She was drowning in poverty. He was paralyzed by grief.

Emily Greene is barely surviving, working multiple jobs to care for her sick mother and seven-year-old daughter. When billionaire Victor Hawthorne offers her an impossible salary to be his caregiver, she can't refuse. Even if the wheelchair-bound recluse treats her like the enemy.

Victor Hawthorne spent five years building walls no one could breach. The last thing he needs is a compassionate woman who sees past his cruelty to the broken man beneath. 

But when his company's board demands they need stability by him getting married or lose everything, he makes Emily an offer, become his wife in name only. Three years. No emotions. Just business.

What begins as a cold transaction transforms into something neither expected. 

As Victor learns to walk again, both physically and emotionally. Emily discovers a strength she never knew she had. But when shadows from his past supposedly return and betrayal threatens to destroy them, Emily must build her own empire and Victor must prove he's worthy of a second chance.

Because real love is never just business.

The silence in Emily's room that morning felt wrong and too empty.


I'd wheeled myself down the hallway before dawn, my heart beating with desperation. I needed to see her. Needed to fix whatever I'd broken between us.


But when I reached her door and knocked softly, there was nothing. No response. No sound of movement inside.


"Emily?" I called, keeping my voice low. "Emily, please. I need to talk to you."


My chest tightened with panic. Had she already left? Had my cruelty been the final straw?


"Damn it," I muttered, wheeling back from the door. Think, Victor. Where would she go this early?


Margaret's room. Maybe she was checking on her mother.


I made my way down the hall, my wheels moving faster than necessary, and knocked on Margaret's door. "Margaret? Emily? Are you in there?"


But then I heard it, a faint sound. Water. Splashing.


Chapter 48 - The Gentleman Way