Messy

Your husband is suing you for marital fraud. His lawyer? Erwin Smith.

But how did you end up in an affair with him?

The young, enigmatic and dangerously beautiful wife of political tycoon Darius Zachary is no stranger to strategy. Raised with nothing, you clawed your way up through law school, seduction, and quiet, meticulous ambition. Now, with a failing marriage and a fortune at stake, you sets your sights on the one man standing between you and total freedom: Erwin Smith.

Erwin is no ordinary lawyer. Cold-eyed, impeccably mannered, and ruthless in the courtroom, he's known as "a butcher dressed as a gentleman" of Paradis legal circles. But when he's hired to defend Zackary's fortune, he quickly discovers his client's wife is far more than a trophy bride-she's a tactician, a liar, and possibly the only woman who's ever tempted him to break his own code.

In this world, affection is just another form of leverage-and every glance might be the opening move of a new negotiation.

After all, love isn't the endgame. Victory is.

| Modern AU, Legal Drama, Enemies to Lovers, Divorce Court Shenanigans, Power Play, Slow Burn with Sexual Tension, Mutual Manipulation, High Society Politics, Strategic Seduction, No One Is Innocent, Emotional Chess Match, Gendered Power Dynamics, He Falls First (But Pretends He Doesn't), She Plays to Win, Law as Warfare, Bittersweet Ending (Maybe) |