𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕: 𝓐𝓷 𝓐𝓻𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓭 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐰𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. They never asked if they wanted any of it. Kashvi Arora has spent her life being the daughter who is never quite enough. At twenty-three, she has a secret the world would kill to know—she is the bestselling novelist behind a mysterious pen name. Millions have fallen in love with her words without ever knowing her face. At home, however, none of that matters. Then her family decides to marry her off. To 𝐄𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐡𝐠𝐚𝐥. Twenty-seven. Reclusive singer. Heir to the Sehgal empire. Infuriatingly arrogant. Emotionally unavailable. And, according to Kashvi, the last man on earth she would willingly marry. Ekansh doesn't want the marriage either. He doesn't believe in arranged marriages. He doesn't trust his father's intentions. And he certainly doesn't intend to spend his life tied to a woman he met only because their families decided they would look good together. So they make a simple agreement: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. But forced proximity has a way of making enemies notice things they were determined to ignore. A hand that lingers too long, a glance held a second too late and jealousy neither of them wants to name. And secrets buried beneath two powerful families. And past heartbreaks that refuse to stay buried. And a man who falls first— 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐭. Because sometimes the most dangerous thing about being forced to marry a stranger… is discovering that the stranger might become the one person you would choose. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭.