Chapter 1 — The Contract Maya Anderson had learned that life could change in a single phone call. She stood outside the hospital room, staring through the glass at her mother lying unconscious on the bed. The doctor had told her the surgery could save her, but it would cost forty thousand dollars. Forty thousand. Maya barely had enough money to buy food. Her father had died three months earlier, leaving behind debts she couldn't understand and a pile of unanswered questions. She had sold almost everything she owned, but it still wasn't enough. Her phone rang. “Miss Anderson?” “Yes?” “This is Blake Holdings. Mr. Adrian Blake would like to meet you.” Maya frowned. “Why?” “I wasn't given permission to say.” She almost refused. But something about the name made her pause. Adrian Blake. Everyone knew him. At twenty-nine, he was one of the youngest billionaires in the country and the ruthless owner of Blake Holdings. Newspapers called him cold, untouchable, and impossible to impress. Maya had never expected to meet him. Yet that evening, she found herself standing inside the lobby of Blake Tower. The building seemed to stretch into the clouds. A man in a black suit approached her. “Miss Anderson? This way.” Maya followed him into a private elevator. When the doors opened, she entered a huge office surrounded by glass windows. Adrian Blake stood with his back to her, looking over the city. He turned. Maya forgot what she wanted to say. He was even more intimidating in person. Tall. Perfectly dressed. Sharp eyes that seemed capable of seeing through every lie. “You're Maya Anderson.” “Yes.” Adrian studied her for several seconds. “You look like your father.” Maya stiffened. “You knew my father?” “I did.” Her heart began beating faster. “Then tell me what happened to him.” Adrian's expression hardened. “Your father wasn't the simple businessman you believed he was.” Maya stared at him. “What does that mean?” “It means his death wasn't an accident.” Silence filled the room. Maya shook her head. “That's impossible.” “I wish it were.” Adrian walked toward his desk and placed a file in front of her. “Your father was involved with people who are still looking for something he took from them.” Maya opened the file with trembling hands. Photographs. Documents. Names. And one name she recognized immediately. Victor Kane. Her father's former business partner. “What does this have to do with me?” she whispered. Adrian's eyes met hers. “Everything.” Maya closed the file. “I don't understand.” “Your father left behind a debt. But he also left behind a secret.” “And you know what it is?” “Yes.” “Then why don't you tell me?” “Because knowing it could put you in danger.” Maya stood. “Then why did you bring me here?” Adrian remained silent for a moment. Then he said something that made her heart stop. “I want you to marry me.” Maya stared at him. “What?” “A one-year marriage.” She laughed nervously, certain she had misunderstood. “You're joking.” “I don't joke about business.” “Why would a billionaire want to marry me?” “Because I need a wife.” “That doesn't explain why me.” Adrian's gaze became colder. “Your father made an agreement with my family years ago. That agreement ended with his death. Now I need to protect what remains of it.” Maya shook her head. “No.” Adrian didn't react. “I'll pay for your mother's surgery.” She froze. “You know about my mother?” “I know you need forty thousand dollars.” Maya's pride fought against desperation. “You're asking me to sell myself.” “No,” Adrian said quietly. “I'm offering you a contract.” He pushed a document across the desk. “One year. We remain married in public. Outside these walls, we live separate lives. No love. No questions. No expectations.” Maya stared at the contract. At the bottom was one figure. $40,000. The exact amount she needed. Her hands trembled. She hated that she was considering it. But then she remembered her mother lying helplessly in that hospital bed. “What happens after one year?” she asked. “We divorce.” “And nobody knows this marriage is fake?” “Exactly.” Maya picked up the pen. Before signing, she looked at Adrian. “There is one thing I want to know.” “What?” “Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me?” For the first time, something flickered across Adrian's face. Fear. It disappeared almost instantly. “You're asking too many questions already.” Maya lowered her eyes to the contract. Then she signed. Neither of them noticed the figure standing outside the office door. Victor Kane. He watched Maya leave with a dark smile. “So,” he whispered, “the Anderson girl finally belongs to Adrian Blake.” He pulled out his phone. “Tell them the marriage has begun.” Inside the office, Adrian stared at Maya's signature. He knew he had just made the biggest mistake of his life. Because there was one truth he hadn't told her. He hadn't chosen Maya

The Girl I Wasn't Supposed to LoveChapter One — The Girl in the RainDavid hated rainy mornings.He hated the way the sky turned dark without warning. He hated wet shoes, muddy roads, and crowded buses.Most of all, he hated how rain always seemed to make his already difficult life a little harder.He stood beneath the tiny roof of a roadside shop, staring at the rain pouring onto the street.His shirt was damp.His shoes were already soaked.And his phone battery was at eight percent.“First day at work,” he muttered. “Amazing.”He checked the time again.7:42 a.m.His interview had been three weeks ago. After months of sending applications and hearing nothing back, he had finally gotten a job.It wasn't a dream job.It wasn't even close.But it was a beginning.And David desperately needed a beginning.His mother's words from the previous night came back to him."Don't be late on your first day. First impressions matter."David smiled.“I'm trying, Mum.”A sudden splash pulled him out of his thoughts.A black car had stopped beside the road.The rear door opened.A woman stepped out.David barely noticed her at first.Then she turned.And he forgot about the rain.She looked around his age, maybe a year or two older. Her dark hair fell loosely around her shoulders, slightly damp from the rain. She wore a simple white blouse tucked into black trousers, with a small handbag hanging from her shoulder.Nothing about her outfit was extravagant.Yet she carried herself differently.Confident.Calm.Like the entire world had been arranged for her convenience.David looked away.Don't stare.He looked back.Okay. One more second.The woman took a step forward.Her shoe slipped on the wet pavement.“Whoa—!”David reacted before he could think.He rushed forward and caught her by the arm.For one strange second, everything seemed to slow down.Her body stopped against his.Her hand landed on his chest.His hand was around her waist.Their faces were only inches apart.David stopped breathing.She looked up at him.He looked down at her.Neither of them moved.Then she blinked.“Are you going to let me fall now?”David immediately released her.“Sorry.”She steadied herself and adjusted her blouse.“You should be.”David frowned.“Wait. You almost fell.”“And you caught me.”“Yes.”“So why are you apologizing?”“I don't know.”A tiny smile appeared on her lips.“You're strange.”David laughed.“That's what you got from that?”“It's my first impression.”“That's not fair. You nearly fell into the road.”“And you nearly dropped me.”“I didn't.”“You almost did.”“I definitely didn't.”She laughed.And somehow, that small sound made David smile too.For a moment, the rain didn't seem so annoying.She looked at him carefully.“What's your name?”“David.”“Just David?”He raised an eyebrow.“Do you want my surname too?”“Maybe.”“Why?”“So I can properly thank the man who saved me from embarrassing myself.”David smiled.“David Williams.”She nodded.“Amara.”“Amara what?”She smiled.“Just Amara.”David laughed.“Now you're copying me.”“Maybe.”Before he could respond, the car horn sounded.A man in the driver's seat leaned toward the window.“Miss Amara, we're going to be late.”Amara glanced at the car.Then back at David.“Looks like I have to go.”“Right.”She took a step toward the car.Then stopped.“You're going somewhere too?”David looked down at his soaked shoes.“First day at work.”“Really?”“Yeah.”“Where?”David pointed toward the tall glass building across the road.“Northstar Holdings.”Amara's expression changed.Only for a second.But David noticed.“You know it?”She looked away.“Yes.”“Do you work there?”She hesitated.“Something like that.”David laughed.“What does that mean?”“It means I know the place.”Before David could ask another question, she opened the car door.“Good luck on your first day, David.”“Thanks.”She got inside.The door closed.The car pulled away.David stood there watching it disappear into traffic.He shook his head.“What just happened?”He looked at the road.Then at his watch.7:51 a.m.“Forget it.”He ran toward the company building.Twenty minutes later, David walked into Northstar Holdings looking like he had just survived a storm.Because he had.The receptionist looked at him.Then at his shoes.Then back at his face.“First day?”David sighed.“Is it that obvious?”She smiled.“Very.”He gave her the paperwork from HR.“I'm David Williams. I'm supposed to report to the marketing department.”She checked the document.“Twenty-third floor.”“Thank you.”He headed toward the elevator.The doors opened.David stepped inside.Just before the doors closed, a hand stopped them.He looked up.A tall man in an expensive suit entered.He didn't say anything.He simply pressed a button.David stood quietly beside