Why Is Hidden Marriage A Popular Trope In Romance Books?

She was never meant to be found. But fate had other plans. After a DNA test confirms that Maya is the long-lost daughter of a powerful tycoon, her entire world turns upside down. One moment, she’s living a quiet life in the countryside with her mother. The next, she’s thrown into a mansion filled with secrets, cold stares, and a family that sees her as nothing but an inconvenience. Her new family wants nothing to do with her except to use her. And when the family’s spoiled daughter refuses an arranged marriage to a crippled billionaire, Maya becomes the perfect replacement. But the crippled billionaire is not what he seems. Beneath the arrogance and the wheelchair lies a man with secrets. And when sparks begin to fly, and the truth behind the DNA test starts to unravel, Maya discovers that not everything about her new life is a lie… Will their love survive when family, fortune and betrayal stand in the way or will they be torn apart?

"This is my first time... it hurts... oh, it’s bleeding..." Allie winced as a cut from the kitchen knife throbbed on her finger. Liam glanced at her, his face full of concern, and applied the medicine with a sharp, almost angry tone: "I’ve told you not to go near the kitchen! Just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll make it for you!" For Allie, her 20th birthday gift was discovering her boyfriend's betrayal with her best friend in bed. Furious, she turned her back on Nick and married Liam Hart, the city’s most influential and untouchable man. From that moment, she faced endless challenges: Nick’s constant manipulations, Liam’s family scheming against her, and the toxic people in their lives. Everyone sees Liam as the perfect, doting husband—no one knows the price she pays for his love. Exhausted, Allie faced Liam one night, her voice trembling with frustration: "Liam Hart, you are a monster in disguise." Liam, looking hurt, replied with a soft grin, “You wound me, darling. How could I possibly be a monster when I’m the one who’s supposed to protect you?”

Within 30 days, Niccolò Romano and I registered for divorce 18 times. The first time, Niccolò's adopted sister stole my research results, but he hired a lawyer to fight for her. Afterwards, he held me and coaxed, "If something happens to Lia, no one will dare to hire her in the future. I'm just helping her." The second time, while my plane was in distress, he was traveling around the world with Lia. His tone was helpless: "Lia has depended on me since she was little. I only look after her like a younger sister." The last time, Lia was pregnant with a child no one would claim, and he took responsibility for it. Faced with my accusation, he just sighed, a bit tired: "Lia's career is just starting to take off. If someone blackmails her with the child, her life will be ruined." "You're a woman too. Can't you understand?" This time, I didn't cry or make a scene. Instead, I calmly signed my name on the divorce agreement that he had signed in a fit of pique some time ago. Then I called my professor: "I've thought it over. I'm willing to go with you to Iceland to do research."

Isabella Carter never imagined she’d become a secret wife to a billionaire—especially not to Alexander Kingston, the ruthless and dangerously handsome CEO who sees marriage as nothing more than a business deal. Desperate to escape her stepmother’s schemes, Isabella agrees to a contract marriage, thinking she can remain invisible in Alexander’s world. But the longer she stays, the harder it becomes to ignore the fire between them—and the way his piercing blue eyes darken whenever she’s near. Just when she starts to believe their cold arrangement might turn into something real, a shocking truth is exposed—one that threatens to destroy everything. Now, Isabella must decide: Does she fight for a love that was never supposed to exist? Or walk away before she loses herself to the billionaire who was never meant to be hers?

Marriage is like a company contract that is worth a hefty sum of money in which it should be carefully thought of before affixing one's signature. Her life was full of lies and mysteries. Lies that were formed and used just to protect her and mysteries from her past, the past that she had already forgotten because of an incident that cause his brother's life. Eight years later, she was arranged in a marriage to her English Professor through the alliance of her Grandfather and her soon-to-be husband's Grandmother. But the said alliance is just a cover up to protect her from someone. Someone that can either tell her the truth or cause destruction to her peaceful life.

The rules were simple: marry Max Hult and bring us the documents. That was the deal Mia agreed to, one year to uncover a secret buried deep within the estate of Max Hult, the reclusive billionaire who shuns the spotlight. But the deeper she gets into his world of quiet power and hidden scars, the harder it becomes to remember which side she’s on. What began as a scam marriage soon spirals into something far more dangerous, something that could cost her not just her freedom, but her heart.