Melissa Antonio faced many bills, including a large hospital bill for her father's treatment. Desperate to save him, she agreed to a contract marriage with a rich businessman. She didn’t know that this man was connected to her best friend. As Melissa started to develop feelings for Knight Stain, she wondered if their contract marriage would become something more. Would she lose everything she worked for because of her best friend?

“I don’t marry cowards.” Those were the first words the most feared mafia boss in New York said when he discovered the beautiful stranger standing at the altar in his brother’s place. Leonard Moretti had spent his entire life being the perfect son of his family. Quiet, refined, obedient, and never troublesome. So when his older brother disappeared hours before the wedding, his family gave him a choice: take his brother’s place and marry the ruthless mafia king, or watch their family pay for the broken alliance with blood. Terrified, Leonard agreed. Everyone knew what kind of man waited for him at the other end of the aisle. Damien Russo. The ruthless head of the Russo crime family. A man whispered about in dark alleys and private clubs, whose enemies disappeared without a trace and a man who had never forgiven betrayal. From that moment on, Leonard found himself trapped inside Damien's dangerous world, surrounded by armed guards, ruthless enemies, family secrets, and a husband who terrified everyone except, strangely, him. Damien had agreed to the marriage for one reason: peace between two powerful families. He never expected to become obsessed with the one man who had been sent to him as a replacement and Leonard never expected the monster he feared to be the only person who would protect him. But their marriage is built on a lie. Someone inside Leonard's family orchestrated the original betrayal, and the substitute groom was never meant to survive the alliance. Now enemies are closing in, blood is being spilled, and Damien must uncover the truth before the man he has sworn to protect becomes the next victim because Leonard was supposed to be nothing more than his brother's replacement. Instead, he became the only person the Mafia Boss would destroy the world to keep.