“Kira, I don’t understand,” I said, my voice cracking. “How can you marry a man you’ve never seen before? ”
She wouldn’t look at me. “They’re after you, aren’t they?
Look, Kira, you don’t have to do any of this. ”
“No, I can’t,” she whispered. “He’s into illegal stuff. There’s no other way.
”
I grabbed her arm, but she pulled free. “What have you dragged this girl into? ”
Her groom stepped forward, handsome but cold. “He may be handsome, but he doesn’t own a penny,” someone muttered behind us.
The officiant cleared his throat. “Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. ”
I stood frozen as they exchanged rings. The next morning, Kira entered the small, bare apartment and dropped her bag.
The walls were plain, the furniture cheap. Her new husband, Kavanch, watched her with a smirk. “After the mansion you lived in, this must be disappointing. You must miss home.
”
She looked around. “It has no taste at all. ”
“Because you said you were on a diet,” he shot back. Kira’s jaw tightened.
“We both know this is a marriage of convenience. ”
Kavanch snorted. “If you fulfill your responsibilities as my wife, there won’t be any problems. Ah, by the way, during these 6 months, you won’t be with any other man.
And most importantly, you’ll stay as far away from me as possible. ”
She met his eyes. “All right. But the same conditions apply to you, too.
”
He laughed, sharp and short. “No. You’d prefer if I were mean? ”
“Tell me,” she said.
“I can’t tell if he’s good or bad. ”
Later, Kira visited her friend Seline. “Baby, you should show it to an expert. The company is under her stepmother and stepsister’s names.
”
Seline leaned in. “Then why did the girl marry you? ”
Kira sighed. “There’s nothing more natural than a sick woman dying.
She’s still unconscious. ”
Her mother had been fighting for her life for weeks. The doctors said her blood levels were failing. Kira’s stepmother controlled the fortune, and the only way to access it was through this marriage clause—one that required her to stay married for six months before the funds would release.
“Kavanch, tell me something,” she asked him one night. “Until I get what’s rightfully mine, no one should know my true worth. There’s no love between us. ”
He shrugged.
“All right, then. ”
But she noticed it—the way his phone buzzed late at night, the way he came home smelling of Denise’s perfume. One evening, she saw them together. Denise had her hand on his chest, laughing.
“Couldn’t get enough of Denise, huh? The dinner didn’t take long,” Kira said, her voice flat. Kavanch didn’t deny it. “That’s why it took a while.
”
“At least I understand now,” Kira said. “I have no one else but you. ”
Denise smiled, poisonous. “There’s an issue with her blood level, Seline.
How are things between you? ”
Seline shook her head. “Never. Two good friends.
”
Kira overheard Denise speaking to Kavanch in the garden. “If she doesn’t die naturally, I’ll find a way myself. ”
Her blood ran cold. Kira confronted Seline.
“I don’t want you to carry both our burdens. ”
Seline looked away. “Do you think she’ll choose you when all your lies come out? ”
“Hannah must not find out about this,” Kira said.
“Anyway, I think I’ll leave you two alone. ”
But Hannah was already standing behind the door. The next morning, Kira walked into the living room. “First thing tomorrow morning, I’m confronting her and I’m going to tell her.
”
Kavanch grabbed her wrist. “No, don’t do that. ”
Denise leaned against the doorframe. “Then you’ll be rid of her forever.
Our agreement still stands. ”
Kira yanked free. “I can’t seem to understand Kavanch. But you should stay away from him.
”
Denise’s eyes went hard. “What do you think you’re doing after everything I’ve done for you? ”
Kira stepped closer. “The only thing we need to do is get a grip on him.
We will use Hira. We’ll turn them against each other. ”
Denise laughed. “Look, whatever I’m doing, I’m doing it for both of us.
If you trust me. ”
“Because I’ve fallen in love with you,” Denise whispered, leaning in. Kira shoved her back. “Did your fake husband tell you that?
Now he’s after the last shares we have. And with these, the entire fund will be his. If you give me one more chance, you’ve lost all of your chances with me. There is no us anymore.
Stay away from me. ”
Kira ran to her mother’s hospital room and collapsed in the chair. “I wish you’d wake up and tell me what to do. ”
Her mother’s hand was still cold.
A few days later, Kavanch announced in front of his lawyers: “And now, without any objections, you’ll return it all to Hira and her mother. ”
Seline gasped. “Did you check Seline’s house? ”
Kira stood numb.
“I didn’t know where else to go. You can stay as long as you want. ”
Seline opened the door. “I need to be alone for a while.
”
“Whatever you want to say, just keep it short. ”
Seline looked at her. “If there’s no trust, then why go on loving? ”
Kira turned away.
“Do you know what’s the biggest difference between you and me, Kavanch? Let me tell you this. I will stay away from her. Not because you want me to, because she wants me to.
”
He stared at her. “Even if I can’t talk to you, even if I can’t touch you, just feeling your presence is enough for me. ”
“Losing both her and the fund, he’ll be ruined,” Denise said to Seline. “However, you will have to stay away from Hira.
Understand? ”
Kira shook her head. “I’ll never do that. She would never.
”
But her mother’s condition worsened. The doctors told Kira the truth—someone had been tampering with her mother’s medication. “That means he never loved me in the first place,” Kira said. “Something must have happened.
Maybe he fell in love with someone else. But he can’t even bear to stay married to me for that long. ”
Seline took her hand. “While I was asleep, I heard everything your husband said.
Don’t let go of each other. ”
The board meeting came fast. Kira’s stepmother sat across the table. “Before we transfer our funds to you, we need to verify that your marriage is not a scam.
May we see your spouse? ”
Kavanch stood. “Kevance, what is the most important thing about Miss Hira? ”
The board member answered.
“When did you first realize you were in love with each other? ”
“The moment I first saw her,” Kavanch said. The board member nodded. “What I’ve seen is enough for me.
I’m convinced that this marriage is not fake and you truly love each other. ”
Then Denise walked in, holding photographs. “I saw with my own eyes that you love someone else. ”
Silence.
Kira’s heart stopped. She looked at Kavanch—he wasn’t looking at her. “Why did he say I love someone else? ” Kira whispered.
“I don’t understand, Denise. If that’s true, why did he tell my mother that he loves me? ”
Denise smiled. “She must be confused.
”
Kira stared at her. “You may have forgotten this, but we’re a family. They can never hurt you. And you have no evidence.
”
“Enough,” Kira’s stepmother snapped. “It’s only her medical reports. ”
Kira couldn’t breathe. “Only a lunatic could do what she did.
”
That night, Kira found Kavanch in the study. He sat in the dark, head in his hands. “Even though I know you love someone else, I don’t love anyone else,” she said. “No one.
Absolutely no one. ”
He looked up, pain in his eyes. “Didn’t that Denise tried to kiss you before? ”
She froze.
“Where should I drop you off? ”
“First home, then the airport,” he said. “Where are you heading, Mr. ”
She didn’t answer.
Seline found her the next morning. “Kira, I don’t understand anything. He showed these photos to Kavanch. ”
Kira took the photos—the ones Denise had staged, her drugged, leaning into Denise’s arms.
“He only thinks of you,” Seline said. Kira felt the world tilt. “Because I have something to show you. ”
Seline grabbed her shoulders.
“You’re coming with me because I have something important to show you because I need you with me. Will you come with me or should I follow you all the way to Paris? ”
Kira shook her head. “He drugged my coffee and then he shamelessly took pictures as if we were lovers.
He showed these to you, didn’t he? ”
Kavanch was behind them. “I haven’t been with anyone else. Never leave me again.
”
Kira turned, tears falling. “I took back my father’s company instead. All I want is you. ”
He pulled her close.
“I need to go to the office right now immediately. ”
She touched his face. “No, I didn’t. ”
He looked at her, confused.
“Then I’m pointing the gun at the wrong person. ”
Denise stood at the door, gun in hand. The shot rang out. Kira screamed, but it wasn’t her who fell—it was Seline, diving in front of Kira.
“We need to get her into surgery immediately,” the doctor shouted. Kira held Seline’s hand in the hospital hallway. “Instead, you’ve set up camp here. ”
Seline smiled weakly.
“Honey, I’m not saying you should leave him, but you’ve been here for days. ”
“Don’t tell me not to get my hopes up. ”
Seline squeezed her hand. “I understand you’re hurting.
”
Denise stood in the corner, undone. “You took all the wealth and then you took your father’s love. Then you took the richest man from me. ”
She pointed the gun at Kira.
“Then I’ll kill your pathetic husband and then your mother. As long as I live. ”
Kavanch moved—the second shot missed Kira by inches. Denise fled, but Kavanch grabbed her before she reached the door.
“I leave you alone for 5 minutes and you get into trouble,” he said, clutching his arm. Blood soaked through his sleeve. Kira ran to him. “After he shot you, Denise fled.
”
He looked at her, breathing hard. “Then I have two wishes. First, let’s donate all the money from our fund to the hospital. It’s expensive, but we’ll care for the most challenging patients.
”
She nodded, tearful. “No way, girl. ”
He laughed softly. “He would never.
”
“In any case, I was tracking Mr. Kavanch,” the detective said, stepping forward. “Denise is in custody. Her prints are on the gun and her account shows multiple payments from your stepmother.
”
Kira’s mother woke up three days later. Kira sat by her bed, Kavanch beside her. “I don’t have anything left,” she said. “Except you.
”
He didn’t answer. He only held her hand.
