Kael’s POV
*Three months ago*
I stare at the private investigator's report in my father's study and watch my entire world disintegrate into ash. Standard background check for wedding insurance—routine shit that every wealthy family does before their heir gets married.
Except this one just detonated a nuclear bomb in my lap.
Maeve Winters. Forged adoption papers connecting to a decades-old kidnapping case. Alexander Welch's missing daughter.
Alexander fucking Welch. Our biggest rival. The man my father's been competing with—and losing to—for my entire life.
I'd fought my family for three years to marry Maeve, telling them all to go fuck themselves because I loved her. Because she was mine. And now this report makes that love a transaction.
Father paces the study like a caged animal, expensive loafers wearing a path in Persian rugs that cost more than Maeve's entire education. "She's Welch's heir. His only child. She has no idea."
The door opens. Mother enters with that look on her face—cold triumph wrapped in Chanel. "Do you understand what this means?"
"That my fiancée's life is a lie?" My voice comes out flat. Dead.
"That Alexander Welch has been systematically destroying us for years."
She sits, crosses her legs, diamonds catching light like tiny weapons.
"One hundred and seventy million in debt from his corporate attacks. Hostile takeovers, stolen contracts, board members bribed away. And now his daughter is about to marry into our family."
"Coincidence," I say. The word sounds hollow even to me. "Or," Mother’s smile could cut glass, "poetic justice. We marry his daughter. Use her."
Father stops pacing. "The marriage laws are clear. Once her identity is revealed—and it will be, Welch has been searching for years—as her husband, you'll have legal rights to her inheritance. Everything Welch stole from us, we take back through his own daughter."
I think of Maeve. The way she looks at me like I hung the fucking moon. How she cried when I proposed, whispered yes against my mouth like she couldn't believe I'd chosen her.
She loves me completely. Believes I picked her over my entire world.
"No." I stand. "I'll call off the wedding. Tell her the truth."
Mother's voice cuts through my conviction like a knife through butter. "And what future will you give her then?"
"What?"
"Welch will bankrupt us within months once he finds her regardless of what you do. He's that close." She leans forward. "You'll be nobody, Kael. Offering her nothing. No money, no security, no life beyond whatever scraps you can pull together."
My hands clench. "She doesn't care about money—"
"Everyone cares about money when they don't have it." Father's voice is harsh. "You think she wants to go back to being that orphan? Living in shitty apartments, counting pennies? After the luxury life you showed her?"
"Or," Mother continues, smooth as poison, "you marry her anyway. When her identity is revealed, you'll have legal rights to her inheritance. And you secure a future for both of you. Give her the life she deserves."
"By lying to her?"
"By protecting her." Mother stands, moves closer. "By then you'll have given her everything she never dreamed of. She'll understand."
I look at my Father. "Is the debt really that bad?"
His silence is answer enough.
I'm trapped. Completely fucking trapped. Marry Maeve knowing something that'll destroy us, or watch my family implode and have nothing to offer her when Welch finds her anyway.
Because he will find her—Mother's right about that.
"I'll marry her," I say slowly, "but I won't use her. I'll find another way."
Father laughs, a harsh, ugly sound. "There is no other way. I'm not touching her inheritance. That's final." My mother's smile says she knows I'm already lying to myself.
Every time Maeve smiles at me, talks about our future, about the apartment we'll get, the life we'll build—guilt crushes my lungs until I can't breathe. Every wedding decision feels like I'm building her cage brick by brick while she thanks me for it.
The weeks after the wedding are worse. My parents on me constantly about "securing the financial situation" and "positioning for when Welch finds her."
Like my wife is a fucking chess piece instead of a person.
I can't touch her. Can't look at her without drowning in guilt. Every kiss tastes like betrayal. Every time I come home and she's waiting—I want to die.
So I withdraw. Stay at the office. Sleep in my study. Tell myself I'm causing her less pain this way. If she doesn't love me as much when the truth comes out, maybe it won't destroy her.
It's shit logic. I know it's shit logic. But it's all I have.
Two months in, Mother corners me in my office. "The Polyamorous Marriage Act passed. Perfect timing."
"What?"
"Gia Redfern. New money, desperate for old society connections. Her family has liquid assets we need immediately." She sits on my desk like she owns it. "Take her as a second wife. Her money keeps us afloat while we position for the Welch situation to resolve."
"I'm not taking a second wife." The words come out harsh. Final.
"Dareth Industries files bankruptcy next month without this!" Her voice goes cold. "Every employee loses their job. Three generations of legacy, gone. And Maeve?" She leans in. "When she discovers you knew her identity, she'll leave anyway. At least this way, the family survives. You'll have something left to offer her."
I stare at my Mother. "You want me to marry another woman to save a company that's already dying?"
"I want you to do what's necessary." She stands. "The gala's in three days. I've already arranged everything."
And the gala was the worst night of my life.
Watching Maeve's face shatter in real time. Seeing the exact moment her world ends while mine keeps spinning.
Gia kisses my lips. The room applauds. Maeve runs. And I stand there like the fucking coward I am.
Now The flashback dissolves, leaving me in my study, the faint sounds of the party still drifting up from downstairs.
Welch has her. He picked her up right from my doorstep.
My phone buzzes. It's Kevin, my Head of Security. "Sir, they've arrived at Welch's penthouse."
"He knows," I say, my voice hollow. "He knows everything."
"Kael?" My mother's voice from the doorway, sharp and impatient.
"Stop moping. It's time to call our lawyers about the Dareth-Welch assets." I turn to face her, the phone still in my hand. "He has her, Mother."
Her smile doesn't waver. "Good. Then the real negotiations can begin."