When Zuri left her hometown for Texas, she promised herself one thing - no more chaos, no more heartbreak, just peace, cooking, and quiet.
But peace doesn't pay rent.
So when a cold, demanding CEO named Kairo offers her a position as his private chef, she accepts - against her better judgment.
He's everything she hates: arrogant, distant, unreadable.
She's everything he avoids: emotional, outspoken, impossible to ignore.
They don't mix. They don't even try to.
But tension tastes a lot like temptation...
And when heat builds in the kitchen, someone's bound to get burned.
"You're not here to fall in love."
"Trust me, sir... I don't even know what that means."
She was sold like a possession-traded away by the very people who were supposed to protect her. At just seventeen, she finds herself in a cold, unfamiliar mansion owned by a powerful man known for his silence, strict rules, and a heartbreak he never talks about.
His only condition?
Take care of his one-year-old daughter. Don't speak unless spoken to. Don't enter his study. Never touch him.
For her, following orders is nothing new. Obedience has kept her alive this long. But the baby's soft cries break something inside her, and her tender touch begins to warm a house that forgot what love felt like.
He tells himself she's just a caretaker.
Just a temporary solution.
But night after night, she shatters rule after rule...
And soon, his heart becomes the final one to break.
🎯 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞
Genre: Romance / Drama / Slow Burn / Hurt-Comfort
Age rating: 16+ (emotional abuse themes, mature emotional content)