Chapter 1

1

On the eve of our wedding, my fiancé's childhood sweetheart was forced into an arranged marriage with the city's most notorious playboy to rescue her family's failing business.

My fiancé couldn't bear to watch her suffer.

So, he crashed her wedding and stole her away right at the altar.

To publicly mark his claim, he even staged an extravagant drone light show that very night to profess his love for her.

Overnight, all of high society was waiting to watch me and the Hayes family become the biggest laughingstocks in the city.

Yet the very next morning, Silas Hayes, the infamous heir himself, intercepted my car in his limited-edition hypercar.

He leaned against my window and drawled, "Your fiancé ran off with my bride. So, I'm taking you as collateral. Marry me. Seems completely fair, don't you think?"

I looked at the bold, dark tattoo sprawling across his neck and shoulder, then smiled with a slight arch of my brow.

"You're right. It sounds perfectly fair."

……

Maybe I agreed much faster than Silas expected.

He took off his designer sunglasses and gave me a long look.

The Patek Philippe on his wrist caught the morning sun, gleaming with blinding luxury.

Equally dazzling was the intricate thorn tattoo sprawling across his shoulder under his black tank top.

The dark lines curved against his pale skin, giving him a wild, untamed edge.

It matched his notorious reputation as the city's premier bad boy.

Truth be told, I had zero reason to turn him down.

With Hayes Enterprises behind him, Silas possessed wealth and influence far beyond my reach.

Aside from his wild reputation, he was an exceptional choice for a strategic marriage.

As for love?

In the world of high-stakes business, love was the cheapest commodity of all.

Silas studied me for another silent moment before tilting his chin toward the passenger seat.

"Get in. Let's talk."

His tone was just as sharp and flashy as his car.

I stepped inside without hesitation.

"Did you track me down because of yesterday's ridiculous drone proposal?"

Silas gave a low chuckle as he hit the gas.

"Who has the time to waste on nonsense like that?"

"Bryce Mercer stole my bride. It's only right that I take something of his to settle the debt."

I recalled the chaotic scene from yesterday.

Bryce had hovered in a helicopter, shouting through a loudspeaker that he couldn't let Leah marry anyone else.

It felt like a total farce.

And I, his official fiancée, had been reduced to a humiliated bystander for the entire city to mock.

I let out a slow breath and leaned back against the leather seat, watching the city skyline blur past.

"Fair enough. So how exactly do you plan to settle this debt, Mr. Hayes?"

"First, we get married," Silas said as he pulled up outside a 24-hour café and pushed his door open. "Let's talk inside."

The café was quiet at this hour.

He ordered two black coffees and cut straight to the chase.

"Let's get the ugly truths out of the way first. I have a terrible temper, I spend money without limits, and I have zero patience. Also…"

He gave a knowing shrug, making the thorns on his shoulder look almost alive.

"As you can see, I'm too wild to ever be a model husband."

He stared at me, waiting for my reaction.

I took a slow sip of my coffee and nodded casually.

"I can live with that."

Silas arched an eyebrow, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

Soon, his careless smirk returned. "You really don't care?"

I shook my head.

"That's your life and your personal freedom."

"We are two independent adults. There's no need to force each other to change."

Deep down, I knew my words were only half-true.

While I truly believed love shouldn't be a cage, it was also true that this marriage was purely transactional.

Bryce broke our engagement, so the Hayes family needed a way to save face.

And I needed a powerful husband to silence the whispers.

Nothing else really mattered.

Silas seemed thoroughly satisfied with my answer.

He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them across the table.

"Here. Keys to the South Hill estate. Consider it our engagement token."

"I've got a lot of fires to put out lately, so I'll be busy. I'll call you later."

I held the cold keys in my hand, watching his tall figure stride out the door.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

What kind of deal was this?

A spontaneous marriage that came with a luxury mansion attached?

Just as I was wondering how to return the keys at our next meeting, someone called out my name.