Authoress_Dovey

✨ Synopsis/ Blurb ✨

She was the forgotten daughter. He was the Ice Prince.
A contract bound them — love was forbidden. But hearts don’t follow rules.

When the Smith family fails to repay a decades-old debt, Florida — the illegitimate, unwanted daughter — is forced into a contract marriage with Bryant Kings, heir to the most powerful fashion empire in the state.

He hates her on sight.
She’s invisible in his world — uninvited, unloved, and bound to his name.
But behind closed doors, she sketches quietly, dreaming of a future where her designs speak louder than her silence.

Their marriage has rules:
No love. No scandal. No public affection — unless the family’s watching.

Then a single photo changes everything.

As secrets build and feelings grow, Florida must choose:
Disappear forever… or finally become someone the world can’t ignore.

And Bryant?
He’ll learn the hard way — even ice melts when touched by the right fire.

MARRIED TO MY ENEMY'S SON

📖 CHAPTER 31: The Night She Didn't Sleep

Setting: Late Night, Florida's Room

Florida lay on her side, eyes wide open, staring at the cracked ceiling above her bed. Her sheets tangled around her like a noose, damp with the heat of breath she couldn't steady.

A rhythmic knock. A muffled moan. Laughter that wasn't soft — it was calculated, sharp, like a blade slicing her in half.

She didn't have to ask who. The voice pretending to be coy. The low grunt that followed. It was Liza. It was Bryant.

Florida pressed her pillow hard over her ears, suffocating the sound and the pride she was trying to protect. But the walls were old. The house was cruel.

The laughter grew louder — exaggerated now, almost theatrical. Liza wanted her to hear. She wanted to haunt her.

Florida sat up slowly, pulled the pillow away, and got out of bed. Barefoot, she walked to the window, arms wrapped around herself, cold but refusing to shiver.

Instead, she whispered to the glass pane as if speaking to a god she didn't believe in anymore.

> "Louder… if you think I'll break that easy."

She came down the stairs dressed in soft beige, her collar high enough to hide the bruise that hadn't faded from Bryant's last outburst. Her eyes were swollen — not from tears, but from not sleeping.

At the table, Liza sat cross-legged on the dining chair like a queen in a robe that used to be Florida's. She was feeding Bryant pancakes like he was some obedient boy who'd finally learned to play nicely.

Bryant didn't look up. He cut his food with too much force, knife clashing with porcelain.

> "Oh dear," Liza cooed as Florida entered. "You look tired. Didn't sleep well?"

Florida took her seat without blinking. "The house is old. It creaks a lot at night."

> Liza smiled too wide. "Or maybe… it cries."

Florida picked up her fork, calm and graceful.

No one noticed how tight her grip was.

Chapter 31