Chapter 1: The Wedding Contract
Rain drummed softly against the towering windows of the Jiang Corporation's penthouse suite. The sky outside was a wash of gray, a perfect mirror to the chill in the room.
Li Yuyan sat across from the man she had once vowed to destroy.
Jiang Zhen.
He wore a charcoal suit tailored to perfection, his expression unreadable as he slid a sleek folder across the glass table. Inside lay a contract—her contract. Neatly printed words that would bind them as husband and wife… on paper, at least.
Yuyan didn't touch it yet.
"You really want to marry me?" she asked, her voice low but steady.
Jiang Zhen didn't flinch. "Need is a more accurate word. I need a wife. One who knows how to stay out of my way."
The arrogance in his tone stung, but she smiled anyway.
"And you picked me. Why?"
"You're beautiful. Discreet. And desperate," he said coolly.
Her smile didn't waver. He has no idea who I really am.
He thought she was just a struggling model with a pretty face and nothing to lose.
He didn't know she was the daughter of Li Cheng, the man whose empire Jiang Zhen crushed five years ago.
He didn't know she had watched her family fall into ruin—because of him.
And now? Now she was going to be his wife.
The irony nearly made her laugh.
She picked up the pen.
"Fine," she said, signing her name with deliberate strokes. "But let's get a few things straight."
He raised an eyebrow.
"No touching. No emotions. And definitely no falling in love."
His lips curled into a cold smile. "Trust me, Miss Li. That won't be a problem."
Their signatures bled across the paper like spilled secrets.
A contract sealed.
A trap set.
And neither of them knew just how much it would cost them both.