SA'S

ars

ew had vanished lik

ur empire crumbled around us. The wealth, the prest

. Cars, paintings, heirlooms, all sold to strangers

cattered like shadows at dawn, offering no

moved into a cramped, peeling apartment on the outskirts of the

ree in Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Cooking became my thera

built to climb. Mum's health started declining fast. Her laughter faded, her eyes ho

dneys start

ns drained her life instead of saving it. The bills piled up like corpses on a battlefield, and

ord decent meals, le

with errands, sometimes covering medicine,

me. That memory still clawed at my soul, even after all

s bargaining with pharmacists and learning to live without sleep. There wasn't room in my

d was to sa

night that cha

our tiny room, tallying up the month's

hopelessness rose in my throat. Mum was

s a child, the way he used to call me his princess. Guilt tore into my h

ncle barged in, humming

," I said softly, ha

"There you are, Alessa!" he said, breathless. "Have you heard? The richest b

ine. I froze, lips parting slightly. No. It couldn't be t

nlop. You know her, beautiful voice, top charts, tours all over the world. They broke up three ye

ked, hoping, praying, it wasn

pictures. Besides, he went off-grid after the breakup. They say Natasha broke his heart so badly he

elt a stin

ped the real bomb. "I want you to marry h

d. "What?! Uncle,

even apply because they know he won't give them his heart. But you, you

m anger. "You want to sell me like cattle to

other is dying. She doesn't have months. A few years married t

m. To disappear. But his next words s

condition. And remember, it was your foolish cry

dition or reminded me of that awful incident. Mayb

ully and c

my sanity. "This is a golden chance. If anything

he door slamming

ts pounded my chest, as if trying to break through to the part

had to do whatever

arriage proposal" into the search bar. The results were overwhelming, hundreds

ingle raindrop

even wrote a personal message: I'm not here for love. I'm here because I have no other c

ed later t

ed to meet me,

or application

What kind of man creates a registration deadline for mar

im, just like Michael's humiliation broke me

uldn't fee

phone lit up wit

te date with Mr. Michael Astor. All necessary det

art s

slick with sweat. I was going to meet the man who'd

ed his hands and laughed like a

t

whether I was walking into salvat