Ella Umeh is a strong, stubborn girl from a broken home, fighting to survive. When her greedy relatives sell her off to pay a massive debt, she's forced into a marriage contract with Nigeria’s coldest billionaire, Leonardo De Luca, a man known for his money, power, and heart of stone.Leo isn’t looking for love. He needs a wife to fulfill a personal mission,one tied to the death of his beloved sister. To him, Ella is just a tool. A pawn in a larger revenge plan.But Ella is not like anyone he’s ever met.She breaks his rules. She challenges his control. She makes him feel something he promised himself he'd never do again.As secrets unfold and hidden pasts collide, Ella realizes that Leo’s pain runs deeper than money can fix. And Leo begins to see that the girl he thought he could control might be the only one who can heal him.But in a house built on lies, revenge, and tragedy...Can love survive?Or will it destroy them both?

Jude has lived under the shadow of death since he was five years old. Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, he was told he wouldn’t see twenty. Now nineteen, he's angry, reckless, and emotionally numb—pushing everyone away, including his own family. He hides beneath hoodies, behind sarcasm, and under layers of pain, counting down the months he believes are all he has left. Then Mira moves into the house next door. Bright, stubborn, and wildly intelligent, Mira is everything Jude isn’t—hopeful, curious, and unafraid to care. Their first meeting is awkward, their friendship unexpected, but something about her keeps showing up—in school hallways, under rainy bleachers, in quiet silences Jude didn’t know he craved. Despite Jude’s efforts to keep her at arm’s length, Mira stays. She listens when he doesn’t speak, challenges him when he shuts down, and sees through his defenses without ever trying to fix him. Slowly, painfully, beautifully—they fall in love. Not in a perfect, fairy-tale way. But in a real, raw, patient way. Jude begins to imagine more than just surviving. He starts to live—not because he’s healed, but because he’s seen. As his "deadline" approaches, everything becomes more fragile. But instead of a tragic goodbye, the story ends on a quiet moment—Jude looking up at a sky he never thought he’d still be under, Mira’s hand in his, no promises, no guarantees—just the feeling that maybe, just maybe, he’s not running out of time anymore