CHAPTER ONE

My sheer, white veil covered my face, the fabric trailing down to my knees. My bridal gown stretched far behind me as I took slow, calculated steps toward the devil standing a short distance away.

Everyone’s faces were filled with smiles, their happy expressions bringing tears to my eyes—tears I couldn’t let fall.

They were all so pleased to see their king, the most handsome and powerful man in Russia’s entertainment industry, finally getting married.

Everyone seemed happy.

But I wasn’t.

Here I was, walking slowly into an unavoidable hell ruled by the devil I was about to marry.

This devil, whom fate brought me to through an accidental one-night encounter—six years ago.

With each step, I reassured myself that it was only for a year.

Just one year.

It was a contract marriage.

It would end soon.

But even as I held on to this hope, I found myself getting tangled in his piercing gaze. His cold eyes seemed to whisper something dangerous to me as if they were telling me…

I was in.

In for a long, harrowing year with him.

Would I survive it? Could I bear it?

I was doing all this just to stay with my precious Dawn—my light, my daughter, my star in both the dark and the day.

My eyes found my little girl, smiling brightly, watching me, her mother, about to get married. She looked thrilled, believing she’d finally have a father. A father who… well… Aghhhh.

I wanted to scream at the mess my life had become.

I tried to push these complicated thoughts out of my mind, but they clung to me as I took the last step, finally standing before my soon-to-be husband. My mind reeled, remembering how I ended up here…

In a church, dressed as a bride, about to be wed.

***********

I looked directly at the handsome man sitting before me, his expression colder than anything I’d ever seen. The weight of his earlier words bore down on me, leaving me with no choice but to consider giving in to his demand.

To give in to his wish.

But why should I?

He was being cruel. So cruel to give me such a threat.

“Sign this contract, Kalmia Paxton. Marry me. It’ll be for only a year, as stated in the contract, then you’ll be free from me. Unless, of course, you don’t want to be your daughter’s mother anymore.”

Those were his words.

How could he say that? Just because he was the most powerful man in Russia, he thought he could twist anyone into following his orders, like he was some kind of king.

He might be the president of the entertainment industry, but he wasn’t the king of my life.

I stood up, anger surging through me as I faced the man whose mere presence made others bow down in fear. But I wasn’t one to bow.

“You’re cruel. You’re f***ing cruel! How can you heartlessly threaten me like that? How dare you use my daughter’s custody against me? I gave birth to her—I have every right to be with her.

"I raised her from the moment she was born, and now you’re forcing me to sign this ridiculous deal or lose her forever! There are plenty of other women. Ask them! I’m not the only one in existence!” I yelled, fearlessly meeting his cold, unyielding gaze. Even after my outburst, his expression didn’t waver.

“I didn’t sleep with those other women six years ago. I didn’t have a one-night accident with them”  So why should I ask them?” he  asked, his deep, hoarse voice sending a shiver down my spine. But I stood my ground.

“It was a mistake,” I shot back. “I went to the wrong room. I didn’t mean to end up with you.”

“I won’t sign your contract. I won’t marry you.” My voice was firm, but he tossed a paper at me.

“Well, Miss Kalmia, it seems you don’t have a choice,” he said.

I raised a brow, confused, and picked up the brown envelope, curiosity getting the best of me. I pulled out the white slip inside, my eyes widening as I read the bold black ink across the page. The realization of what was written hit me like a punch, and my heart sank.

“You… conducted a DNA test on my daughter without my consent?” I glared at him, anger boiling within me as he slowly stood up. He took deliberate steps toward me, his gray eyes darkening with every inch he closed between us. My heart began to race, my feet glued to the ground.

His expression grew darker, a terrifying calmness in his eyes, making me want to run… but I couldn’t move.

He stopped right before me, towering over me with his intimidating 6’7” frame, his piercing gaze locked onto mine.

He leaned down, his face mere inches from mine.

The closeness made me instinctively lean back, but my body met the edge of the glass table. I gripped the table behind me to steady my wobbling legs, desperate to keep myself from collapsing under his intense gaze.

"You kept a father away from his daughter for six years, Mia! You let her live without him all that time, and now that I've found her, you're talking about needing your consent before I can claim her?"

"You call me cruel, but you did that heartlessly."

"How long did you plan to keep this secret, hmm?" he asked, his dark brows pulled together in a menacing frown. I swallowed hard, listening to his words.

He was right. I was the one who kept Dawn away from him for years. I was the cruel one.

His words felt like a slap to my face, as Dawn’s cries every night haunted me. I couldn't have felt more useless.

What kind of mother was I? How did her cries not push me to find her father?

Damn.

He rose slowly, adjusting his suit.

"Like it or not, you’re marrying me…unless you want to be kept away from your daughter forever," he finished, turning and walking back to his seat.

I stared at the two papers spread on the table—one from the DNA test, the other… the contract.

I couldn’t think further. I had to sign it. Dawn was my priority, and I needed to be with her.

I couldn’t risk losing her.

This man, Arrow, was a devil. And as her father, he had the right to claim her. Even if we went to court, he’d win.

I had to sign it… for Dawn.

"Fine. I agree," I said, picking up the pen.

The blue ink bled onto the paper, inscribing my signature.

My signature to hell.

His hell.