He’s haunted by demons from his past. I’m shackled by memories I can’t escape.

The night my husband was gunned down at billionaire Tobias De Vil’s exclusive playground for the elite, I wasn’t just a victim—I was the intended target.

Now his powerful father wants the scandal buried. The solution? A marriage of convenience that safeguards their dynasty while shielding me and my daughter from my late husband’s ruthless family.

It’s strategy, not love. After years of control and degradation, I don’t believe in good men or happy endings. But Tobias’s magnetic personality and disarming warmth draws me in, offering the safety and security I crave.

As we settle into our marriage, though, cracks appear in his picture-perfect life. Beneath the charm lies a man who deflects with humor but flinches from touch, guarding scars that run bone deep. It’s a survival tactic I know too well. We’re both hiding, both performing. Two broken people bound by circumstance who don’t know how to trust, let alone heal. 

Until somewhere between late-night conversations and lingering glances, we stop holding our breath. We begin to feel, to hope.

And maybe, against all the odds, to believe in something real.