A Contract Marriage:Fallen for The CEO

The air inside the tiny apartment smelled of chamomile tea and antiseptic, a scent Khan Coco had come to associate with both comfort and fear. The soft beeping of a heart monitor filled the quiet room, a reminder of the fragile life lying in the bed beside her. "How are you feeling today, Mei?" Khan asked, forcing a bright smile as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her younger sister's ear. Mei offered a weak smile in return. "Like I wrestled a bear and lost." Khan chuckled, though the joke did little to ease the tightness in her chest. Mei had always been the stronger one, despite the sickness that had chipped away at her for the past two years. Lung cancer—two words that had shattered their world and turned every day into a battle. "You should go to work," Mei murmured, her voice hoarse from fatigue. "I don’t need a babysitter." Khan smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "Says the one who cried over a missing stuffed panda last week." "That was a moment of weakness," Mei huffed. Khan grinned but didn't argue. The truth was, leaving Mei alone was becoming harder by the day. The treatments were expensive, the bills kept piling up, and no matter how many shifts she picked up, it never seemed to be enough. Working as a freelance designer barely covered the essentials, and with her adoptive parents struggling to support their own expenses, the weight of responsibility fell squarely on Khan's shoulders. She exhaled slowly, glancing at the stack of medical bills on the small kitchen counter. The red notices made her stomach churn. There was no miracle coming, no hidden inheritance, no last-minute solution. She needed money—fast. Her phone buzzed, breaking her thoughts. A message from her best friend, Sophie, lit up the screen. Sophie: Girl, you will NOT believe the kind of deal I just heard about. Khan arched a brow. Not now, Soph. Busy having an existential crisis. The reply came almost immediately. Sophie: What if I told you there’s a billionaire willing to pay a fortune for a wife? Khan snorted. Sounds like a plot twist in a bad romance novel. But as her gaze drifted back to Mei’s fragile frame, the weight of their reality pressed down on her. Desperate times called for desperate measures. And maybe, just maybe, this was the answer she had been searching for.