The Professor's Bargain

102·Ronnie Scott

I gave myself to a stranger in a penthouse, then ran before dawn. I thought I'd never see him again. Three days later, he walked into my lecture hall. Professor Xavier Carrington. Cold. Untouchable. A billionaire who owns half of Manhattan—and the secret of what we did. He pretends I don't exist. He treats me like air. But when my grandmother's café burns down and my bills drown me, he makes me an offer I can't refuse: a one-year contract marriage. Separate bedrooms, he says. No feelings, he promises. I sign because I have no choice. Now I live in his glass tower. I sleep down the hall from the man who took my innocence. He's ice to everyone else, but late at night, I catch him watching me. His hands shake when I get too close. He kisses me like he's drowning—then tells me he feels nothing. I don't believe him. Because there's something dark behind those cold grey eyes. Something he's buried so deep he thinks I'll never find it. And the closer I get to him, the more I realize his world isn't just cold—it's dangerous. But I have secrets too. I'm not just his contract wife. I'm gathering evidence to leave him—until I discover that his family's name is built on lies. And the truth I'm looking for might be the very thing that gets me killed. His obsession with me might be the only thing keeping me alive. He says it's just a contract. But the heart doesn't read fine print.