Every attempt pushes him farther away until, with nothing left to lose, I ask the question I never imagined I would.
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Anything… I’ll do anything. Just tell me how I can earn your forgiveness.”
Adrian Ashford’s cold gray eyes remain fixed on mine.
Then he says two words.
“Marry me.”
I stare at him. “What?”
A bitter smile touches his lips. “You asked what it would take.”
I should have known the man I betrayed would never make forgiveness easy.
I’m Emilia Carter.
My father raised me with one purpose: reclaim what was stolen from our family.
Becoming Adrian Ashford’s personal assistant was never about ambition. It was part of a plan.
Get close to him.
Earn his trust.
Destroy him.
But Adrian isn’t the monster I was raised to believe he was.
Cold and intimidating to everyone else, he somehow draws me in. His strength, kindness, and unexpected vulnerability make it harder to remember why I came into his life.
I’m Adrian Ashford.
Emilia is the only woman who has ever challenged me. She isn’t impressed by my wealth or intimidated by my power. Her stubbornness and fearless honesty make her impossible to ignore.
What begins as curiosity becomes love.
While I give her my trust, she secretly carries out the mission she was raised to complete.
Then she discovers the truth.
She was never fighting for her family.
She was only a pawn in her father’s decades-old obsession.
But by then, it’s too late.
Because I never forgive betrayal.
The woman I loved destroyed my trust.
Now she wants forgiveness.
Instead, I offer her a punishment.
A contract marriage.
She’ll live with the consequences of her betrayal every day.
But can two hearts survive a marriage built on lies, or will revenge destroy their last chance at love?
