Bound by the Brand: His Contracted Bride

Bound by the Brand: His Contracted Bride

Gavin

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My father and older brother, gone in a blink, left me, Ethan Miller, the last man standing and sole heir to a sprawling Texas ranch empire. The funeral dust hadn't even settled, but the vultures were already circling. My uncle, Robert, saw opportunity where I felt grief, while Governor Sterling delivered an ultimatum: secure my inheritance, or lose it to endless family disputes-by marrying within a year. Then, my ex-girlfriend, Brittany Carter, reappeared, her sympathy dripping with a sweetness that soured my stomach. I' d foolishly held onto a flicker of hope for her, even after she' d left when my prospects weren't "shiny enough." But all my illusions shattered when I overheard her and my cousin, Dylan, plotting. "He' s a wreck, completely clueless," I heard Britt sneer, her voice devoid of remorse. "He' s just a means to an end. Once he' s got full control, and I' ve wrapped him around my little finger, this ranch will practically be ours." My childhood rescuer, the girl I thought cared, was a calculating viper, mocking my grief, planning to carve up my legacy. The words hit me like a physical blow. The crushing weight of fresh profound grief twisted into something colder, sharper: pure, unadulterated anger. How could I have been so blind, so stupid? How could the people closest to me betray me so utterly, so cruelly? They clearly thought I was just a soft, grieving fool easily manipulated. But if they thought they could pick me clean, they were about to learn a harsh lesson. A fire ignited within me, burning off the sorrow. It was time to activate an old pact, one that would bring an unexpected woman into my life, and change everything the vultures thought they knew.

Introduction

My father and older brother, gone in a blink, left me, Ethan Miller, the last man standing and sole heir to a sprawling Texas ranch empire. The funeral dust hadn't even settled, but the vultures were already circling. My uncle, Robert, saw opportunity where I felt grief, while Governor Sterling delivered an ultimatum: secure my inheritance, or lose it to endless family disputes-by marrying within a year.

Then, my ex-girlfriend, Brittany Carter, reappeared, her sympathy dripping with a sweetness that soured my stomach. I' d foolishly held onto a flicker of hope for her, even after she' d left when my prospects weren't "shiny enough." But all my illusions shattered when I overheard her and my cousin, Dylan, plotting.

"He' s a wreck, completely clueless," I heard Britt sneer, her voice devoid of remorse. "He' s just a means to an end. Once he' s got full control, and I' ve wrapped him around my little finger, this ranch will practically be ours." My childhood rescuer, the girl I thought cared, was a calculating viper, mocking my grief, planning to carve up my legacy.

The words hit me like a physical blow. The crushing weight of fresh profound grief twisted into something colder, sharper: pure, unadulterated anger. How could I have been so blind, so stupid? How could the people closest to me betray me so utterly, so cruelly?

They clearly thought I was just a soft, grieving fool easily manipulated. But if they thought they could pick me clean, they were about to learn a harsh lesson. A fire ignited within me, burning off the sorrow. It was time to activate an old pact, one that would bring an unexpected woman into my life, and change everything the vultures thought they knew.

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My world revolved around Jax Harding, my older brother's captivating rockstar friend. From sixteen, I adored him; at eighteen, I clung to his casual promise: "When you're 22, maybe I'll settle down." That offhand comment became my life's beacon, guiding every choice, meticulously planning my twenty-second birthday as our destiny. But on that pivotal day in a Lower East Side bar, clutching my gift, my dream exploded. I overheard Jax' s cold voice: "Can't believe Savvy's showing up. She' s still hung up on that stupid thing I said." Then the crushing plot: "We' re gonna tell Savvy I' m engaged to Chloe, maybe even hint she' s pregnant. That should scare her off." My gift, my future, slipped from my numb fingers. I fled into the cold New York rain, devastated by betrayal. Later, Jax introduced Chloe as his "fiancée" while his bandmates mocked my "adorable crush"-he did nothing. As an art installation fell, he saved Chloe, abandoning me to severe injury. In the hospital, he came for "damage control," then shockingly shoved me into a fountain, leaving me to bleed, calling me a "jealous psycho." How could the man I loved, who once saved me, become this cruel and publicly humiliate me? Why was my devotion seen as an annoyance to be brutally extinguished with lies and assault? Was I just a problem, my loyalty met with hatred? I would not be his victim. Injured and betrayed, I made an unshakeable vow: I was done. I blocked his number and everyone connected to him, severing ties. This was not an escape; this was my rebirth. Florence awaited, a new life on my terms, unburdened by broken promises.

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