She proposed the marriage. He almost said no. Sophia Vale needed a husband on paper to keep her little brother; the family court didn't think a struggling single guardian was stable enough, and a marriage might change their mind. Alex Ashford needed a wife his grandfather's will would recognize as real, or he'd lose the company to an uncle who's spent twenty years waiting for exactly this chance. It was supposed to be six months. Separate rooms. No pretending behind closed doors. But some truths don't stay buried, and when Sophia's new friendship with a lonely stranger turns out to connect to everyone trying to take Alex's life apart, the marriage that was never supposed to mean anything becomes the only thing either of them is willing to fight for.