Ella had lost everything. After her mother’s accident, her father married someone else and pushed her aside, choosing his new family over her. Her friends slowly left, and she was left to deal with everything alone. She spent all her money to keep her mother on life support. Now, she was broke, exhausted, and barely holding on.

Then Nicholas showed up.

He was a stranger—handsome, confident, and calm. But what shocked her most was the marriage certificate he brought. According to him, they got married in Vegas. The problem? Ella doesn’t remember it at all.

She already has too much to deal with—her sick mom, the hospital bills, and her fiancé, who has been her only support. She can’t afford to lose him now.

But Nicholas won’t go away. He says he’s her husband, and he wants her to come with him. Ella feels drawn to him in a way she can’t explain. He sees through her like no one else does.

She knows she should walk away. She knows she should stay with the safe life she’s trying to hold on to. But something about Nicholas pulls her in—and she’s scared he might break her in the end.

She could already feel the judgment radiating off Sienna like a cloud of cheap perfume.


"What?" He leaned in lazily, bracing his forearms on the counter. His voice dropped low enough that only she could hear. "You don't want them to know you're mine?"


The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't force them out.


Part of her wanted him to say it out loud.


To burn this whole damn place to the ground.


Instead, she bit her tongue, her nails digging into her palms.


Nicholas's smirk widened, like he'd won some invisible game.


Ella clenched her jaw, hating him more with every second.


By the time they reached the car, her heart was pounding so hard she could barely breathe.


Chapter 40 - Sugar Daddy