heavy in the

kened, her thoughts scrambled. She had expected an

," she whispered, her

his own, crossing his legs with the casual arrogance of a man who knew no one c

ich, feared-did not just show up in a woman's life to propose ma

her fists clenched at her sid

sperate. You're struggling. You need money. And I"

t, so matter-of-fact, made her fe

an just buy," she snapped,

? Everyone has a price, Amara.

ve repulsed her, yet there was something magnetic about the way he

s marriage mean?" she deman

h step deliberate, until the scent of his expensive cologne wrapped

. A contract. One year. At the end of it, you'll walk away wit

long. The word t

at if I

vanished. His eyes turned to steel.

Amara's throat tightened as she realized she w

ity she couldn't provide for herself. Everything screamed at her to run-b

lack folder onto the table. The bold letters acro

hough his eyes warned otherwise. "But

d toward the door, leaving her tre

s to her chest. Her life had been difficult before, but now... now it

Its edges gleamed under the l

t Love had just become