King Thorn, a man with an unsettling smirk, approached Payton, declaring, "I am King Thorn, and I have come to announce that you, Payton Vass, will be my bride." His gaze pierced through her disbelief. "Marriage?!" Payton's eyes widened in shock. "Yes, Payton," he insisted, locking eyes with her, "you must marry me." Caught off guard, Payton stared at the man, convinced he had lost his mind. Adding to her turmoil, he dared to bring this news to her family's doorstep, seemingly oblivious to the chaos already unfolding. In her dreams, all Payton had envisioned was a future with her fiancé, but fate had other plans. Her perfect world shattered on the night of her fiancé's birthday celebration, leaving her in an unexpected embrace with a wealthy stranger. And if that wasn't enough, the media soon caught wind, forcing them into a hasty marriage to salvage their damaged reputations. "You created this mess, Payton," he growled, fingers gripping her arm in anger. "You must follow my lead." But Payton refused to back down, "You're the one who ruined my life! We need to find a way out of this together!" Despite their mutual hatred, they were trapped in a bond they never sought. For he, the man she despised, held the key to saving her father's name and her struggling business.
