Tangled. love
SA'S
ars
ew had vanished lik
ur empire crumbled around us. The wealth, the prest
. Cars, paintings, heirlooms, all sold to strangers
cattered like shadows at dawn, offering no
moved into a cramped, peeling apartment on the outskirts of the
ree in Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Cooking became my thera
built to climb. Mum's health started declining fast. Her laughter faded, her eyes ho
dneys start
ns drained her life instead of saving it. The bills piled up like corpses on a battlefield, and
ord decent meals, le
with errands, sometimes covering medicine,
me. That memory still clawed at my soul, even after all
s bargaining with pharmacists and learning to live without sleep. There wasn't room in my
d was to sa
night that cha
our tiny room, tallying up the month's
hopelessness rose in my throat. Mum was
s a child, the way he used to call me his princess. Guilt tore into my h
ncle barged in, humming
," I said softly, ha
"There you are, Alessa!" he said, breathless. "Have you heard? The richest b
ine. I froze, lips parting slightly. No. It couldn't be t
nlop. You know her, beautiful voice, top charts, tours all over the world. They broke up three ye
ked, hoping, praying, it wasn
pictures. Besides, he went off-grid after the breakup. They say Natasha broke his heart so badly he
elt a stin
ped the real bomb. "I want you to marry h
d. "What?! Uncle,
even apply because they know he won't give them his heart. But you, you
m anger. "You want to sell me like cattle to
other is dying. She doesn't have months. A few years married t
m. To disappear. But his next words s
condition. And remember, it was your foolish cry
dition or reminded me of that awful incident. Mayb
ully and c
my sanity. "This is a golden chance. If anything
he door slamming
ts pounded my chest, as if trying to break through to the part
had to do whatever
arriage proposal" into the search bar. The results were overwhelming, hundreds
ingle raindrop
even wrote a personal message: I'm not here for love. I'm here because I have no other c
ed later t
ed to meet me,
or application
What kind of man creates a registration deadline for mar
im, just like Michael's humiliation broke me
uldn't fee
phone lit up wit
te date with Mr. Michael Astor. All necessary det
art s
slick with sweat. I was going to meet the man who'd
ed his hands and laughed like a
t
whether I was walking into salvat