Chapter 1

I was forced into a marriage with my sworn enemy, Liam Hartwell.

We'd barely stepped out of City Hall when he shoved a contract in my face, his expression ice-cold. "Don't touch me. Don't cross the line. Whoever falls first walks away with nothing."

I was about to have cold laugh — when a voice suddenly exploded inside my head:

【OH MY GOD SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL. The marriage certificate literally smells so good. I want to kiss her, hold her, pull her so close she becomes part of me — Liam, keep it TOGETHER. Do NOT let her underestimate you!】

My eyes went wide.

I stared at the man in front of me — perfectly tailored suit, blank expression, not a single emotion on his face.

Oh, really?

If he wanted to play games, fine. I'd play along — and I'd tear that fragile self-control of his apart piece by piece.

He had less than a month before he'd be on his knees, eyes red, begging me to love him.

"Sign it, Ruby Valentine. Let's get one thing straight — this marriage exists for one reason: to keep both our companies' stock prices from tanking. Don't touch me. Don't cross the line. Whoever falls first walks away with nothing."

In the backseat of the Rolls-Royce parked outside City Hall, Liam tossed a prenuptial agreement onto my lap without so much as glancing at me.

He was wearing a perfectly fitted custom suit, and behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes were as cold as ice.

I looked down at the contract and laughed inwardly.

Liam and I — Boston's most notorious rivals.

We'd been competing our whole lives. I ranked first in our grade, so he went and won a national math olympiad. I launched a startup in college, so he turned his family's company into a publicly traded corporation.

And even today — getting married — was only happening because a joint overseas investment project had blown up in scandal, and to stop our stock prices from free-falling, our families had decided to tie us together.

I reached for the pen to sign — and then the car slammed to a sudden stop.

"Ugh—"

I hadn't buckled my seatbelt. I lurched forward, completely out of control, and my forehead crashed straight into Liam's chest.

The faint scent of dark sandalwood wrapped around me instantly.

I was about to snap at him — when a deafening voice exploded in my head:

【HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT. She just fell into my arms. She's so soft. She smells so good. Oh my GOD — did she do that on purpose? She's definitely doing this on purpose. She's trying to seduce me. Hold it together! Liam, you are a cold, powerful CEO. Do NOT blow your cover!】

I froze completely.

I jerked my head up and stared at him like I'd seen a ghost.

He still had that same frigid, unapproachable expression — if anything, he looked annoyed. He pushed me away with one hand and brushed off his jacket with the other. "Ruby Valentine. Rule number one: don't touch me. And you're already throwing yourself at me?"

But inside my head, that voice was still screaming:

【HELP. The way she just looked up at me — those eyes — I want to kiss her. I want to pin her against this seat and kiss her until she can't breathe. But I can't. If I do that now, she'll laugh at me forever. I have to stay cold. I have to make HER fall first.】

I swallowed hard and pointed at him in disbelief. "You — what did you just say?"

Liam let out a cold scoff. "I said wipe your mouth. Don't get drool on my custom suit."

I took a slow, deep breath.

Okay. So I'd somehow developed a superpower. I could hear this insufferable man's inner thoughts.

I looked at his perfectly composed, completely fake expression — and felt a wicked little thrill rise up inside me.

Playing hard to get, are we? Fine. Let's see how long you can keep this up.

Instead of snapping back at him like I normally would, I let myself sink lazily against the seat. I tugged my neckline down just slightly, letting my collarbone catch the light, and said in the sweetest voice I could manage, "honey~ That hurts, you know. Aren't you going to rub a little for me?"

Liam's entire body visibly stiffened.

【honey?! She called me honey?! She actually just called me HONEY. Is this real life? How is this free? oh no, I'm going to have a nosebleed. 】

【CALM DOWN. Have a deep breaths. This is obviously a trap. Ruby is trying to get me to fall first so she can take my shares. Do not fall for it. Do NOT fall for it.】

He clenched his jaw so hard I could almost hear it, and forced out each word like it cost him something. "Ruby. Did you mess up with your head?"

I burst out laughing, grabbed the contract, and scrawled my signature across it in one dramatic sweep.

"Sure, Mr. Hartwell." I smiled at him. "Let's see who begs first."