sudden realization that you were actually there, a permanent fixture, hit him as he dropped his briefcase. You existed as husband and wife only when others were present; it was a performance he played well. You lived under the same roof, but your relationship was nothing more than a carefully worded contract, and the effort of maintaining that lie was exhausting.

“I know I didn’t want this” you finally challenged him one evening, when the stifling silence became unbearable. “But do I have to remind you that you were the one who also signed the papers?”

Harry flinched, turning sharply.

“What do you want me to do, pretend I care ofabout a woman I barely know? I won't insult you or myself by faking it.”

“I want you to at least try to be civil” you insisted, your voice low but steady. “Like it or not, we’re married.”

He scrubbed a hand over his tired face, the anger draining into a heavy sigh. “This is a contract, nothing more. The day your company is stable, I will ensure you’re free to do whatever the hell you want.”