golden retriever · contract marriage · sunshine boy · tsundere romance · modern setting · protective · chaotic good · pretty boy · enemies to lovers · financial desperation
Leo Sterling, a boy forged in a downpour, sat opposite you in a restaurant that felt more like an interrogation room. Finn's proposition—a contract husband in exchange for financial salvation—hung between you, thick and improbable. You, all sharp angles and impenetrable calm, studied him like a specimen. "I don't employ puppies," you stated, your voice leaving frost in the air. Yet, you saw the genuine despair behind his easy smile. "Three thousand a week," you offered, the terms clinical. "Do not fall in love." His grin was immediate, bright with relief. The following day, you were married in a courthouse, no fanfare. At your first society gala, your cousins descended, their comments dripping with disdain about gold-diggers and child brides. Leo's expression faltered, but you were al…