Amaya Leclerc was never supposed to be the bride. She’s Black, sharp-tongued, and broke. When her perfect cousin Amanda runs off days before her arranged marriage to the Moreau heir, Amaya is forced to take her place—just for appearances, just for one dinner. But things take a strange turn when Amanda’s intended, Etienne Moreau, backs out too. Now, Amaya is sitting across from his last-minute replacement: Elias Dubious. The artsy, awkward cousin with a tragic amount of wealth, too many estates, and not a drop of CEO ambition. The man who wears lavender ruffles like a threat, stutters through compliments, and somehow makes her feel like she’s not the wrong one. Her aunt and uncle want her out. The Moreaus want the contract quiet. And Elias? He just wants her to stay. With no job, no home, and no way back, Amaya shows up at Elias’s mansion the next morning with nothing but a suitcase and a sharp tongue. What started as a forced engagement becomes a slow-burn entanglement of shared secrets, impossible chemistry, and a haunting sense that they’ve met before… She was the backup bride. He was the forgotten cousin. But sometimes, the best stories start when everything goes wrong.