Vivian_Chisom

Ava Monroe thought she was signing a lifeline, a contract marriage to Ethan Kingsley, the billionaire heir with ice in his veins and secrets in his eyes. 
In exchange for saving her family's legacy, she agreed to play the perfect wife. No strings. No feelings. No questions.
But nothing about Ethan is simple.
Behind the flawless smiles and public displays lies a web of power, betrayal, and buried pain. 
As Ava steps deeper into Ethan’s cold world of calculated deals and media deception, she discovers that the most dangerous game isn’t love, it’s pretending not to need it.
And when secrets from their pasts begin to surface, old flames, hidden alliances, and a shadowy threat watching their every move, their façade begins to crack.
What started as a contract may end in obsession.
Because when hearts are locked in a battle of lies and longing… someone always gets burned.

HIS PERFECT CONTRACTED WIFE

Three minutes before they realized I'd slipped out of the compound.

Three minutes before the sedative they gave me was supposed to kick in, before I dumped it into the potted plant when no one was looking.

Three minutes to rewrite everything.

The moonlight was fractured through the dense canopy of trees as I sprinted barefoot down the slope behind the estate, every thorn in the earth a sharp reminder that I was still free. Still alive. Still in control, for now.

My lungs burned, and the cold air stabbed at my throat, but I didn't stop. Not even as I heard the faint click of motion sensors behind me activating one after another.

But they didn't know I remembered.

That final whisper from my mother before I "collapsed" hours earlier had triggered everything. "It's not personal, darling. We're just reclaiming our asset."

RUNNING ON REMEMBERED FIRE AND THE MOMENT I HEARD YOU