Chapter1: THE DEAL
The first time I put a price on my heart, I told myself it was just money.
Nothing more. Nothing dangerous.
One million dollars.
That number sat across the table from me, typed neatly on a crisp contract, staring back like it knew the weight it carried. I could almost feel the papers pulse with the lives it could change… or destroy.
“Read it carefully,” he said, his voice calm, precise — the kind of voice that belongs to men used to getting what they want.
I did.
Twelve pages. Rules. Boundaries. Expectations.
I was to be his girlfriend. Publicly. Convincingly.
No emotions. No attachment. No questions.
Six months.
In exchange, the money would solve everything I was running from—rent, debts, bills piling up like silent accusations, and the quiet fear of waking up every morning with nothing.
I lifted my eyes to him. Ethan. He didn’t look like a man who needed love. He looked like a man who bought solutions. Every line of his tall frame, his tailored suit, and those deep, calculating eyes screamed control. He had no idea I wasn’t used to this kind of power.
“What happens after six months?” I asked, my voice steady, though my hands trembled slightly on the table.
He met my gaze evenly, unblinking.
“We walk away. Clean,” he said. “No questions. No attachments.”
I should have said no.
But desperation has a voice louder than pride.
I picked up the pen, my fingers hovering over the line where my signature belonged. The air between us thickened, like static before a storm. His eyes were dark, intense, and for the briefest second, I felt like he could see straight into me.
I signed.
And just like that, my life changed. One million dollars — mine, in exchange for my presence, my smiles, my pretending. My heart? That stayed unbought… at least, I hoped so.
Ethan leaned back, hands clasped behind his head, watching me with an unreadable expression.
“You’ll learn quickly,” he said. “Pretending isn’t easy.”
I swallowed hard.
No, I wouldn’t learn. Not yet. I would survive. I would follow the rules. I would get my money and walk away.
But sometimes, rules were meant to be broken. And sometimes, hearts weren’t as invincible as they seemed.
I didn’t know it yet, but my heart was already on the line.
