In His Protective Embrace.

"Look, Zayn," I said, pulling him down like I was about to deliver breaking news. "Your brother's a weirdo. Like, 'secret villain lair' level weird. But..."

I sighed dramatically. "He's smart, successful, and-bonus-my boss. If I marry him, I can wake up late, stroll into work with a latte, and never fear being fired again."

Zayn blinked. "So... this is a career move?"

"Exactly," I grinned. "Sure, he's emotionally constipated and probably thinks romance is a hardware item, but whatever. I'll marry him."

Cue: slow clap.

I turned-and froze. Haidar stood in the doorway, arms crossed, face unreadable... with just enough smugness to ruin my life.

"Heartwarming," he said. "Especially the part where I'm an emotionless villain."

"How long were you standing there?" I croaked.

"Long enough," he replied, stepping closer. "So I'm your shortcut to sleeping in. Noted."

I opened my mouth-nothing.

"For the record," he said coolly, "I do know romance."

"You gave your assistant a stapler."

"It was imported."

Zayn silently backed out of the room.

Then Haidar leaned in, voice low. "You think I can't be romantic? You'll learn."

And I forgot how to breathe.

✨Sworn enemies since childhood, Layla and Haidar are forced into marriage by their parents. She's chaos, he's cold-what could go wrong? Or maybe... what could go right?✨