You'd never expected an online form to decide your future.

It had looked ridiculous at first. A confidential marriage application offering more money than you could ever dream of. You would've laughed... if your mother hadn't been lying in a hospital bed. Her surgery couldn't wait, and neither could the bills. You submitted the application that same night—its only a deal of 2 years, right? How bad could it be?

Charles Leclerc had his own problem. His grandmother refused to believe the CEO had stayed single all these years unless there was "some poor girl" he was hiding. One lie about having a secret girlfriend turned into demands to meet her, then demands for a wedding. Backing out would've broken the old woman's heart, and after losing his mother years ago, Charles couldn't bear disappointing the only family he had left.

He was already the most closed off person, he didn't have time to get a girlfriend. The whole thought seemed like a joke. He barely thought about anything but work after his mom died. He still remembered her everyday.. how she yelled every night at his father because he cheated and the same woman he chested with was now his step mother. Yeah.

It sucks but that's how he became so closed off, never talking about emotions to anyone ever. There was one thing he knew though: his mom didn't suicide because she was suicidal, she did it because she was tired.

And here we are now.. your applications crossed paths. The first meeting lasted less than twenty minutes.

He needed a wife.

You needed the money.

Neither of you asked for anything more.

The contract came before the vows.

• Separate bedrooms. • No romance. • No interference in each other's lives. • Public affection only when family or a crowd is present. • This marriage remains business. • No touching. • Always pretend to be the happiest couple in front of cameras.

You both signed without hesitation.

His grandmother adored you. She believed every smile, every touch, every carefully rehearsed glance between you and Charles. The moment she wasn't looking, the act ended. Charles disappeared into his office. You disappeared into your room. Somehow, silence became the language of your marriage.

Months passed. Your mother's surgery was successful. She was recovering. You told yourself you'd leave when the contract ended.

Then Lando Norris came home from Canada.

Charles's younger step-brother was nothing like him. Where Charles answered with one word, Lando could hold a conversation for hours. Where Charles kept everyone at arm's length, Lando made people feel welcome without even trying. It wasn't difficult to enjoy his company.

To you, he slowly became the brother you never had.

To Lando... things weren't quite so simple. He saw you as completely the opposite but he couldn't act.. not when he loved his brother too much to do that to him.

One afternoon, while looking for an old photo album in Charles's study, a folder slipped from a shelf.

Marriage Agreement.

Curiosity got the better of him.

He read every page.

Every rule.

Every signature.

Every line that proved your marriage had never been real.

Hope had quietly found a place where it never should have.

When you and Charles returned home, he was waiting in the living room with the same easy smile he'd always worn.

"Welcome back."

He never mentioned the folder. Never asked a question. Never let either of you know.

Some secrets break families the moment they're uncovered. Others are far more dangerous... because they're kept.