The Wrong Husband: A Marriage-of-Convenience Romance Built on Secrets, Tension, and Second Chances

What happens when you marry the one man you were never supposed to love?

In The Wrong Husband, Maya Alden returns to her Marriage by Contract series with a
sizzling, emotionally layered romance that combines the intensity of forbidden love with the slow unraveling of long-buried truths. With a setup that crackles with tension—a fake marriage to your sister’s ex-boyfriend—it’s a story that plays with guilt, desire, and the impossibility of pretending hearts don’t remember.

This isn’t just a love story. It’s about what happens when the past refuses to stay buried, and the wrong man starts feeling dangerously right.

When the contract says yes, but the past keeps whispering no.

From the moment our heroine steps into a marriage of convenience with a man she was never meant to love, The Wrong Husband pulses with emotional tension. She’s practical, loyal, and more than willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of duty. But marrying her sister’s ex? That was never part of the plan.

He’s not just a reminder of everything she was denied—he’s the one man she promised herself she’d never want.

Yet here they are: bound by a contract, living under one roof, and doing their best to pretend the past didn’t happen. But desire has a way of rising, especially when hearts are already cracked wide open. As proximity wears down their walls, long-simmering tension explodes—and what begins as a business arrangement quickly threatens to turn into something real.

A romance built on guilt, longing, and the quiet hope of being chosen

A heroine torn between loyalty and longing

She’s lived in the shadow of someone else’s spotlight for too long—always second, always responsible, always the one who cleans up the mess. But now she’s center stage, even if the spotlight burns. Watching her slowly step into her emotional power is one of the most rewarding arcs in the book.

A hero haunted by the past

He thought he’d moved on. He thought this arrangement would be nothing more than strategy. But the woman standing beside him now isn’t the girl he once overlooked—she’s stronger, more guarded, and impossible to ignore. And the more he sees her for who she truly is, the harder it becomes to lie to himself.

The chemistry that simmers beneath the silence

This isn’t an Insta-love romance. It’s slow, aching, and utterly believable. The tension between them builds in quiet conversations, unspoken glances, and the moments they almost—but don’t—cross the line until they do. And when they do? It’s explosive.

Themes and tropes readers will love

• Marriage of convenience: A legal arrangement that turns dangerously emotional
• Sister’s ex-boyfriend trope: Forbidden, emotional, and layered with guilt
• Slow-burn romance: Every stolen glance carries weight
• Emotional redemption: Two people healing from past wounds they didn’t even realize were still bleeding
• Forced proximity: One contract, one house, zero ways to escape the growing feelings
• Unspoken desire: The kind that lives in the spaces between words

Who will fall for The Wrong Husband?

• Fans of high-tension contemporary romance that leans into emotional realism
• Readers who love marriage-of-convenience stories that evolve into deep, character-driven love
• Anyone drawn to forbidden romance tropes—especially when they’re written with nuance and care
• Those who appreciate layered characters, messy family dynamics, and emotionally satisfying growth arcs
• Lovers of authors like Melanie Harlow, Ella Maise, and R.S. Grey who want a little more ache with their happily-ever-after

Final Thoughts

Maya Alden’s The Wrong Husband is a love story that shouldn’t work—and that’s exactly what makes it so irresistible. It’s messy, heartfelt, and rich with the kind of emotional tension that keeps you flipping pages late into the night. Through complicated pasts and uncertain futures, Alden gives us a couple who learn that sometimes the “wrong” choice is exactly the one your heart has been waiting for.

If you’re ready for a romance that’s equally forbidden and fiercely emotional, don’t miss The Wrong Husband. Because love doesn’t always follow the rules—and sometimes, breaking them leads to everything you’ve ever wanted.