At 26, Kiara Marshall is no stranger to sacrifice. After the tragic loss of her sister Rachel and brother-in-law Maximus Ashton, she steps into the role of CEO at Marshton Publishing and guardian of her 8-year-old niece, Mia. Balancing the demands of a prestigious company with the responsibility of raising Mia, Kiara has always prioritized her niece's safety, honoring the deathbed promise she made to her sister. To Kiara, love is a distraction, a vulnerability she can't afford. Her devotion to Mia leaves no room for romance, especially when no man seems to understand the depth of her commitment. Enter Jaxon Klein, a 30-year-old world-famous musician with a dangerous edge. As the second son of a powerful Mafia family, Jaxon enjoys the duality of a rockstar's fame while being tied to his family's underworld dealings. With millions of adoring fans, a string of publicized relationships, and scandalous headlines, Jaxon seems to be the quintessential bad boy. But beneath the surface, he craves something real, something more than the fleeting attention that comes with stardom. As their lives intertwine, they must confront the secrets they hide and the scars they bear. Can Jaxon convince Kiara that love doesn't mean sacrificing her responsibilities? And can Kiara open herself to love, knowing it could risk everything she's built for Mia? In a world where fame and family collide, will they find a love worth fighting for, or will their pasts consume them both? This story contains the following tropes:- Love at first sight Ceo/Singer Single Aunt Opposites Attract Reversed Grumpy/Sunshine Bad Boy with a Heart of Gold Hero obsessed with capital 'O' Mafia Background Damaged but Strong Heroine Note: My dearest readers, I have said this before and I will say this again. Just trust the process.

𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 × 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚘𝚗 | 𝚏𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 | 𝚐𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚢 × 𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎 | 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 ୨୧ ──────── ୨୧ aira krishnannan is an actress who never planned on falling in love while ruhaan singh arora is a surgeon who never planned on falling for her. a fake relationship. a marriage of convenience. two completely different worlds. somewhere between pretending and falling, they forgot it was supposed to be fake. a soft, feel-good love story about two people who weren't looking for love and somehow found home in each other.🤍 ⋆｡ﾟ✶°˖

"Marry me," he said. And just like that, my life became a rom-com gone wrong. Kaushiki Rajput-clumsy, loud-mouthed, and hopelessly optimistic-never expected her first encounter with Dr. Ashwin Rawat to involve publicly accusing him of child neglect. But when she sees a little girl crying while he's on a call, she doesn't hesitate to intervene. Turns out? The "victim" is his spoiled niece, and the "villain" is her new professor-a man so cold, students whisper he's part time machine. Ashwin doesn't tolerate nonsense, especially not from a walking disaster like Kaushiki. But when a scandal erupts-a leaked photo, university rumors, and a disciplinary committee ready to ruin them both-he shocks her with a solution: a fake marriage.No feelings. No attachments. Just a piece of paper to save his career and her degree. Too bad love doesn't follow contracts. Between meddling families (his cousins are way too invested), late-night study sessions that turn into something more, and Ashwin's terrifying realization that he likes her chaos, their carefully planned arrangement starts to feel dangerously real. But can a relationship built on a lie survive the truth?