BOUND BY A RING

Tessa James never thought she'd be offered a million-dollar marriage deal while wearing panda pajamas and eating cereal with a fork.

But here she was.

The knock at the door had been too polite to belong to her landlord and too aggressive to be her best friend. She had opened it with zero expectations-then promptly choked on a cornflake when she saw the man in a black suit, holding a sleek black envelope like it was an invitation to a royal execution.

"For Miss Tessa James," he said smoothly. "Direct from Blake & Co."

Blake & Co?

Tessa blinked. "Is that a law firm or a hitman agency? Because if this is about my unpaid school loan, tell them I'm already dead inside."

The man didn't even flinch. "It's not a debt collection. It's... an opportunity."

Tessa snatched the envelope suspiciously. "The last time someone said that to me, I ended up selling foot pictures to pay rent."

He gave her a tight smile. "You might find this opportunity... more lucrative."

The envelope was heavier than it looked. Inside was a thick, cream-colored document, perfectly typed and smelling faintly of expensive cologne and silent judgment. At the top, in elegant letters, was the title:

Confidential Marriage Agreement.

Tessa snorted. "This is a joke, right? Some kind of creepy dating prank?"

"No joke. The contract is legal. The marriage would be real... in name only. A one-year term."

She scanned the first page, skipping all the fancy legal jargon until her eyes landed on two details:

Contract Length: 12 months

Total Compensation: $2,000,000

Her fingers trembled slightly.

This had to be fake. Or illegal. Or filmed for a twisted reality show.

"Let me get this straight," she said slowly. "Some rich guy wants to marry me - a complete stranger - for a year, for two million dollars? What's the catch? Do I have to give him a kidney too?"

The man's expression didn't change. "No kidneys. But there are rules. Appear as a married couple in public. No emotional entanglement. And complete discretion."

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "No emotional entanglement? So... don't fall in love?"

"Exactly."

She laughed. A bitter, dry laugh that didn't match her usual mischief. "Perfect. That's never been my problem. Men run faster than my bank balance drops."

"Then this should be easy for you."

She bit her bottom lip. Two million dollars. That was hospital bills, tuition for her kid brother, rent for the next ten years... freedom.

But something about the whole thing felt dangerous - not in the knife-to-throat way, but in the heart-gets-stupid-and-ruined kind of way.

She looked up sharply. "Who is he? The mystery groom?"

The man pulled out a sleek silver card and handed it to her.

On it, in bold, was a single name:

Lucien Blake.

Tessa blinked. "Wait... Blake? As in Blake Enterprises? That Lucien Blake?"

"The one and only."

"Oh great," she muttered. "I'm about to fake-marry a corporate iceberg."

And for some reason, her heart did a tiny, stupid flip.