Killian Hawthorne and Seraphina Aldridge's marriage isn't about love-it's a cold, emotionless business transaction. Their families have been fierce rivals in the media and fashion industries for years, and the only way to stop an all-out corporate war is to unite their heirs in an arranged marriage. Killian, cold and ambitious, sees this marriage as nothing more than a strategic move to strengthen his empire. Seraphina, independent and unwilling to trust in marriage, refuses to submit to a man who views her as a mere business asset. They agree to keep their marriage strictly on paper-no love, no attachments. But everything changes when their sharp words turn into heated battles, and their defiance ignites a tension neither of them can control. Seraphina refuses to be tamed, and Killian isn't used to someone daring to stand against him. The fire they stoke with hatred slowly morphs into something even more dangerous-an undeniable desire neither of them can ignore. Beneath their chaotic marriage, buried family secrets begin to unravel-betrayals, old grudges, and hidden agendas far darker than they ever imagined. As they become entangled in a web of deceit, Killian and Seraphina must decide: will they stand together against the lies surrounding them, or destroy each other just as their families always intended? One thing is certain-in this game, no one escapes unscathed.
Chapter 1 The Hawthorne estate was as imposing
The Hawthorne estate was as imposing as the man who ruled it. Towering iron gates opened to an endless driveway, leading to a mansion bathed in golden light, a symbol of old money and power that could crush anyone who dared stand in its way.
Seraphina Aldridge sat in the backseat of a sleek black car, her nails tapping impatiently against her lap. Every fiber of her being resisted what she was about to do, but resistance meant nothing when she had already lost. The moment her father had placed the contract in front of her, his voice cold and emotionless, she had known there was no escape.
"You will marry Killian Hawthorne," he had said, the weight of his decision final. "This is not a request, Seraphina. It's an order."
She had laughed then, a bitter, humorless sound. "You're selling me off like some corporate asset?"
Her father hadn't even blinked. "You're securing your future."
No, she was securing his empire. The Aldridge fashion legacy, which had been on the verge of collapse, would be salvaged by merging with the Hawthornes. And Seraphina? She was just the currency used to pay the price.
The car stopped in front of the grand entrance, the doors opening as if the house itself had been expecting her. She stepped out, her heels clicking against the polished stone. The butler barely acknowledged her as he led her inside, the opulence of the mansion suffocating in its extravagance.
And then she saw him.
Killian Hawthorne stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his silhouette sharp against the city lights beyond. He was dressed in a tailored black suit, his presence commanding, exuding raw authority without needing to utter a single word. When he finally turned, his gaze locked onto hers, cold and unreadable.
"So, you're the woman I'm supposed to marry," he said, his voice as smooth as it was lethal.
Seraphina lifted her chin, refusing to show weakness. "And you're the man who thinks he owns me."
A smirk curled at the corner of his lips. "Not yet."
She hated how effortlessly he unsettled her, how his mere presence carried the weight of inevitable destruction. Killian Hawthorne wasn't just a man-he was a storm waiting to tear through everything in his path. And now, she was trapped in the eye of it.
She folded her arms, her voice laced with disdain. "Let's get one thing straight. This marriage may be happening, but I don't belong to you."
Killian stepped closer, his movements slow, calculated, as if he enjoyed watching her stand her ground. "That's where you're wrong, Seraphina." His voice dropped to a whisper, dark amusement lacing every word. "The moment you signed that contract, you became mine."
Her pulse spiked, but she refused to let him see it. She had survived worse than arrogant billionaires with god complexes. If he thought she would break, he was in for a rude awakening.
Their war had just begun.
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