He needed a wife to keep his daughter. She agreed to protect the child— Not knowing she’d lose her heart. When cold, calculated Dr. Alexander Hale is forced to marry to win custody of his daughter, he turns to the kind-hearted waitress his child adores. Emma agrees—but only to shield the little girl from her selfish mother. What starts as a contract becomes something deeper. But their deal has an end date. And when the time comes… will walking away be so easy?

Ava Carter never expected her scholarship to the prestigious Blackwood Academy to be a living nightmare. Among the children of billionaires and business moguls, she is nothing but an unwanted stain on their world of privilege. From the moment she steps through the grand gates, she becomes their favorite target—mocked for her secondhand clothes, her small-town manners, and her family’s struggling laundry shop. And leading the charge is Adrian Blackwood—the school’s golden boy, heir to a vast empire, and her most ruthless tormentor. Cold, cruel, and untouchable, Adrian seems to enjoy making her life hell. Yet behind his smirks and cruel words, there’s something else in his gaze—something dark, something forbidden. But just when Lily thinks she understands the rules of this twisted game, the lines begin to blur. A mysterious savior shields her from the worst of the torment, secret glances burn with something deeper than hate, and stolen moments reveal cracks in Adrian’s perfect facade. Then comes the ultimate betrayal. When Lily’s reputation is destroyed by a vicious scandal, Adrian has the power to clear her name—but instead, he remains silent, choosing his status over the one girl he swore he didn’t care about. Shattered and humiliated, Lily leaves, vowing never to look back. But fate isn’t done with them yet. Years later, when their worlds collide again, Adrian is no longer the untouchable heir—he is a man who has lost everything. And this time, he will stop at nothing to win back the girl he never should have let go. In a world where wealth dictates fate, can love truly survive betrayal, power, and the scars of the past?