The drink in front of Lydia sat untouched for several minutes. Her thumb drifted across her ring finger. A pale line circled the skin where the ring had rested for two years. She lifted the drink and swallowed. The burn down her throat was easier to bear than the ache in her chest.  The bartender slid the bottle away. "I'm cutting you off." Lydia gave him a tired smile. "Please." Tomorrow was supposed to be her wedding. A small ceremony with family and friends. She had spent months imagining it. She lifted the glass before the tears could fall. And this time, she didn't taste the alcohol at all. When she finally stood, the floor tilted left, and she grabbed the bar to keep from following it. She descended the stairs, gripping the railing. Two men nearby noticed her. One stepped into her path. "Easy. Where are you going?" "Move." Another laughed and caught her wrist. Lydia jerked against the grip. "Let me go." Louis Vale emerged from the private elevator with Carter. Carter's gaze immediately settled on the woman being held. "Sir." Louis looked at him. "That's Richard Hayes's daughter, Lydia." Louis looked at Lydia. Her hair was dishevelled, and she could barely remain upright. Before returning to Port Aster, Louis had Carter investigate everyone tied to Vale Group. Lydia's name was among the files. Louis's gaze returned to the men. "Carter, help her." Carter stepped forward. "Let her go." One of the men scoffed. "Mind your own..." Immediately, hotel security rushed through the doors. The men released Lydia and went away. Carter caught her before she fell. "Miss Hayes." Lydia looked up. For a second, her eyes seemed to focus. Then her lips moved. "Ryan..." Lydia leaned heavily against Carter. "He said..." Her words dissolved into a murmur. Carter caught her as she swayed. "She isn't able to walk on her own." "Bring her upstairs." Minutes later, Lydia lay on the bed in Louis's executive suite. Her fingers curled into the blanket. "...wedding..." Louis glanced at her. "find out what happened to her." Carter nodded and left. Louis stood by the window while rain tapped against the glass. He had no interest in her issues. He only needed to know whether anything connected to her could interfere with what he had in mind. Carter returned later. "Sir." "Go on" "Lydia Hayes was engaged to Ryan Cole and the wedding was scheduled for tomorrow." "Was?" "She found Ryan in bed with her stepsister, Vanessa." Louis's eyes moved briefly to the woman lying on the bed. His problem had been finding a woman suitable for the board's condition. He had spent a week without a solution. Perhaps one had just walked into his hands. By morning, Lydia's head felt as though someone had driven a nail through it. She opened her eyes slowly. The ceiling above her was unfamiliar. She frowned. This wasn't her room. She pushed herself upright. Her hand knocked against a glass on the bedside table. It fell. The sharp crack made her flinch. Only a bathrobe covered her body. Her heart began beating faster. Where were her clothes? Where was she? The bathroom door opened. A man stepped out. A white vest stretched across broad shoulders, while a towel sat securely around his waist. Damp black hair fell across his forehead. She had no time to appreciate the looks, immediately her body moved from the bed before her mind could follow.  Her legs nearly gave way. She caught herself against the mattress and pulled the robe tightly around her. "Who are you and how did you get in here?" The man looked at her. "It's Louis, and the room is mine.” He said it as though that should have been enough. Then his brows lifted slightly. "Why are you acting like you don't remember what happened last night?"

Lydia  closed her eyes, trying to force the memories back. Nothing came. Louis gave a quiet scoff. "I suppose the heartache was too much for you to handle." "Who told you that?" "You drowned yourself in alcohol and nearly got harassed outside the hotel." Her eyes widened. Louis walked towards the chair where his clothes had been laid out. "My assistant recognized you." Lydia released a breath. "Thank you, but why am I here?" She tightened her grip on the robe. "You could have sent me somewhere else." His gaze settled on her. "Yet you ended up here?" Lydia's stomach twisted. "My clothes? Louis gave her a long look. "You really don't remember, or are you pretending?" She shook her head. He said nothing, and the quiet did the work for him. Heat crawled up her neck. Louis buttoned his shirt. "You were rather determined to cling onto me throughout the night." Lydia froze. "I... what?" Louis's mouth curved faintly. "You want to forget your ex that badly?" Her breath caught. She stared at him. "You're saying I..." Louis watched the realization spread across her face. "Oh my God." Lydia covered her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to behave like that." "Same here." His tone was almost amused. She couldn't tell whether he was mocking her. "My name is Louis Vale." The name struck her like cold water. Louis Vale. The billionaire who had recently returned to Port Aster. The next CEO of Vale Group. The very company her father worked for. "Your father is Richard Hayes." Lydia nodded slowly. "If the board learns that Richard Hayes's daughter spent the night in my suite, what do you think that says about his position and ambition within Vale Group?" She broke out in cold sweat This wasn't only about her anymore. If her father lost his job because of this, Victoria would use it to taunt her mother endlessly. Lydia swallowed. "Please." Louis waited. "What can I do?" His expression shifted. He knew nothing had happened. But the board's deadline was approaching. And Lydia was unlike the women who had tried to get close to him. But it's just one year. A practical arrangement, and she would be compensated. Neither of them would expect anything more. His expression settled again. "My assistant will contact you." Lydia stared. "Contact me?" But Louis had already turned away. When Lydia finally returned home, she barely had the strength to deal with another confrontation. Vanessa was the first person she saw. She looked Lydia up and down. "Where did you spend the night?" Victoria glanced up from the sofa. "I suppose she found somewhere more interesting to be after her wedding got called off." Lydia said nothing. She had spent years apologizing whenever Victoria accused her or Vanessa provoked her. Grace came downstairs when she heard the voices. Her face changed immediately. "Lydia." She hurried towards her daughter. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick." Vanessa folded her arms. "She's fine. She just didn't come home last night." Victoria's lips curled. "Perhaps she was with the man she plans to ruin next." Lydia looked at her. Victoria continued. "Just like her mother ruined my marriage." Grace's face tightened. "Victoria..." "What?" Victoria said. "Am I wrong?" Vanessa smiled. "She should tell us where she was." Lydia looked at her. Suddenly she remembered what she overheard Ryan say at the hotel about proposing marriage to her just to sleep with her and everything that had happened since yesterday. Something inside her finally snapped. "You've been having an affair with my fiance for six months." Vanessa's smile disappeared. Richard had just entered the room. "What? "Is that true?" Vanessa lifted her chin. "So what if it is?" Grace covered her mouth. Victoria stepped forward. "Don't look at my daughter like that. Ryan clearly chose her." Lydia laughed softly. Victoria frowned. "What's funny?" Lydia's voice remained calm. "All these years, you blamed my mother for destroying your marriage even when he lied to her about being married. Yet your daughter knowingly slept with another woman's fiance." Vanessa's face flushed. "Watch your mouth." Lydia pulled the engagement ring from her pocket and dropped it into Vanessa's hand. "This will suit you better." Vanessa stared at the ring. Grace reached for Lydia's hand, wearing a proud smile. She held it, then retired upstairs. Morning light filled Lydia's room. She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone. Then it vibrated. 2:00 P.M. Aurelius Executive Centre, 14 Seaview Boulevard. She had no idea what waited for her there. But somehow, she knew her life was about to become even more complicated.

At 1:45 P.M., the taxi stopped in front of a quiet glass building. Lydia stepped inside. A receptionist looked up. "Miss Hayes?" She nodded. "This way, please." The receptionist led her to an office, knocked once before opening the door. Louis didn't look up when she entered. He signed the final page of a document and slid it towards Carter. "Handle it." Only then did Louis raise his eyes. "Sit." He placed a black folder on the desk and slid it toward her. "I need a wife." Lydia frowned. "Are you joking?" "For one year." She stared at him. "I won't marry you." Louis leaned back. "Don't be in a rush" He gestured towards the folder. "Read." She hesitated but opened it. The first page was a marriage contract. Her eyes moved across the terms. One-year legal marriage. Shared residence. Separate bedrooms. Public appearances together when required. Travel and event attendance when necessary. All personal expenses covered by Louis Vale. Monthly financial compensation. A final settlement upon completion of the agreement. Lydia turned the pages. There were clauses covering privacy and  public conduct. She looked up. "You really expect someone to sign this?" "Yes." "You don't even know me." "I know enough." Lydia closed the folder. "I have no interest in becoming your wife." She pushed it back across the desk. "State your price?" He reached for a second folder. He slid it towards her. "This one deserves more attention." Lydia frowned.  "Read." She opened it. The first page contained photographs. Carter helping her into Louis's suite, a picture of her asleep on the bed. Another showed her leaving the following morning. Lydia's stomach tightened. She turned the page. A report about her father's misconduct within Vale Group. Then another document. Grace Hayes. Hospital records. Treatment history. Payment schedules. The paper crinkled under her grip as her fingers locked. She turned another page. The hospital's discounted patient care programme. Her mother's eligibility. The cost of treatment. And a clause explaining how the subsidy could be withdrawn if her eligibility changed. Lydia looked up sharply. "How did you get these?" "I own the hospital." Her chest tightened.  "Keep reading." Lydia's eyes moved to another page. Family profile. Second wife. She stopped. Louis's voice remained quiet. "I've never had much patience for a woman who interfered in another woman's marriage." Lydia snapped the folder shut. "My mother isn't one of them." Louis met her glare. "That's your opinion." "You have no right to judge her."  "Whether your mother deserves my judgment is irrelevant." His fingers tapped the medical records once. "What matters is that I can make her ineligible for the discount." Lydia stared at him. "I can make it completely free and also assign a private nurse to her care for as long as medically necessary." Lydia's breath caught. "But only if you become my wife." He stood. Buttoned his jacket. Then walked towards the door. "You're using my mother?" "I'm offering you a chance to take better care of her." "You have two hours." Then he left. Silence settled over the office. One folder lay open to the contract. The other remained open to her mother's medical records. She looked from one to the other. Then shut both. She couldn't marry a man who looked at her mother with contempt.  Her hand reached for the contract again.  Disgust rose in her throat, but she read every page once more. Freedom to pursue her own interests. Everything she needed would be provided. And a generous payment too. Her eyes moved to her mother's file. Severe rheumatoid arthritis. Discounted treatment programme. She remembered the nights her mother struggled to grip a spoon. She remembered Victoria's voice whenever another payment came due. "Why waste money on someone who'll never get better?" Her father had always remained silent. Lydia closed her eyes. If she lost the discount eligibility, her mother's care would once again depend on Victoria. She couldn't hand her mother back to that woman. Then another thought came. The money. She could finally build something of her own. A business. Something she had dreamed about since university but had never been allowed to pursue. If she was giving Louis one year of her life, perhaps she could make something out of it. Lydia looked at the contract. "It's only a year." One signature stood between her freedom and her mother's care.