Contract Marriage With That Ruthless CEO

Contract Marriage With That Ruthless CEO

Xiao Hong Mao

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My life was a perfectly curated dream. Three years with Ethan, a diamond on my finger, and a wedding just a week away-timed perfectly with my family's groundbreaking AI launch that he was a key part of. I, Ava Riley, the brilliant architect, had given him everything-my heart, my connections, my family' s influence. Then, he walked into our penthouse, his face grim, and shattered it all. "It' s Chloe," he said, his ex-girlfriend. "Her mother is dying. Her last wish is to see Chloe get married. To me." My fiancé was going to marry his ex-girlfriend days before our wedding, and he told me with clinical detachment, as if discussing a logistical minor issue. He said it was "filial piety," just "a ceremony, a piece of paper." He expected me to accept this monstrous betrayal, to be "reasonable." My heart didn' t just break, it congealed into ice. I was not his partner; I was a business asset, a temporary stepping stone in his grand design. The humiliation thickened when he had the audacity to suggest using our pre-paid waterfront wedding venue for his impromptu ceremony with Chloe. And then, his true colors emerged. As I refused, his charm vanished, replaced by ugly entitlement, culminating in his fingers digging into my arm. "You have until Saturday to come to your senses," he snarled. "You can either accept this with grace, or you can fight it and lose everything." That physical threat, the raw intimidation, was the final severance. The man I loved was gone, if he ever existed. Only a calculating, abusive stranger remained. I wouldn' t be his victim, nor a footnote in his story. No, I would not cry. I would not scream. I calmly called my brother, Liam. "The wedding is still on for next Saturday," I stated. "Find me a different groom." There was only one man who could make a statement, someone Ethan feared, someone who held a grudge as deep as mine: Lucas Thorne, my family's fiercest rival, a ruthless tech mogul. My brother had one simple question: "Are you sure? He's ruthless." My answer was already forming: "So am I, now." I would play his game, but I would win.

Contract Marriage With That Ruthless CEO Introduction

My life was a perfectly curated dream.

Three years with Ethan, a diamond on my finger, and a wedding just a week away-timed perfectly with my family's groundbreaking AI launch that he was a key part of.

I, Ava Riley, the brilliant architect, had given him everything-my heart, my connections, my family' s influence.

Then, he walked into our penthouse, his face grim, and shattered it all.

"It' s Chloe," he said, his ex-girlfriend. "Her mother is dying. Her last wish is to see Chloe get married. To me."

My fiancé was going to marry his ex-girlfriend days before our wedding, and he told me with clinical detachment, as if discussing a logistical minor issue.

He said it was "filial piety," just "a ceremony, a piece of paper."

He expected me to accept this monstrous betrayal, to be "reasonable."

My heart didn' t just break, it congealed into ice. I was not his partner; I was a business asset, a temporary stepping stone in his grand design.

The humiliation thickened when he had the audacity to suggest using our pre-paid waterfront wedding venue for his impromptu ceremony with Chloe.

And then, his true colors emerged. As I refused, his charm vanished, replaced by ugly entitlement, culminating in his fingers digging into my arm.

"You have until Saturday to come to your senses," he snarled. "You can either accept this with grace, or you can fight it and lose everything."

That physical threat, the raw intimidation, was the final severance.

The man I loved was gone, if he ever existed. Only a calculating, abusive stranger remained.

I wouldn' t be his victim, nor a footnote in his story.

No, I would not cry. I would not scream.

I calmly called my brother, Liam. "The wedding is still on for next Saturday," I stated.

"Find me a different groom."

There was only one man who could make a statement, someone Ethan feared, someone who held a grudge as deep as mine: Lucas Thorne, my family's fiercest rival, a ruthless tech mogul.

My brother had one simple question: "Are you sure? He's ruthless."

My answer was already forming: "So am I, now."

I would play his game, but I would win.

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Phoenix Rising: The Scarred Heiress's Revenge

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At 3:12 AM, a call from the NYPD shattered the silence of my dorm. My childhood sweetheart and the city’s golden heir, Liam Sterling, was in custody and needed me to bail him out. I rushed to the precinct, trembling as I swiped my father’s emergency credit card for five thousand dollars, only to watch Liam walk out and head straight for another woman. He had landed in a cell because he’d started a brawl to protect Jade—a girl with pink hair and a jagged attitude—while I was just the "best friend" he called to clean up his mess. In the backseat of the cab I paid for, I watched the man I loved pull her into his lap, treating me like an invisible chauffeur. When I finally demanded the truth, he didn't apologize; he reminded me that our families were tied by a multi-million dollar merger and that I was "like a sister" to him. My own mother echoed his coldness, telling me to stop being dramatic because our family was secretly bankrupt and we needed the Sterling money to survive. I spent years being his "good girl," even recording a fake video for the press claiming he was a hero who fought to defend my honor. But the illusion shattered when I saw the photos of him with Jade on my birthday—the same night he told me he was working late to secure our future. "I love you, Zoe. Like I love my dog. You’re loyal, but you’re boring." I realized then that I wasn't his partner; I was his shield. He used the trauma of the day he "saved" my life to keep me in his debt, never realizing that the chains of gratitude had finally snapped. As the Sterling empire began to crumble under a sudden leak of scandals, I didn't run back to Liam. Instead, I looked at the encrypted message from his dangerous, outcast brother, Julian, who had been waiting in the shadows. He didn't just offer me a way out; he offered to buy my family's debt and claim me as the collateral.

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Contract Marriage With That Ruthless CEO Contract Marriage With That Ruthless CEO Xiao Hong Mao Romance
“My life was a perfectly curated dream. Three years with Ethan, a diamond on my finger, and a wedding just a week away-timed perfectly with my family's groundbreaking AI launch that he was a key part of. I, Ava Riley, the brilliant architect, had given him everything-my heart, my connections, my family' s influence. Then, he walked into our penthouse, his face grim, and shattered it all. "It' s Chloe," he said, his ex-girlfriend. "Her mother is dying. Her last wish is to see Chloe get married. To me." My fiancé was going to marry his ex-girlfriend days before our wedding, and he told me with clinical detachment, as if discussing a logistical minor issue. He said it was "filial piety," just "a ceremony, a piece of paper." He expected me to accept this monstrous betrayal, to be "reasonable." My heart didn' t just break, it congealed into ice. I was not his partner; I was a business asset, a temporary stepping stone in his grand design. The humiliation thickened when he had the audacity to suggest using our pre-paid waterfront wedding venue for his impromptu ceremony with Chloe. And then, his true colors emerged. As I refused, his charm vanished, replaced by ugly entitlement, culminating in his fingers digging into my arm. "You have until Saturday to come to your senses," he snarled. "You can either accept this with grace, or you can fight it and lose everything." That physical threat, the raw intimidation, was the final severance. The man I loved was gone, if he ever existed. Only a calculating, abusive stranger remained. I wouldn' t be his victim, nor a footnote in his story. No, I would not cry. I would not scream. I calmly called my brother, Liam. "The wedding is still on for next Saturday," I stated. "Find me a different groom." There was only one man who could make a statement, someone Ethan feared, someone who held a grudge as deep as mine: Lucas Thorne, my family's fiercest rival, a ruthless tech mogul. My brother had one simple question: "Are you sure? He's ruthless." My answer was already forming: "So am I, now." I would play his game, but I would win.”
1

Introduction

04/07/2025

2

Chapter 1

04/07/2025

3

Chapter 2

04/07/2025

4

Chapter 3

04/07/2025

5

Chapter 4

04/07/2025

6

Chapter 5

04/07/2025

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Chapter 6

04/07/2025

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Chapter 7

04/07/2025

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Chapter 8

04/07/2025

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Chapter 9

04/07/2025

11

Chapter 10

04/07/2025