BOUND BY HIS NAME
"Isabella this is the right time for you to choose between me or Hector, because any one you choose now will be your husband till the contract end."
"Think well Isabella don't make mistake."
She spilled coffee on the wrong man.
Isabella Ramirez is drowning in debt, exhaustion, and fear-working double shifts to keep her dying mother alive. One mistake in a crowded café brings her face-to-face with Alejandro De La Vega, a billionaire feared for his cold heart and ruthless power.
His punishment is cruel.
His offer is worse.
One year as his wife in exchange for her family's freedom.
But inside his mansion, Isabella learns that marriage without love is a cage. Betrayal hides behind charming smiles.
A former wife returns with secrets. A cousin watches from the shadows. And the contract that binds her may destroy her heart.
When lies explode and power turns brutal, Isabella must choose between survival and love-before she loses herself completely.
Tropes
Contract Marriage
Poor Girl × Billionaire CEO
Forced Proximity
Inheritance Deadline
Emotional Abuse & Redemption
Love vs Power
Public Scandal
Love Triangle
One True Love
Chapters
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Chapter 5
I tried to reply to his message and ask him how he got my number, but I couldn't; my hands were fixed on my phone, but I couldn't type a word. All I did was continuously stare at the message.
I got into my apartment, threw my bag on the wooden chair and sat.
I was torn between confusion and disbelief.
Hector is a stranger whose smile kept on displaying in my mind, and Alejandro is the most ruthless and dangerous man in the city. Both of them strangers, one seeking for attention while the other seeking for payback.
"Why did Hector insist on helping me with the bill?" I whispered. "And how did he get my number?"
I murmured a lot of questions to myself about the two strangers.
I was hoping the answers would come from above, but they didn't.
Later I walk towards the broken wooden bed and sit on the edge, with my eyes still fixed on the screen, only to discover that Hector was still typing; I became anxious, wondering what he was typing this time.
1 New Message
"Let's go out on a date. Azul's café. 4 p.m."
"What?" I whispered urgently with my heart beating fast like it would burst out of my chest.
I summoned the courage and responded to the very last message that he sent, My working place... I have a lot to do tomorrow.
Then I noticed he wasn't done typing. I could wait to see the next message. I turned the phone off and threw it on the bed...
While I was at work, my stomach was aching badly. Now I felt like I had just eaten so much food that I couldn't carry it.
I was shocked that Hector wanted to see me, and on the other hand, Alejandro paid my boss for me to be his personal waitress."
Without further thinking, I took my bath and ate the two loaves of bread that I had kept in the kitchen and to kissed the night goodbye.
****
The sound of the alarm ringing made me sit up on the bed. It was 7:42 in the morning. Normally my time for work is always around 9am. I dragged myself into the bathroom and took my bath, then got dressed for work.
I arrived at the café at around nine minutes past nine. There was a lot of traffic on the street this morning, causing me to come late.
Immediately after I entered the cafe, I noticed the absence of my boss, so I quickly tied the apron and stepped behind the counter, then began repeating the steps that I had become familiar with.
Smile, take orders, deliver drinks quickly, don't trip, don't stare, and don't drop anything. I attended to all of the customers, while my eyes were fixed on the door, waiting patiently for Alejandro to batch in as usual, but he didn't.
The bell made a sound, and the door was pushed open. I felt the breath I've been nervously holding in my throat whoosh out.
A huge muscular man stood at the entrance in an ash suit, then walked out from the shadow, only to discover he wasn't Alejandro; it was someone else. It was Hector.
His eyes scanned the room-
And landed on me.
My breath hitched as I let my mind wander aimlessly, like it has been waiting to do since the moment he walked in.
A smile sat on his face as he slowly approached me. His hands were continuously running through his hair; the look on his face wasn't readable.
"Coffee girl, we met again," he said softly, "and I guess your name is Isabella Ramirez?" He said
I nodded slightly. As my mouth fell open in surprise. How did he know my full name? I remember vividly that I haven't told anyone my full name, not even my boss, so how come he knew that my surname was "Ramirez"?
You said you have a lot of work to do, so I decided to come over to the café." He said.
"Yeah, I do really have a lot to do," I answered.
He continued. "But it seems that you aren't busy as you said." He mumbled...
We have a lot to talk about. "Get me a glass of whisky." He requested as he walked back to the table that was empty.
I quickly brought his drink because I had rumours saying, "He is more dangerous than Alejandro.
"Sit," he ordered, like he controlled every single breath that I breathe.
He took up the whisky glass and took a sip before returning it back to the table.
"You are really a pretty lady. I love the way your eyes and everything are."
"Thanks," I responded.
He continued.
"I've watched you for some time because you're important for my life."
"His life? What is he talking about?" I whispered in a voice that only I could hear.
He pushed the table that was between us and sat very close to me; the hot smell of his perfume was strong. Choking. I couldn't breathe.
After a long conversation, he brought out a huge envelope with a receipt of payment.
He placed the envelope in my hands, and as his hands brushed against mine, for some moment, he didn't let go of my hands, despite the fact that I was struggling to pull out my hands from his.
His touches were too light, and I wasn't comfortable.
"That is a huge amount of money. I brought it for you; use it and take care of yourself," he said with his voice above whispering.
"Thanks, but no, I don't need the money." I whispered out with my eyes blown wide and my heart pounding wildly against my ribs.
Deep down I really need the money, but I can't accept his offer, because I remember the voice of my colleague saying it always comes with a debt.
Just as this was happening, the entrance door to the café was swung opened.
Only to raise my head and discover it was Alejandro.
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9.3
Camila Damien has spent years avoiding Eric Sylvester-the ruthless CEO whose cold reputation precedes him. But when a career-making promotion forces them together on a billion-dollar pharmaceutical project, avoidance becomes impossible. Eric can't shake the feeling that he's seen her before. The mysterious woman in his wallpaper. The missing pieces of a night he can't remember. And now, the brilliant scientist who challenges him at every turn. But Camila is hiding something darker than career ambitions. Three weeks of her life is gone. Stolen by a drugging incident she can't remember and a saboteur she can't identify. As corporate espionage, toxic family ties, and a dangerous conspiracy close in around them, Camila and Eric must decide: trust each other with their carefully guarded hearts, or lose everything, including their lives. In the high-stakes world of pharmaceutical giants, where betrayal comes from those closest to you and the truth is buried in forgotten memories, love might be the most dangerous risk of all.
8.5
For two years, I was the perfect shadow of another woman. I wore the silk robes Brittain Austin bought, styled my hair exactly how he liked, and spoke in a voice pitched half an octave higher than my own. I was a placeholder, a living statue in a minimalist Manhattan penthouse, waiting for a man who looked at me but never actually saw me.
Everything shattered when a news alert flashed on my phone: "Caryn Newman Spotted at JFK." The original was back. The woman I was hired to mimic had returned to claim her throne, and my secret two-year contract as her stand-in was set to expire in three days.
Brittain didn't even give me the courtesy of a phone call. While he was supposed to be on a business trip, photos surfaced of him shielding Caryn from the paparazzi, his hand on her waist with a tenderness he never showed me. When I walked into his office to return his keys, he didn't look guilty; he just looked annoyed. He pulled out a checkbook and asked, "How much for the hurt feelings?" When I refused his money, he coldly ordered his assistant to freeze every one of my accounts before I even reached the elevator.
I stood on the sidewalk with zero dollars, realizing that to him, I wasn't a partner—I was just an expired lease. I had spent two years erasing my soul to fit into his world, only to be tossed out like trash the moment the real thing came home.
But Brittain forgot one thing: before I was his doll, I was an actress. I pulled my secret weapon from under the bed—a notebook and a raw film cut he never knew existed. I called my agent and launched a high-profile "showmance" with my co-star that set the internet on fire.
As I blocked Brittain's number and moved into a dusty apartment in Queens, I realized the show wasn't over. For the first time, I was the leading lady.
8.7
Five years ago, I was the invisible scholarship charity case at an elite Manhattan prep school, trying to survive in a sea of trust-fund babies.
Arlo Hammond, the untouchable billionaire heir, made sure to completely dismantle my soul.
When his wealthy friends asked if he noticed me, his mocking laughter echoed down the hallway.
"Are you out of your mind? You seriously think I'd be interested in a boring little nerd like her?"
But the moment we were alone, he would corner me in dark alleys, pinning my wrists against brick walls with terrifying, possessive jealousy if my phone even buzzed. He played his twisted games until I was left standing in the rain with my shattered dignity.
Now, I am an Assistant District Attorney. I spent years burying those memories under mountains of legal files.
But tonight, he returned.
When we crossed paths at an exclusive club, he looked at me with the cool detachment he'd give a piece of furniture. In front of a crowd of elites, he coldly declared:
"We have absolutely nothing to do with each other anymore."
Then he walked away to pick up a supermodel, leaving me trembling from the sheer humiliation.
I didn't understand. If I was so worthless to him, why did he still have my birthday tattooed in dark ink on his wrist? Why did he look at me with such raw, painful vulnerability in the shadows?
I stared at my pale reflection in the mirror and made a silent vow.
I am not that pathetic seventeen-year-old anymore, and I will prove to him that I am completely, entirely over him.
7.9
Ariella Quinn never imagined that survival would come with a wedding ring.
Once, her life was quiet. Ordinary. Safe. Then her family's name was dragged into a scandal they did not create, their finances collapsed overnight, and every door that once opened to them slammed shut. Behind it all stood one name-Blackwood. A name whispered with fear, respect, and power. A name Ariella learned to hate without ever seeing the face behind it.
Lucien Blackwood is not a man who explains himself. As a billionaire with influence that stretches far beyond boardrooms, he is known for control, precision, and results-no matter the cost. When Ariella is summoned under the pretense of a legal negotiation, she expects humiliation. What she doesn't expect is a contract that will change the course of her life forever.
Marriage.
Cold. Legal. Non-negotiable.
Lucien offers protection, financial security, and silence in exchange for one thing: her name beside his. To the public, it will look like a fortunate match. To Ariella, it is a cage built by the very man whose decisions ruined her family. Refusal is not an option. Acceptance feels like surrender.
Their marriage is not born of love, attraction, or trust. It is built on resentment, fear, and secrets deliberately left unexplained. Lucien keeps his distance, enforcing rules rather than affection. Ariella enters his world surrounded by luxury that feels more like surveillance than comfort. Guards watch her movements. Strangers know her schedule. Danger lingers just beneath the surface.
And the worst part?
No one will tell her why.
As threats begin to surface and pieces of the past refuse to stay buried, Ariella realizes that her "ruin" may not have been accidental. The marriage that destroyed her freedom may also be the only thing keeping her alive. Every answer Lucien withholds deepens her anger-and her curiosity. Every moment of forced proximity tightens the tension between them.
This is a slow-burn romance driven by emotional restraint, power imbalance, and psychological conflict. Love does not arrive easily. Trust is hard-won. And forgiveness may be more dangerous than hatred.
Married to the Man Who Ruined Me is a gripping billionaire romance that blends contract marriage, suspense, and emotional depth. With carefully paced revelations and chapter-ending cliffhangers, the story keeps readers questioning motives, loyalties, and the true cost of power. It explores what happens when a woman is forced to bind herself to the man she blames for her destruction-and discovers that the truth is far more complicated than she was ever allowed to see.
In a world where appearances are currency and silence is survival, Ariella must decide: remain a victim of Lucien Blackwood's shadow, or learn how to stand beside him without losing herself.
8.2
My ex-boyfriend of three years, Axel, married a perfect wealthy heiress.
I attended his wedding, not to mourn our relationship, but because he had spent the last three years bleeding me dry.
He left me with absolutely nothing but a final notice from the hospital for my dying brother's life support.
Instead of feeling guilty, Axel cornered me in the church hallway, crushing my wrist.
"I'll set you up with an apartment. You won't have to work another day in your life."
He thought he could buy my silence with spare change, while leaving my seventeen-year-old brother, Julian, to die when his treatments were cut off the very next day.
When I refused to be his dirty little secret, Axel used his power to utterly destroy my acting career.
He had my talent agency terminate my contract under a fake morals clause, publicly humiliated me on set, and blacklisted me across the entire industry.
I was shoved out into the freezing rain, left with a torn dress and absolutely no way to pay the five hundred thousand dollar medical bill.
He actually believed he could step on my brother's dying body to build his own fake empire.
He thought I was just a weak, pathetic victim who would eventually crawl back to him on my knees.
But he forgot about the one monster he was absolutely terrified of: his legitimate, ruthless billionaire half-brother, Jace Bauer.
Looking at the three positive pregnancy tests hidden in my drawer, I stepped right in front of Jace's armored Maybach.
"Marry me, and I'll give you the heir you need to secure your empire."
7.5
I am the biological daughter of the wealthy Fitzpatrick family, but I spent my childhood eating out of dumpsters.
When I was finally brought back to the estate at age seven, I thought I would experience my parents' love.
Instead, my biological parents looked at my dirty clothes with raw disgust. They only cared about Hallie, the fake daughter who lived like a princess.
The moment I walked in, Hallie hurled a heavy ceramic cup at my head, slicing my hand open.
"Get out of my house!"
My father didn't even look at the blood. He raised his hand to strike me, accusing me of bringing trailer park rules into his home.
In my past life, I dropped to my knees and begged for their forgiveness. I endured their abuse, hoping they would eventually love me.
But they let the maids humiliate me, let Hallie steal my identity, and eventually threw me back onto the streets to die. Even my playboy Uncle Byron, the only person who ever showed me mercy, was driven to suicide by them.
I didn't understand why my own flesh and blood hated me so much, or why a vicious liar deserved everything while I was treated like a jinx.
Opening my eyes again, I was back on the exact day I first returned to the estate.
As my father raised his hand to hit me, I didn't cower.
Instead, I looked at the family patriarch and pointed directly at my notorious, alcoholic uncle.
"I want him to be my new guardian."