Chapter 1: The Funeral Crashers

The rain over Manhattan was relentless, mirroring the mood inside the Cross family estate in the Hamptons. Kaden Cross, the estranged son of the late tycoon Arthur Cross, stood in the grand hallway, his suit soaking wet. Beside him was a woman he had found unconscious on the side of the road three days ago—a woman with no memory, no name, whom he had decided to call Seraphina.

“Kaden!” hissed Lillian Cross, his stepmother, her diamonds glittering under the chandelier. “How dare you bring this… this stray into your father’s funeral? You didn’t even visit him when he was dying!”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Kaden replied, his voice cold. “And this is my fiancée.”

The room gasped. Chloe Frost, the socialite daughter of a rival billionaire who had been trying to marry Kaden for years, stepped forward. “Fiancée? You expect us to believe that? She looks like she crawled out of a dumpster!”

Seraphina, though missing her memories, felt a surge of instinctive rage. She didn’t cower. She stepped forward and slapped Chloe across the face. The sound echoed like a gunshot.

“Watch your mouth,” Seraphina said, her voice steady. “Or the next one will be a fist.”

Kaden smirked. He had picked the right woman.

Chapter 2: The Contract

Three days earlier, Kaden had found Seraphina in the wreckage of a luxury sedan on a stormy night. She had no ID, and the car’s plates had been removed. She woke up in his private clinic with no memory of who she was.

Kaden needed a wife. His father’s will stated that he could only inherit the 30% controlling stake of Cross Industries if he was married. Lillian and her son, Liam, were plotting to take over the company. Kaden needed a pawn, and Seraphina was a blank slate.

“I’ll pay for your medical bills and help you find your identity,” Kaden proposed in his penthouse overlooking Central Park. “In exchange, you play my wife for one year. No strings attached.”

“One year,” Seraphina agreed, signing the contract. “But I’m not a prop, Kaden. If someone attacks me, I bite back.”

“I’m counting on it,” he replied.

Chapter 3: The Jewelry Auction

To solidify their “relationship,” Kaden took Seraphina to the most exclusive jewelry auction in New York. Chloe Frost was there, determined to humiliate them.

The auctioneer presented a rare necklace, “The Tear of the Ocean,” with a starting bid of $5 million.

“Ten million!” Chloe shouted, glaring at Seraphina. “Let’s see if your ‘husband’ can afford this.”

Seraphina felt a strange pull toward the necklace. Flashes of memory hit her—a sketchpad, a grandfather’s voice. “Kaden,” she whispered. “That necklace… I designed it. I don’t know how I know, but I did.”

Kaden didn’t question her. He raised his paddle. “One hundred million.”

The room went silent. Chloe turned pale. “You’re crazy! It’s just a piece of glass!”

“It’s worth whatever my wife says it is,” Kaden said calmly.

After winning the necklace, Seraphina was cornered in the restroom by Chloe. “You think you’ve won? Kaden is just using you. He needs the inheritance. Once he gets it, you’ll be back on the street.”

Seraphina pinned Chloe against the marble wall. “And you think Kaden would ever want a woman as desperate as you? Even if I leave, you’ll never be Mrs. Cross.”

Chapter 4: The Design Genius

Kaden soon discovered that Seraphina wasn’t just a pretty face. She had an uncanny ability to spot fake antiques and a genius-level talent for design. He arranged for her to interview at Vanguard Jewelry, a company he secretly owned to rival his family’s business.

At the interview, the head designer, Marcus, tried to dismiss her because she had no resume. But Seraphina sketched a design on a napkin in five minutes that blew his entire portfolio out of the water.

“Who are you?” Marcus asked, stunned.

“I’m Seraphina Cross,” she said, realizing for the first time that the name felt powerful.

When Lillian found out Seraphina was working at Vanguard, she tried to sabotage her. She hired a thug to swap Seraphina’s design prototype with a defective one before a major presentation. But Seraphina caught the thug, disabled the trap, and presented a flawless collection that sold out in hours.

Chapter 5: The Truth Unveiled

As the months passed, the line between fake and real began to blur. Kaden found himself coming home early just to see her. Seraphina found herself worrying about his chronic insomnia.

But the past came knocking. Kaden’s private investigator found Seraphina’s true identity. She was Seraphina Vance, the missing heiress of the Vance banking dynasty in London. She had been in a car accident because someone had tried to assassinate her to stop her from inheriting her grandfather’s empire.

The person behind the hit? Liam Cross, Kaden’s half-brother, who had been secretly working with the Vance family’s enemies.

Kaden realized that by marrying her, he had put a target on her back. He tried to push her away, filing for divorce to protect her. “Get out, Seraphina. The contract is over.”

Seraphina didn’t leave. She walked into the Cross Industries board meeting, where Lillian was about to oust Kaden.

“I am Seraphina Vance,” she announced, her memory fully returned. “And I just bought 51% of this company. Kaden Cross isn’t going anywhere. And neither am I.”

Chapter 6: The Proposal

With Lillian and Liam exposed and arrested for corporate espionage and attempted murder, the dust finally settled. Kaden stood on the balcony of his penthouse, looking at the city lights.

“You didn’t have to save me,” he said softly.

“You saved me first,” Seraphina replied, walking up behind him. “You gave me a name when I didn’t have one.”

Kaden turned around. He didn’t have a contract this time. He had a ring—a simple, elegant band that he had designed himself.

“No more contracts,” he said. “Seraphina, will you marry me? For real this time?”

She smiled, the lights of Manhattan reflecting in her eyes. “Only if you promise never to make me cook instant noodles again.”

“Deal,” he kissed her, sealing the most profitable merger of his life.

THE END