Wendy Miller spent three years being a wife in name only. She loved Nathan Hale, endured his family's contempt, swallowed every humiliation and convinced herself that one day he would finally see her value. Then she discovered him with another woman. That was the moment something inside her finally broke. Instead of begging her husband to stay, Wendy walked into the Ashwood Civil Registry and ended their marriage. She thought divorce was the end of her miserable marriage. She never expected it to become the beginning of another one. That very night, she encountered Julian Vance—the cold, powerful man who had been Nathan Hale's greatest business rival for years. Desperate to protect herself from her ex-husband's family, Wendy made an outrageous proposal. "Marry me." She expected him to agree to a temporary arrangement. Instead, Julian looked at her calmly and replied: "If you marry me, I don't do fake marriages." Overnight, Wendy became Mrs. Vance. Her ex-husband was furious. His family was stunned. The entire elite circle waited for the marriage to collapse. But nobody expected the supposedly cold Julian Vance to become completely devoted to his new wife. When she was bullied, he protected her. When she doubted herself, he encouraged her. When she wanted to rebuild her career, he quietly removed every obstacle in her way. And when Wendy finally realized that her husband was no longer pretending, she asked: "When did this marriage stop being a deal?" Julian pulled her closer. "For you, perhaps it was a deal. For me, it became love the moment I chose you"