*MARRIED TO ESCAPE - Story Description by Angelista M.A.M**Chapter 1: The Contract* Crystal Peters is 20, tired, and trapped. After her father’s death, her stepmother and stepsister treated her like a maid. The final straw? They tried to sell her to a rich pervert. She runs. Straight into Damian Cole — 28, billionaire, cold, and the most feared man in the city. He offers her a way out. One contract. One year of marriage. In exchange, he’ll protect her, pay her debts, and give her a new life. Crystal signs. She has no choice. But what she doesn’t know is: Damian has been watching her for 18 years. And this "contract" was never just business.*Chapter 2: Walls Up* Life in Damian’s mansion is silent, cold, and full of rules. Rule 1: Wife in public only. Rule 2: No questions. Rule 3: Don’t fall in love. Damian is distant. Work. Meetings. Nothing personal. Crystal tells herself it’s fine. She’s safe. That’s all that matters. But at night, she hears him. Pacing. Drinking. Staring at an old burned newspaper clipping in his study. A fire. A baby saved by a 10-year-old boy. Crystal doesn’t know it yet, but that boy was Damian. And that baby was her. The walls between them are high. But they’re starting to crack.*Chapter 3: Walls Down* A storm. A power outage. And the truth. That night, Damian finally talks. He tells Crystal everything. How her dying father made him promise to protect her when he was just 10. How he spent years looking for her. How he saw her suffering and couldn’t wait any longer — so he "bought" her to save her. "I’m not a good man," he says. "But I kept the promise." For the first time, Crystal sees him. Not the billionaire. Not the contract. Just a man who’s been carrying guilt for 18 years. Dinner for two. A soft "goodnight." The walls are down. Just a little.*Chapter 4: The Nightmare* The nightmares come back. Crystal wakes up screaming, trapped in the memory of the night her stepmother tried to sell her. Of the man who grabbed her. Of the knife she used to fight back. Damian finds her like that. Shaking. Crying. Broken. And he breaks too. He holds her all night. No words. Just arms around her like armor. "I’m sorry I came late," he whispers. "I’m so sorry." By morning, everything changes. Damian pulls out a folder. Photos. Names. Addresses. "I can make them disappear today," he says, voice deadly calm. "Say the word." Then he looks at her and says the words that change everything: "We’re going to the gala tonight. And the whole world is going to know you’re mine." From contract... to protection... to possession. And Crystal is about to find out what happens when a man like Damian Cole decides you belong to him.