Follow
Chapters
Share
Bougth love

Bougth love

The story begins among the vine rows of the San Lorenzo Estate in the Guadalupe Valley. To Hanna Román, this land isn't about money; it's the living memory of her father, the man who taught her that every grape holds the secret of time. However, since his death, Hanna's world has been falling apart. Her mother, Doña Elena-a woman whose entire identity is tied to her last name and her jewelry box-has squandered the family fortune in a desperate attempt to keep up appearances among Mexico's elite. Debt is closing in, and the banks are threatening to seize the hacienda. This is when Elena plays her final card: her daughter. Hanna is young, beautiful, and possesses a purity that stands in stark contrast to the decay of high society, making her the family's most valuable asset. Elena reaches out to the Montes family, a lineage of financial sharks, and proposes a deal that feels like it belongs in another century: a marriage alliance in exchange for wiping out the Román family's debts. The Clash of Two Worlds Sergio Montes doesn't believe in fate, only in statistics. As the CEO of Montes Holdings, his life is a whirlwind of private jets and board meetings in Mexico City skyscrapers. He is strikingly handsome but glacially cold. He accepts the deal not for love or even desire, but out of strategic necessity: his grandfather, the patriarch of the empire, has given him an ultimatum to inherit the presidency of the company-he must "settle down" and project a solid family image. Their first meeting at a luxury restaurant in Mexico City is a total train wreck. Hanna arrives with the dust of the hacienda still in her soul and her pride wounded; Sergio arrives with a legal contract in hand. He looks at her as just another acquisition-a beautiful but silent asset. She looks at her as the executioner of her freedom. The Paper Pact The contract is signed with clear clauses: A two-year public marriage. Living together in Sergio's penthouse in Mexico City. Hanna receives the funds to modernize San Lorenzo but cannot return to live there until the contract expires. Any real emotional involvement is strictly forbidden. The beginning of their life together is a cold war. Hanna feels suffocated by the city and Sergio's controlling nature. He, in turn, is caught off guard by her resistance. Hanna isn't the "trophy wife" he expected; she secretly studies agronomy, reads up on commercial law, and questions his every move. Cracks in the Armor The turning point comes when Sergio is forced to visit the San Lorenzo Estate for an audit. Away from his concrete jungle, he sees a different Hanna: passionate, a leader, and deeply connected to the land. For the first time, the arrogant CEO feels a crack in his armor. The physical attraction that was always humming beneath the surface like an electric current finally explodes during a storm at the hacienda, where the contract stops being about paper and starts being about skin. However, Hanna's mother, Elena, isn't done with her schemes. Seeing Sergio start to soften, she fears losing her grip on the money and begins leaking information to the press to sabotage the relationship-leading Hanna to believe that Sergio is planning to sell the hacienda behind her back to build a hotel complex. Climax and Redemption The perceived betrayal breaks Hanna. She flees the city and retreats to the vineyards, ready to lose everything rather than stay with a man who thinks everything has a price. Sergio, faced for the first time with something he can't buy with a check, has to choose between his empire and the woman who taught him how to feel. The end of the story isn't just about saving the San Lorenzo Estate; it's about the transformation of them both. Sergio has to swallow his pride to ask for forgiveness, and Hanna has to learn that love-even when it starts as a transaction-can be the only absolute truth in a world of appearances.
Chapters
Share

Chapter 5

The atmosphere in the office became suffocating. Hanna felt the air thicken with every word she read in that letter. The paper-cold and cruel-detailed how the Montes family had orchestrated the financial harassment against her father, driving him to such a state of stress that his heart simply stopped. Hanna found herself at a devastating emotional crossroads. Her pulse quickened, thudding hard against her temples. She pressed the paper against her chest, hiding behind one of the heavy bookshelves when she heard a noise in the hallway. In that moment, her mind became a battlefield: The Urge to Confront: She wanted to scream at Sergio, throw the letter in his face, and demand to know how he could sleep at night knowing his lineage had hands stained with her father's blood. Rage burned in her gut. The Weight of Fear: But then, she remembered Sergio's words about his family's power. She was alone in a house full of people who worked for the Montes family. If she went out now and accused them, who would believe her? They could make her disappear too, or destroy the evidence before she even made it out the front door. The Scene: Broken Silence Hanna stood frozen, tucking the letter inside her sweater just as the office door swung open. Sergio walked in, looking for some documents, initially unaware of her presence. Hanna watched him from the shadows of the library. There he was: the man who just last night spoke to her about "acting" and "being professional." The man who had ordered the staff to treat her well while he kept the moral death warrant of her family in his desk. Sergio stopped in front of the desk, frowning as he noticed the black leather folder wasn't exactly where he had left it. "Hanna?" he called out, his voice echoing in the silence of the room. "I know you're in here. I can smell your perfume." Hanna felt a shiver run down her spine. Fear began to win the battle. If she spoke, she lost her only advantage. If she stayed silent, she would have to continue living under the same roof as the son of the people who killed her father, faking a smile and sharing a room. The Internal Decision Hanna closed her eyes and made a desperate choice. She couldn't confront him yet. Not without a plan. She needed him to keep believing she was just a piece on his board-a woman who needed the money or the protection of the contract. "I'm here," she said, stepping out from behind the bookshelf with her face as neutral as possible, though her hands were shaking inside her pockets. "I was just... looking for something to read. I was bored in the room." Sergio stared at her intently, his gray eyes analyzing every gesture. The silence stretched on for what felt like centuries. "I told you this place was off-limits, Hanna," he said, taking a step toward her. "There are things in here you wouldn't understand." I understand them better than you do, she thought, feeling the sharp edge of the hidden paper against her skin. Hanna walked down the hallway with leaden legs, feeling the floor shift beneath her feet. Every step that took her away from Sergio's office was a victory of survival instinct over her desire to scream. As she closed the door behind her, she left Sergio submerged in his papers, unaware that his family's darkest secret had just changed hands. The Sanctuary of the Sofa Upon reaching the suite, Hanna locked the door and collapsed onto the sofa where she had spent the night. The very piece of furniture that had seemed uncomfortable before now felt like her only refuge. She pulled the letter from her clothes with trembling hands and re-read those fateful lines. "...the target has been neutralized. Pressure on his assets triggered the expected collapse. The medical report will confirm natural causes (heart attack). The Montes family no longer has competition in the sector." The coldness of the words was what hurt the most. To them, her father wasn't a person; he was a "target." And Sergio... Sergio knew. He had lived with that knowledge while looking her in the eye and asking her to feign eternal love. Hanna's Transformation Hanna looked at herself in the vanity mirror. Her eyes, previously full of doubt and exhaustion, now reflected something new: a cold fire. Fear Becomes Strategy: She was no longer crying. She knew that if Sergio suspected she knew the truth, she would become another "target." She had to be the best actress in the world. The Farce Continues: Sergio wanted a fake engagement for his own ends. Now, Hanna would give him exactly that-but she would use every dinner, every event, and every minute in that house to gather more evidence. Sergio's Return A few hours later, she heard the sound of the lock. Hanna hid the letter in the lining of her suitcase and sat on the sofa, pretending to read a fashion magazine from the table. Sergio entered, looking impeccable but with a shadow of tiredness on his face. He looked at her and, seeing her there on the sofa, traced a small smile of satisfaction, seeing that his orders to attend to her had been carried out. "I see you've recovered," he said, setting down his briefcase. "The staff told me you didn't want to come down for breakfast. Are you alright?" Hanna forced a smile-one that didn't reach her eyes, but in the dim light of the room, it seemed real enough. "I just needed to rest a bit more, Sergio. The sofa isn't so bad after all," she lied, feeling the taste of betrayal bitter on her tongue. "How was your day at the office?" Sergio relaxed, falling straight into the trap of Hanna's silence. He had no idea that the woman in front of him was no longer the scared girl who needed a contract, but someone now seeking justice. Hanna couldn't bear the weight of the secret for a second longer. The rage, contained for hours, finally overflowed her fear. She crossed the hallway with steps that echoed like gunshots on the marble, ignoring the employees who watched her with confusion. There was no hesitation this time; no caution. She reached the office door and, without knocking, shoved it open with a sharp blow, slamming it against the wall.

You may also like

Bound By Contract: The Surgeon's Secret Wife
7.2
I am a resident surgeon, secretly married to Dr. Barrett Walters, the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery. It was a transactional marriage; he paid my mother's mounting medical bills, and I was his secret, obedient wife in the dark. But at the hospital, he was a cold-blooded tyrant who deliberately made my life a living hell. During a major medical conference, he viciously tore apart my successful surgical repair, looking me dead in the eye as he called me incompetent in front of all my colleagues. The humiliation didn't stop there. With his tacit approval, the senior residents bullied me, assigning me every brutal night shift. When his beautiful, wealthy heiress "girlfriend" visited the ward, he publicly mocked my background to make her smile. "Some people get in through the back door. They're not fit for the front lines." Even when I was forced to work as a secret banquet waitress to cover the medical copays he ignored, he found me, ruined the job out of pure possessive jealousy, and then fined my meager resident salary the very next morning just to show his absolute control. I endured his punishing kisses and cruel rebukes, sacrificing my dignity just to keep my mother alive. But I couldn't understand why he had to destroy every shred of my peace. If he wanted the perfect heiress, why did he refuse to let me go? Staring at his cold, controlling eyes in the stairwell, my exhaustion finally overpowered my fear. I was done being his victim, and it was time to tear up this contract.
"Bound By The Wrong Brother"
8.0
My father gave me an ultimatum: marry a man I despise or lose my entire inheritance. I chose to run, boarding a private jet with no intention of looking back. But his reach is absolute. The phone buzzed before we even left New York airspace. "Send me a picture with Sterling now," his voice barked, "or I'm calling your pilot to turn that jet around." I faked the photo and fled to Las Vegas, my last resort. My mission was simple: find my father's illegitimate son, the one secret that could break his hold over me. My only lead was a grainy picture of a ruthless fixer, a man who cleaned up my father's messes. I found him in a desolate diner, a giant of a man surrounded by a wall of guards. I gambled everything on a single coin toss for the information I needed. He saw right through my desperate bluff. He leaned in close, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "In my city, the house always wins." I was left standing there, humiliated and defeated. But as he turned to leave, he glanced over his shoulder. "But you're lucky. Today, I'm just curious what Howard Bright's daughter is doing so far from home." He had seen me not as a threat, but as a curiosity. I had lost the battle, but I wasn't done yet. I was no longer running. I was hunting.
Reborn Heiress: Pampered By The Ruthless Guardian
9.6
Antoinette stood on the manicured church lawn, the blinding summer sun stabbing her eyes. The funeral service for her parents had just ended. A hand wrapped around her trembling shoulder, carrying the sharp, cloying scent of Fabian Cash's cologne. It was the exact same cologne her fiancé wore the night he locked her in a burning house to die in her previous life. Now, wearing a mask of sorrowful devotion, Fabian tried to drag her to his car to control her parents' massive life insurance payout. When she shoved him away in pure nausea, his mother Eleanor immediately shrieked to the crowd, deploying her usual guilt trip. "She's lost her mind! The girl has completely snapped!" The townspeople whispered and pointed fingers, watching Fabian play the victim as he tightened his bruising grip on her wrist, claiming she was hysterical and needed to be locked away. Antoinette stared at the mother and son who had conspired to steal her family's estate and end her life. The rage inside her felt like battery acid pumping through her veins. They didn't care if she lived or died; they only cared about the money. How could she let them strip her of everything again? She didn't hesitate. She swung with every bit of strength she possessed, slapping Fabian across the face in front of the entire town. "The engagement is over," she announced coldly. Then, she turned her back on her greedy ex-fiancé and walked straight toward the terrifyingly powerful billionaire Hiram Graves, ready to let the world burn.
The Betrayed Heiress: Rising From Ashes
9.3
Charlene was locked in a Swiss asylum by the wealthy Gay family, force-fed antipsychotics until her hands shook violently. Her adoptive brother, Columbus, dragged her out of the psych ward merely to parade her as a prop for the paparazzi. He had locked her up to get a psychiatric evaluation, ensuring she was declared legally insane and unable to claim her massive trust fund. The moment she returned to the estate, the torment worsened. Her other brother, Antwan, kicked her to the ground and shattered her wrist on the gravel. "You lost your legal rights, you stupid bitch," he sneered, while the staff blindly ignored her agony. Her childhood bedroom was completely gutted and given to a distant cousin. Worse, she discovered Columbus was secretly sleeping with Isabela—the fake heiress who had framed Charlene in the first place. Every trace of her existence in the family was being violently scrubbed away. She had lost her dignity, her health, and the baby the doctors claimed had died in the delivery room. She couldn't understand why the family she loved hated her so viciously, stripping away everything she had. That was until she saw a little boy in the hospital hallway, a perfect, miniature replica of her own face. Clutching the gold-crested cufflink he dropped, she realized the asylum's doctor had stolen him. Her baby was alive. With her heart turned to stone, Charlene made a silent vow to crawl out of hell and burn the Gay family to the ground.
The Bodyguard I Hired Is My Billionaire Husband
7.1
My father sold me to a monster to settle a debt. One minute I was a debutante at a gala, and the next, I was being hunted through the service corridors by my own stepmother’s security. I scrambled into a dark penthouse to hide, only to be pinned against the wall by a man whose body felt like a wall of searing heat. He smelled of rain and expensive cedar, his voice a low, pained growl as he gripped my wrist so hard the bone nearly ground together. The next morning, the "Wall Street Monster" arrived at our estate to collect his prize. My father signed the contract without reading a single page, trading me for a wire transfer while my sister laughed at my impending doom. "I heard he uses knives in bed," Kacy whispered, "Hope you have thick skin, sis." A balding, cruel man claimed to be my husband, but it was the silent bodyguard standing in the shadows who caught my tray when I stumbled. His touch sent a jolt of electricity through my veins, and his voice was the same gravelly baritone from the dark room the night before. I was terrified, caught in a web of lies about a disfigured beast who supposedly broke women for sport. I didn't understand why this "bodyguard" was looking at me with such predatory intensity, or why he was the only one who stepped in when my father tried to shove me. Then, inside the car, the bodyguard took off his sunglasses to reveal piercing blue eyes and a face that was devastatingly handsome. "I am Gideon Blackburn," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. "And in this house, there is only one rule: Never lie to me." The monster wasn't who they said he was, and he was about to show my family exactly what happens when you try to destroy something that belongs to him.
The Comatose Billionaire's Secret Genius Bride
8.0
Arletta Lee was dragged out of rural Pennsylvania to be a sacrificial bride for the comatose billionaire heir, Josue Mcconnell. The moment she stepped into the massive estate, she became the prime target of a vicious, greedy family. Josue's stepmother and half-brother viewed her as cheap trash. They didn't just want her gone; they wanted Josue dead. Kyler broke into her room at night reeking of bourbon, and later sneaked into the medical wing with a lethal synthetic neurotoxin aimed right at Josue's IV line. His jealous cousin even tried to permanently disfigure her face with a thermos of boiling water. "She's just a cheap good-luck charm the old man bought. We can throw her out with the trash whenever we want." They relentlessly bullied her, thinking she was just a helpless, terrified country girl who would quietly take the blame for their murder plot. But what the arrogant Mcconnell family didn't know was that her pathetic, trembling demeanor was entirely manufactured. They thought they had trapped a frightened rabbit in a den of wolves. In reality, Arletta was a brilliant underground surgeon. Using ancient neural acupuncture hidden in a simple wooden hairpin, she flawlessly turned their traps against them, locking Kyler away and winning the ruthless patriarch's absolute protection. As the supposedly brain-dead billionaire finally twitched and locked his fingers in an iron grip around her hand, Arletta smiled coldly. It was time to wake him up and let him tear this rotten family apart.