The Obsidian Substitute

Maris Lontar made a fatal mistake when she publicly humiliated meek Shae Joren at a high-society charity gala, forcing the desperate girl to flee. She didn't account for Shae's identical twin, Riva. Fiercely loyal and hot-tempered, Riva steals her sister's identity and signs the degrading surrogacy contract Shae left behind, securing the massive payout for their younger brother's life-saving thoracic surgery. Her plan is cold and clever: infiltrate the ultra-secure penthouse of Brekkan Thrace - Maris’s glacial billionaire fiancé - gather enough corporate dirt to ruin the manipulative woman, and vanish. But Brekkan is not the detached executive Riva expected. Forced into cohabitation, Riva’s fiery defiance clashes violently with his ruthless control. Yet, as the biological imperative of the pregnancy sets in, Brekkan’s icy demeanor cracks, giving way to an unhinged, suffocating protectiveness. Soon, he is hunting down paparazzi trying to expose her, and strong-arming a closed street-side restaurant at 3 AM just to satisfy her craving for spicy noodles. With Brekkan's sharp-eyed grandmother secretly aiding Riva’s revenge, her plan is flawless - so why does the thought of leaving his gilded cage suddenly feel like the ultimate betrayal?