Part 1The Husband Who Heard Everything

My best friend and I were job hunting when we got an offer from the Rhys family—one of the country's wealthiest dynasties. They were recruiting wives for their two sons.

One son was a notorious ice king; the other was in a coma after a car accident.

The deal: survive one year of marriage and walk away with ten million dollars.

Conveniently, I had a nursing degree. My friend, Blaze, had a Ph.D. in seduction. It was a perfect match. We looked at each other, and the decision was unspoken. When a fortune that obscene falls into your lap, you say, "I do."

But less than six months in, the ice king’s old flame—the one that got away—came back.

That’s when Blaze pounded on my door in the middle of the night, a storm in her eyes. "That ghost of his is no saint, Sienna. I'm making a run for it. You in?"

"I'm with you," I said without hesitation.

I glanced down at the stacks of cash I'd been counting. "I've only saved up about five million. I'll have to crash on your couch."

Blaze finalized her divorce one day; I filed mine the next.

But the night before I was supposed to leave, as I was packing my bags to make a clean getaway, my comatose husband woke up.

His arm snaked around my waist from behind, his body pressing against mine.

"My brother's old love came back," he whispered, his voice a low, warm hum against my skin. "I don't have one. So where do you think you're going?"

* * *

I was humming to myself, delighting in the neat stacks of cash spread across my bed, when Blaze burst into my room.

"Sienna, I need sanctuary."

She collapsed onto my mattress, rubbing her lower back with a pained expression. "And if I ever hear another person call Donovan Rhys an 'ice king,' I will personally tear them limb from limb."

She groaned dramatically. "One more night like that and my spine is going to turn to dust."

As Blaze writhed on my bed, I patted my own chest in silent, grateful relief. Thank God my husband was in a coma.

My duties were simple. Every day, I took a warm towel from the nurse, gave him a quick sponge bath, and clocked out. All for a salary that would make a CEO weep.

Six months ago, Blaze and I were sending out resumes to anyone who would take them. Then, we both got a call from the Rhys family. It wasn't until we arrived at their palatial estate that we learned the position was "daughter-in-law."

Eleanor Rhys, the family matriarch, dripped with diamonds and quiet authority. She handed us each a check for twenty thousand dollars just for showing up.

"Ms. Hayes, you studied nursing, correct?"

I nodded. A satisfied smile touched her lips. "Then I have no reservations about placing my younger son, Asher, in your care."

My friend Blaze, on the other hand, had a different set of qualifications. On her application, under the 'special skills' section, she’d cheekily written "Master of Seduction."

Somehow, it had caught Eleanor Rhys’s eye.

After settling things with me, she turned to Blaze with a look of intrigued curiosity.

"Ms. Astor," she began, "my eldest son, Donovan, is… emotionally distant. He has no interest in women. But if you were to find a way to get pregnant, to give me a grandchild—"

Eleanor let a platinum credit card glint under the light.

"—then a ten-million-dollar bonus is yours."

Blaze and I lived by a single motto: "Wise women don't fall in love; they build empires."

The second that card flashed, Blaze’s back straightened.

"Consider it done," she said, her voice pure confidence.

Eleanor nodded, pleased. "I understand that marrying my sons under these circumstances is a significant sacrifice."

"After one year of marriage, you will each receive ten million dollars for your time and trouble."

We both nearly dropped to our knees in gratitude. This wasn't "time and trouble." This was a winning lottery ticket delivered by an angel.

And just like that, Blaze and I married into the Rhys family on the same day.