~Blurb~ Meher Siddiqui: Do you ever smile, Mr Shah, or is that an extra service your face charges for? Taha Shah: Do you ever stay quiet, Mrs Shah, or is that against your religion? Meher: And I regret marrying a man with the conversational skills of a brick wall. Taha: You signed the papers, Meher. Meher: And you looked very handsome while I was signing them. We all make mistakes. ... He is an architect who believes every problem has a practical solution, every minute should be accounted for, and unnecessary conversations are a waste of time. She is an illustrator who collects rain, roadside flowers and conversations that last longer than they should. Neither of them wanted an arranged marriage. They agreed to one rule: no pretending to be in love. But a house cannot stay silent for long with a woman who sings in the wrong key, names the cushions and labels the milk as "a traveller". And a woman cannot stay guarded for long with a man who remembers every small thing she has ever said. What began as a decision made by two families slowly becomes a choice made by two hearts. Arranged marriage. Grumpy x sunshine. Slow burn. Domestic fluff. Family chaos. A cactus named Gulab. ~Contains mild intimate scenes (non-graphic), family drama and emotional conflict. No violence, no tragedy.~ 💕

Ayla Sheikh has always had a strange relationship with danger. At nineteen, she is reckless, loud, impossible to intimidate... and far too curious for her own good. When a mysterious threat forces her father to hire a new bodyguard, Ayla expects an ordinary protector. She gets Kabir Rana instead. Cold. Ruthless. Secretive. And strangely familiar with a past he claims has nothing to do with him. What Ayla doesn't know is that Kabir Rana is actually Viaan Shekhawat... the last surviving heir of a political family destroyed ten years ago. He has spent his life preparing for revenge. She has spent hers uncovering a secret buried inside her father's empire. Their paths were never supposed to cross. Now, a forbidden attraction is growing between two people who should hate each other, while a decades-old conspiracy begins unraveling around them. Because Ayla's father is on Viaan's revenge list. And Viaan has no idea that Ayla may be the key to everything he's been hunting for. Some secrets destroy families. Some destroy empires. And some make you fall in love with the person you were supposed to destroy.