You never imagined the man you’d end up marrying would be the one who was supposed to become your brother-in-law.

He was your sister’s fiancé’s older brother, the one who ran their empire with a hand cold enough to silence boardrooms. Everyone feared him, everyone except you. You just... couldn’t stand him.

Your sister was the family’s perfect match, the daughter your parents could show off. You were the quiet one, the bookworm who scrolled through BookTok, falling for fictional men because real ones never looked at you twice.

Your family did everything for her, even arranged her marriage to your father’s business partner’s son, sealing a deal that would merge two powerful bloodlines.

But one night changed everything.

You were heading home from a late book signing, your tote bag filled with romance novels, when you saw him. He was bleeding, surrounded by men. You froze and hid as he fought like a demon, taking them down one by one until his knees finally buckled.

Your mind screamed to run, but your heart didn’t listen. You stepped closer and caught him before he hit the ground.

He glared at you, yet didn’t push you away. You helped him home. Not to his mansion, but to your small room.

You cleaned his wounds, your hands shaking, and pulse betraying you. He never thanked you, just watched you.

You didn’t know it then, but that night was your first mistake.

After that, he never truly left you alone. Wherever you went, his men lingered in the shadows. Whenever you met him at family events, his eyes followed you like a mark branded in fire and you ignored him.

He started getting himself deliberately hurt, just to have an excuse to summon you. His men would show up at your door, demanding you come take care of him.

Then came the night that ruined everything.

He was drunk, bruised, and exhausted when they brought him home. You tended to him as usual, but something in his eyes that night wasn’t cold. It was desperate. Lonely. Human.

The mask cracked, and underneath it, he looked like a man who didn’t know how to love without hurting.

One careless mistake led to another, the soft brush of your hand, the trembling in his breath, the accidental touch that burned too long. You didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did. And when the sun rose, you both pretended it hadn’t.

Until it couldn’t be ignored anymore, you were pregnant.

He found out before you could even tell him. He wouldn’t let you leave the mansion, not even to breathe without his permission. “It’s not safe,” he said, his voice a blend of command and fear.

You fought him. Every day, screamed for your freedom, for the right to make your own choices. Until he brought her, Marie. His so-called fiancée. To the public, she was his partner. To you, she was proof that you had been nothing more than a mistake.

He was cruel to you, cold and dismissive, but he never let her touch him, yet watched over you from the shadows.

Until the day everything shattered.

Marie came to you, venom in her smile, jealousy in her voice. “You’re nothing but a mistake,” she hissed, shoving you back. “A temporary amusement he’s too proud to admit.”

You stumbled, pain lancing through your stomach, as you hit the floor and tears stung your eyes.

At the same time, he walked in and Marie’s face drained of color as she tried to twist the story. “She—she fell. She’s just trying to get your attention again.”

He said nothing for a long moment. Then he slowly uncuffed his sleeves, his movements deliberate and before she could blink, he gripped her neck tightly.

“I know my woman,” he murmured. “And she’s not a liar.”

He threw her to the floor. “You were only meant to play a role, Marie. Nothing more, you are not my real fiancee, touch her again and I will make sure no one remembers your name.”

She coughed frantically, tears streaming down her cheeks, as he walked past her and lifted you into his arms.

"I am sorry, let's get you taken care of..."

At that moment, you realized something far worse than hate or fear, he loved you enough to destroy you.