LOGINTrapped in a cold, neglected marriage to Julian Sterling, Sarah was nothing more than a trophy, until she survived a brutal attempt on her life. Her old life died that night. Desperate for protection and revenge, she flees straight into the arms of Julian’s ultimate corporate rival: Marcus Kane, a ruthless billionaire To survive, Sarah signs a contract for a fake engagement to help Marcus secure his will and company in exchange for total protection. But the moment they are behind closed doors, the professional boundaries instantly dissolve. Julian is back and trying to win her back and Marcus is a terrifying force at work, but in private, his fierce, possessive touch makes Sarah forget they are playing a part. She is on borrowed time, constantly forcing her heart to remember that this is just a business arrangement. Sarah has hidden her pregnancy and son from Julian, Meanwhile Marcus is not a man to let his prize walk away, how far will he go to keep Sarah?
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Sarah Sterling stood on the sidewalk outside the clinic with the late-morning sun warming her face, and for a moment she forgot how to breathe. Her fingers trembled around the folded medical report in her hand. She had read the words at least ten times already, each pass making them feel less real, not more. Positive. Approximately two weeks. Two weeks. It didn’t sound like much. Barely anything at all. But to Sarah, it felt enormous—heavy with three years of quiet disappointment, of careful hope, of learning how to smile through questions she didn’t know how to answer. She pressed a hand to her stomach, half expecting to feel something different. There was nothing. No flutter. No ache. Just her heartbeat, loud in her ears. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered, the words cracking as they left her mouth. She let out a shaky laugh, blinking rapidly as tears gathered. She hadn’t cried in the doctor’s office. She hadn’t cried when the nurse smiled at her with that knowing, gentle look. She’d held it together until now. Three years. Three years of trying without ever letting herself sound desperate. Julian had never pressured her—never once made her feel like she was failing him—but that didn’t stop the guilt from settling in her chest anyway. The quiet fear that she wasn’t enough. That she was taking something from him she couldn’t give back. A man like Julian Sterling deserved an heir. A legacy. A family. And for a long time, Sarah had felt like a fraud standing beside him, smiling politely at dinners while family whispered about their childlessness She wiped her cheeks quickly and headed for her car, the excitement buzzing beneath her skin. Julian would be happy. He had to be. Whatever distance had crept into their marriage lately—his late nights at work, the distracted way he listened sometimes, the way his phone never seemed far from his hand—this would change things. This would bring him back to her. She slid into the driver’s seat and sat there for a second, just breathing, imagining his reaction. The rare softness in his eyes. The way his hand would rest on her lower back, protective and manly. Maybe he would laugh. Maybe he would just hold her like he used to do. She smiled to herself as she pulled out of the parking lot. She decided she’d tell him tonight. Wait until he came home from work. Make it special. Maybe cook his favorite meal. Light candles. She reached for her phone at a red light and called him, unable to resist hearing his voice. It rang. Once. Twice. Then went unanswered. Her smile faltered, just slightly. He was probably in a meeting. He’d mentioned something about a big deal earlier in the week. She tried again when she got closer to home. This time, it went straight to voicemail. Sarah stared at the road ahead, her fingers tightening on the steering wheel. An uneasy thought nudged at the back of her mind. On impulse, she flicked on her indicator and turned the car around. She had never been to Julian’s office before. He liked keeping his work and personal life separate. He’d said it kindly, without malice, but she’d always understood the unspoken part: she didn’t belong there. Still… today felt different. She parked across the street from the sleek glass building that bore his company’s name in understated lettering. As she stepped out of the car, her eyes caught on a small gift shop wedged between a café and a florist. In the window sat a white ceramic mug, bold black letters stamped across the front. World’s Best Dad. Sarah’s breath caught. She laughed softly under her breath, the sound half disbelief, half wonder. It felt like a sign, silly as that was. She went inside and bought the mug without hesitating. When the cashier told her the price, Sarah handed over the cash and waved off the change, her hands still shaking too much to wait for it. Clutching the bag to her chest, she crossed the street and entered the building. The lobby was all marble and steel, polished to a shine that reflected her back at her in fragments. For a second, she hesitated, suddenly acutely aware of herself. Of her simple dress. Of the fact that she didn’t quite fit. Who would have thought, she mused, that the daughter of a maid would become the wife of a man like Julian Sterling? A man with power that filled rooms without him needing to raise his voice. A man she loved with her whole heart. She approached the reception desk. The woman behind it didn’t look up from her phone. “Excuse me,” Sarah said politely. “I’m here to see Julian Sterling.” “I’m sorry,” the receptionist replied flatly, eyes still on the screen. “He’s in a closed-door meeting.” Sarah waited for something more—an offer to take her name, a polite smile—but it didn’t come. “It’s important,” she said, her fingers tightening around the gift bag. “I’m his wife.” That finally earned her attention. The receptionist looked up slowly, her gaze sweeping over Sarah from head to toe before she let out a small, humorless laugh. “Nice try,” she said. “Mr. Sterling is already inside with his wife.” Sarah’s breath hitched. “What?” The woman slid a tablet across the desk toward her. The digital visitor log glowed softly. At the top of the list was a name written in neat black letters. Genevieve Sterling. Sarah stared at it, her mind struggling to catch up. “That’s—” Her voice came out hoarse. “That’s not possible.” The receptionist’s expression hardened. “I’d advise you to leave before I call security.” For a moment, the world tilted. Genevieve. Julian’s ex-fiancée. The woman who had left him five years ago to chase a glittering modeling career. The woman whose shadow had lingered long after she was gone. This had to be a mistake. The receptionist turned away, already reaching for her phone. A loud clatter sounded from somewhere behind the desk—someone dropping a stack of folders. The woman cursed under her breath and bent to retrieve them. Sarah didn’t think. She moved. Her heels were silent against the tiled floor as she slipped past, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. She followed the hallway instinctively, drawn forward by a sense of dread she couldn’t shake. She stopped just outside Julian’s office. The door was slightly ajar. A woman’s voice drifted out, smooth and familiar. “You’re still as good as I remember.” Julian laughed. It was a real laugh. Warm. Unrestrained. “There’s still plenty more where that came from,” he replied. Silence followed. Sarah’s hand lifted, trembling, ready to push the door open. Then the woman spoke again. “Dom said you and Sarah were trying to have a baby.” Julian answered too quickly. Too cold. “You heard wrong.” Her blood ran cold. “Dominic’s crazy,” he continued. “You shouldn’t listen to shit like that.” A soft, luring laugh followed. “Then you should probably tell him that,” Genevieve said lightly. “Because I can’t exactly be the one to explain that you got a vasectomy for me, can I?” The gift bag slipped from Sarah’s fingers. The mug shattered against the floor, the sound sharp and loud in the quiet hallway. The office door swung open. And Sarah found herself staring straight into the face of the woman who had just destroyed her world.MarcusI’m navigating my way through a thick group of executives in search of Sarah when a very familiar, deeply unwelcome face steps squarely into my path, cutting me off.“What a spectacular party.”Ruby Robinson comes to a dead stop right in front of me, holding a cocktail glass. I should have known the media elite would find a way in, but I hadn't entirely expected the ruthless woman behind the city's most venomous, popular gossip site to personally attend. Perhaps it was completely ignorant of me not to expect her here. After all, she was the exact reporter who ran that devastating, viral piece on me detailing the long string of high-society women I’d taken on dates across the city in the first place.“Ruby,” I muse, smoothly tucking my hands into my pockets to hide the sudden tension in my posture. I know I have to tread incredibly carefully when speaking with a viper like her. If I piss her off even slightly, she’ll be blasting deeply personal, toxic rumors about me to the enti
MarcusAs we climb the grand marble staircase leading into the venue, an immense wave of pride washes over me with Sarah secure on my arm. She is, without a single shadow of a doubt, the most breathlessly beautiful woman in this entire room. Tonight, I get to officially introduce her to the upper crust of New York society as my Wife. It doesn't get a damn bit better than this. Looking at her, I feel an absolute high that nothing could possibly ruin.Planning a high-profile engagement party in under a single week wasn’t ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but I refused to wait. I was entirely ready for everyone in our circle to know exactly what we are to each other. I was on cloud nine the exact moment she finally told me she’d be my girlfriend; it meant far more to me than I’d ever care to admit out loud, even to myself. From the very first moment I spoke with her in that awful, sterile corporate conference room in Los Angeles, I’d constantly told myself to remain cautious in th
VickyThe lobby of the Michigan Avenue condo was a hushed cathedral of white marble and polished brass, a place designed to make anyone who didn't live there feel like an intruder. I adjusted the thick, tortoiseshell glasses perched on my nose and pulled the edges of my charcoal pashmina shawl tighter around my shoulders, making sure my hair was tucked securely beneath a sensible, low-slung beret. I didn't look like a woman with a mission; I looked like a weary arts reporter hunting for a quote on high-end real estate.I approached the front desk with a practiced, harried sigh. The concierge, a man with a mustache that looked like it had been sculpted with a protractor, glanced up from his ledger."Can I help you, miss?""I certainly hope so," I said, my voice dropped half an octave into a professional, breathless cadence. "I’m with the *Tribune*. I’m doing a deep-dive piece on the Kane development projects, and I was told Mr. Kane was staying here for the season. Did I just miss him?
Christian“What’s up?” Emily says, peeking her head into my private office on Thursday afternoon. “You need me for something?”“Yeah, come in a second, Em. Sit down.”She walks in, probably wondering what on earth I could possibly want with her today. I’ve asked so little of her over the months she's been here. She sits at the reception desk and answers a phone that hardly ever rings. She’s been present for a grand total of five meetings I’ve had with potential investors in this office—two of which were **Genevieve**. I told the others, who came after her, that my current growth fund was completely closed for the quarter, but that I’d be happy to talk with them when I inevitably opened my next round of financing.She hasn’t taken a single line of dictation—if that’s even still a thing in modern business. She hasn’t written a formal corporate letter or even made a pot of coffee for me. Most days, I’ve been paying this nineteen-year-old twenty dollars an hour, four hours a day, simply t
MarcusMarcus knew finally fucking Sarah would change things for him, but he hadn’t thought it would feel so catastrophic. The way she wrapped around him perfectly fooled his brain into thinking she was made for him—that they were perfect together. It was a shame she had only promised him to keep u
SarahSarah was completely and utterly fucked. Metaphorically, at least.Physically? She hoped to be by the end of all this.She watched Marcus’s tongue peek out to wet his lips, silently applauding herself for how long she had managed to fight the undeniable chemistry crackling between them. She h
Marcus“You’re sure the interstate is closed up ahead?” Marcus asked, his voice tight with the effort of keeping the SUV on the road.“Would you like to check yourself?” Sarah seethed.Marcus braved a look at her out of the corner of his eye. She was shaking her phone at him, some traffic app pulle
Sarah The meeting had been a bloodbath. Or rather, a clinical dissection. Marcus had excused himself almost immediately after the papers were signed, claiming a "pressing engagement" and instructing Ezra to wait for Sarah. It was a calculated move—a silent permission for the inevitable collision t












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