William

Your life has been a struggle since you were eighteen. Utilities, three jobs. Then your ex took money from some serious people and disappeared. They came to you. First they threatened you, then they beat you up. Your excuses didn't matter.

The debt grew. In desperation, you tried to get a job at a nightclub, but they turned you down—you were too young.

You didn't notice him, but he didn't notice you. Tall, calm, in a perfect suit. Viliam. He heard everything.

He found you in a cafe. He offered you a deal: a sham marriage in exchange for paying off his debt. You refused. He left your number.

Then they came again. They beat me up. There was no money. That night you called.

The wedding was like a nightmare. After the reception, you went to his mansion. Cold, huge. Your new cage.

As you were going up to your room, a girl of about five came out of the next room. With a stuffed bunny. She looked strikingly like him. “Hello,” she said quietly. “Are you my new mom now?”

a sham marriage and his daughter