The moment I walked into my father's office and saw Marcus Kane sitting in the leather chair across from his desk, I knew my life was about to implode. "Absolutely not." The words left my mouth before my father could even open his. Marcus didn't bother looking at me. He simply examined his cufflinks—probably worth more than most people's cars—with that infuriatingly calm expression he always wore. The same expression he'd had two months ago when he'd poached three of my best developers. The same one from last year when he'd undercut my bid for the Richardson contract by exactly one dollar. "Olivia, sit down." My father's voice carried that edge that meant he wasn't asking. "I'd rather stand for this circus, thanks." "Sit. Down." I sat. But I made sure Marcus saw the death glare I shot in his direction. He finally deigned to look at me, one dark eyebrow rising with what I could only describe as amusement. His blue eyes—the color of ice, naturally—swept over me with the same calculating assessment he probably gave his quarterly reports. "Your father and I have come to an agreement," Marcus said, his voice smooth as expensive whiskey. "One that benefits both Kane Technologies and Montgomery Industries." "How lovely for you both," I said sweetly. "I'm sure you'll be very happy together." My father's jaw tightened. "Olivia Grace Montgomery—" "Oh good, we're using full names. Marcus Alexander Kane is a corporate shark who's been trying to destroy our company for five years. So unless this agreement involves him finally backing off, I'm not interested." "It involves you marrying him." The words hung in the air like a bomb that hadn't quite detonated yet. I laughed. Actually laughed, because surely this was some kind of joke. But my father's expression didn't change. Neither did Marcus's. "You're serious." My voice came out strangled. "Completely," Marcus said. He leaned back in his chair, perfectly at ease, like we were discussing the weather instead of my entire future. "Montgomery Industries is drowning in debt. Kane Technologies has the capital to save it. But I need something in return." "Money," I said flatly. "You want money." "I want legitimacy." He said it without inflection, but something flickered behind those cold eyes. "The board doesn't trust a thirty-two-year-old CEO who built his company from nothing. They think I'm too aggressive, too ruthless. But a marriage to the Montgomery heiress, the daughter of one of tech's founding families? That makes me respectable." "So I'm a PR move." "You're a strategic acquisition." I turned to my father, desperation clawing at my chest. "Dad, you can't be serious. There has to be another way—" "There isn't." His voice cracked slightly, and I saw it then—the exhaustion, the defeat. My father, who'd built Montgomery Industries from the ground up, who'd never backed down from a fight in his life, looked broken. "The debts are too high. The investors are pulling out. If we don't do this, we lose everything. The company, the house, your mother's medical bills..." My mother. Of course. Stage four cancer didn't come cheap, even with insurance. "How much?" I asked quietly. "Fifty million in immediate capital," Marcus said. "Another hundred million over the next two years. Full coverage of all medical expenses. Your mother gets the best care available, anywhere in the world." It was exactly what we needed. Exactly what I couldn't provide, despite my MBA from Stanford and my position as Montgomery Industries' Chief Innovation Officer. Despite working eighty-hour weeks trying to save a company that was bleeding money faster than I could patch the holes. "And what do you get out of this, besides your precious legitimacy?" I asked Marcus. "A wife who understands the business. Someone who can stand beside me at board meetings and investor dinners without embarrassing me." His gaze locked with mine. "Someone who already hates me, so there won't be any messy emotional complications." "How romantic." "Romance wasn't part of the deal." "What are the terms?" I hated how steady my voice sounded, like I was negotiating a contract instead of my own life. Marcus pulled out a folder—of course he'd come prepared—and slid it across the desk. "Marriage within the month. Public appearances as needed. You'll move into my penthouse. Separate bedrooms, obviously. We maintain the appearance of a happy couple for two years, after which we can quietly divorce. You'll receive a settlement of ten million dollars upon completion of the contract." I flipped through the papers, my hands shaking slightly. It was all there, laid out in neat legal terminology. My life, reduced to clauses and subsections. "You've really thought of everything, haven't you?" "I always do." God, I hated him. Hated his perfect suits and his perfect hair and his perfect company that he'd built by crushing everyone in his path. Hated that he was sitting here, offering to save my family while simultaneously buying me like I was just another asset to add to his portfolio. But I hated the alternative more. "I need to talk to my father alone," I said. Marcus stood, buttoning his suit jacket with practiced ease. "You have until five PM today to decide. After that, the offer expires." He walked out without another word, leaving behind the faint scent of his cologne and the contract that would change everything. The moment the door closed, I turned to my father. "Tell me there's another way. Please." "You think I would do this if there was?" His voice broke completely now. "Livvy, your mother has six months. Maybe less. This money could buy her more time, better treatments. And the company... it's not just us. It's three thousand employees who'll lose their jobs if we go under." Three thousand families. Three thousand people counting on us. "He's the enemy, Dad. He's spent years trying to destroy us." "I know." My father looked older than I'd ever seen him. "But right now, he's the only option we have." I looked down at the contract again, at Marcus Kane's bold signature already on the dotted line. So confident. So sure I'd sign. The worst part? He was right.