She signed a one-line contract to save her uncle. He signed one to placate his dying grandfather. Neither expected the paper to ignite everything between them. Annika Cox thought the agreement would be clean: a legal convenience, strict rules, no feelings. Landon Bradley thought so too—until a reckless kiss in the car, a night that left them both tangled, and a grandfather who insists on “family appearances.” Suddenly Annika is living next door to the city’s most dangerous CEO, fielding office power plays, stepmother scandals, and a social-media storm that names her “the other woman.” This is a contract marriage built on bargaining chips: loyalty for a legacy, protection for a bailout. But bargains shift when someone starts to care. When a vicious public smear, a violent stalker, and a family full of secrets threaten everything, Annika must decide: stay a passive “bed partner,” or take the risks to keep what’s grown between them? Sweet moments, savage takedowns, humiliating exposures, and a slow-burning, brutal romance—this is the story where paper vows become a declaration of war and a promise of possession.

17 Chapters