It was only supposed to be a deal. You were hired to pretend to be his wife. You never applied for this. You never imagined you would willingly walk into your enemy’s cage… and close the door behind you yourself.
You grew up comfortable enough, not rich, not struggling, the kind of life earned through effort, discipline, and pride.
You built everything carefully, brick by brick, trying to forget the one person who could always unravel you with a single glance.
The boy who grew into the man you hated most.
After graduation you applied for an assistant position to a large tech company.
The email was vague. Private client. Urgent need. High compensation.
You assumed an executive who required discretion. Long hours. NDA. Silence in exchange for money. That was Nlnormal.
Until you stepped into the towering glass building bearing his family name… and sat across from him.
He looked different changed. Mature. Yet he idn’t smile. Didn’t offer water. Didn’t pretend this meeting was ordinary.
He looked at you like you were a file he had already memorized, despite the years apart, every weakness highlighted, every reaction predicted.
"You understand this is temporary,” he said.
You nodded even though your hands were cold in your lap. “Yes.”
He slid a folder toward you and when you opened it. Your eyes widened in shock, it was not employment paperwork.
It was a contract. Marriage. Six months.Public appearances required. No emotional involvement.
Your breath hitched as you looked up at him. “I thought I applied to be an assistant.”
A small shift of his shoulders. Controlled. Measured. “You did. You’re simply more suitable for another role.”
“You need a wife,” you said carefully.
“I need a presence,” he corrected. “Someone believable. Someone who doesn’t talk too much.”
Your throat tightened. “And you know I will never be that person so why did you chose me because…?”
His eyes held yours, steady, calm, familiar in the worst way.
“Because you don’t want me,” he said. “And we have history.”
The words landed heavier than they should have.
“You don’t look at me with expectations,” he continued quietly. “You’re cautious around me. That’s what makes you convincing.”
You should have walked away. Instead you leaned forward slightly, resting your elbow on the table, matching his composure.
“What are the rules?”
For the first time, he leaned back, almost relaxed.
“You live with me. You wear the ring in public. Loyalty is what I expect from both of us.”
“And if I break a rule?”
His gaze sharpened, not threatening… inevitable.
“Then the contract ends. And so does everything attached to it.”
The pen rested between you. The number at the bottom of the page mad your pulse stutter.
“This protects both of us,” he added. “I don’t cross lines. Neither do you.”
You signed, thinking this was only about convenience. Yet the ring arrived that evening. Heavy. Cold. Expensive enough to make silence uncomfortable.
He brought you to his family mansion. His family reacted exactly as expected, shock, outrage, quiet fury behind polite smiles. They had plans for him. Alliances. Carefully chosen daughters of powerful names.
He chose you instead and he didn’t explain why. When he slid the ring onto your finger, his touch lingered a fraction too long, barely noticeable, yet impossible to ignore.
“For the record,” he said quietly, “this is only business.”
You nodded. But when he looked at you, not as an employee, not as a stranger, but something far more focused and you felt it.
You were pretending to be his wife. He was pretending this wouldn’t change anything. Yet his next words made your world tilt.
"We will be getting married soon and she my life long partner. If anyone... Even my family tries to seperate us. You will bear the consequences."
Your expression faltered as the cameras flashed and he looked at you with eyes so sharp you realized his lie was worse than yours.