Chapter 3 Terms and Conditions

Harley didn't reply to her message.

Not immediately. Not with words.

At exactly 8 a.m. the next morning, a sleek black car pulled up in front of Tessy's crumbling apartment building. No text. No call. Just a driver in a suit who stepped out, opened the door, and said,

"Miss Lane? Mr. Gabriel is expecting you."

Tessy hesitated only for a second. Then she climbed in.

[Entering the Ice Palace]

Harley's penthouse didn't look like a place where people lived. It looked like a museum built by someone who hated color and emotion.

Everything was marble, glass, and steel. Cold. Sterile. Perfect.

The floor to ceiling windows overlooked the city like a throne looking down on its subjects. She tried not to gawk, but her worn flats squeaked against the polished floor, betraying her every step.

Harley was already seated in a lounge chair by the window, reading something on a tablet. He didn't look up.

"You're five minutes early," he said. "I like that."

"Happy to impress," she replied flatly, folding her arms.

He finally looked up, his eyes scanning her quickly. "Sit."

She did.

A legal file sat on the glass table between them-thick, crisp, and terrifying. The word CONTRACT stared up at her in all caps, like it could smell her hesitation.

"Read it," Harley said. "Or don't. But I recommend you do."

Tessy opened the file, her hands shaking slightly.

The Rules of the Game

Terms of Agreement

Duration: Six months.

Public appearances as husband and wife required.

Living together required.

No romantic expectations.

No real intimacy unless mutually agreed upon.

Absolute confidentiality breach means forfeiture of payment.

"I'm supposed to live here?" she asked, eyes wide.

"You think I can fake a marriage while my 'wife' sleeps in a one bedroom walk-up in Queens?"

"And the... 'no intimacy unless agreed' clause?" she asked.

"That's for your protection, not mine."

Her eyes narrowed. "You assume I'd want to sleep with you?"

Harley raised a brow. "Statistically, it's come up."

Arrogant bastard.

"And if I back out midway?"

"You get nothing. But your debt will have already been cleared. Consider that a signing bonus."

"And if you back out?"

"I won't."

The certainty in his voice made her shiver. He wasn't used to breaking deals. Or being questioned.

"I don't bite, Tessy," he said, watching her stare at the pen.

"You don't smile either."

Something flickered across his face. Amusement? Annoyance? She couldn't tell.

She looked down at the contract again.

This was insane. Unreal. Ridiculous.

And yet... it was her only way out.

Her fingers tightened around the pen.

With one stroke of ink, her life would no longer be her own. For six months, she'd belong to a man colder than the penthouse around them.

She signed.

Harley stood. "Welcome to the ice palace, Mrs. Gabriel."

Before she could even process the moment, Harley walked to a small drawer and pulled out a ring box. He opened it, revealing a diamond so large it looked fake.

"It's insured," he said, slipping it on her finger with clinical precision. "Don't lose it."

She stared at it, stunned. "This looks like it could pay off my debt twice."

"It could. And if you're smart, you'll hold onto it tighter than your pride."

Tessy looked up at him then really looked.

And for a second, she wondered what kind of man needed to buy a stranger to play his wife. What was broken underneath all that control?

But she said nothing.

Just nodded.

Because now, she was officially Mrs. Harley Gabriel.

And the real performance had just begun.