The One Exception

He made rules to survive.
She became the one exception.

Cedar is a powerful, emotionally closed-off widower who swore he would never love again. After losing everything that once mattered, he buried himself in work, control, and strict rules designed to keep his heart untouched—and his life perfectly ordered.

Celine was never supposed to be part of that equation.

She's his assistant. Twenty years younger. Brilliant, loyal, and completely off-limits. Falling for her isn't just dangerous—it's forbidden in every possible way.

But when circumstances force Cedar into a rushed marriage of convenience, there's only one woman he trusts enough to make the arrangement work. One signature changes everything. The plan is simple: no emotions, no complications, no love.

Until the one thing neither of them planned for happens.

Celine is pregnant.

Now Cedar must confront the grief he never healed, a marriage that was never meant to be real, and a woman who threatens to tear down every wall he's spent years building. As desire turns into something far more dangerous, the lines between obligation and love begin to blur—and breaking his rules may be the only way to save them both.