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The Wife He Ignored: A Billionaire Marriage-in-Crisis, Second Chance Romance
She agreed to five years.
She never expected to spend them loving a man who never truly let her in...
When Mila Girard married billionaire Roman Everett, it wasn't for love. It was a contract. A business arrangement.
Separate homes. Separate lives. One carefully negotiated marriage with an expiration date.
Mila told herself she could survive five years.
But she never planned on falling hopelessly in love with her husband.
For five years, Mila waits. One birthday dinner every year. One night together. A handful of polite conversations. A lifetime's worth of silence.
So before the contract ends, Mila walks away.
For the first time in his life, Roman is forced to see everything he never bothered to notice—the home she built without him, the business she created from nothing, the woman he married... and the devastating truth that while he was busy protecting himself from love...
He lost the only person who ever truly loved him.
Now Roman has one chance to convince his wife that she's no longer an obligation...
She's the love of his life.
But some women don't leave because they stopped loving.
They leave because they finally stopped waiting.
A deeply emotional, high-angst contemporary romance about a marriage of convenience, quiet heartbreak, devastating regret, an unforgettable grovel, and a husband determined to earn back the wife he took for granted. **There is no cheating in this book.**
She never expected to spend them loving a man who never truly let her in...
When Mila Girard married billionaire Roman Everett, it wasn't for love. It was a contract. A business arrangement.
Separate homes. Separate lives. One carefully negotiated marriage with an expiration date.
Mila told herself she could survive five years.
But she never planned on falling hopelessly in love with her husband.
For five years, Mila waits. One birthday dinner every year. One night together. A handful of polite conversations. A lifetime's worth of silence.
So before the contract ends, Mila walks away.
For the first time in his life, Roman is forced to see everything he never bothered to notice—the home she built without him, the business she created from nothing, the woman he married... and the devastating truth that while he was busy protecting himself from love...
He lost the only person who ever truly loved him.
Now Roman has one chance to convince his wife that she's no longer an obligation...
She's the love of his life.
But some women don't leave because they stopped loving.
They leave because they finally stopped waiting.
A deeply emotional, high-angst contemporary romance about a marriage of convenience, quiet heartbreak, devastating regret, an unforgettable grovel, and a husband determined to earn back the wife he took for granted. **There is no cheating in this book.**
136 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 29, 2026
About the author
M.L. Hall
14 books43 followersM.L. Hall writes angsty contemporary romance packed with emotional twists and hard-won happily ever afters. She loves flawed characters, second chances, and stories where love has to be fought for, because the best endings are never easy.
She enjoys long walks, travel, curling up with a good book, and spending time with her husband, her very own happily ever after.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 2, 2026
It was okay. I still don’t really understand the MMC’s motives. I went in with a heavy case of side eye for the FMC because the blurb says how much she loves him. I never understand that kind of devotion in these books. Fortunately, I liked the FMC and this wasn’t just a case of blind love with zero reasoning.
Spoilery thoughts…
FMC and MMC have a contract marriage with a five year expiration date. The deal is separate lives with one birthday dinner a year, ending with a bang fest. Weird marriage terms, but whatever. It’s family business related, and those are always weird.
In the beginning FMC is like, why don’t we make an actual go of this? MMC is onboard and for four months things are good. This is when FMC falls in love with him. MMC spooks and pulls away. The remainder of the marriage is strictly on contractual terms.
I don’t really understand why he spooked so badly. Bad parental marriage examples, I guess? Severe emotional constipation? I don’t know. I thought it was dumb.
FMC was like… this isn’t the life I want, and she was very prepared to walk away on the fifth year of this nonsense. This is when MMC decides he wants her.🙄 Shenanigans ensue… HEA.
One question…. did they seriously only have sex once a year? It isn’t implied that either step out in the interim. I thought that was unrealistic… especially for MMC. They are both successful and good looking. OW/OM drama should have been crawling all over this book and there was really none. That seemed wildly unrealistic, particularly for a mega hot billionaire in Miami. Wasted angst potential IMO.
Anyway… I thought it was, Meh. I didn’t actively dislike it, I just didn’t really understand motivations. It’s pretty low on the angst scale. The dog was cute. ✌️
Spoilery thoughts…
FMC and MMC have a contract marriage with a five year expiration date. The deal is separate lives with one birthday dinner a year, ending with a bang fest. Weird marriage terms, but whatever. It’s family business related, and those are always weird.
In the beginning FMC is like, why don’t we make an actual go of this? MMC is onboard and for four months things are good. This is when FMC falls in love with him. MMC spooks and pulls away. The remainder of the marriage is strictly on contractual terms.
I don’t really understand why he spooked so badly. Bad parental marriage examples, I guess? Severe emotional constipation? I don’t know. I thought it was dumb.
FMC was like… this isn’t the life I want, and she was very prepared to walk away on the fifth year of this nonsense. This is when MMC decides he wants her.🙄 Shenanigans ensue… HEA.
One question…. did they seriously only have sex once a year? It isn’t implied that either step out in the interim. I thought that was unrealistic… especially for MMC. They are both successful and good looking. OW/OM drama should have been crawling all over this book and there was really none. That seemed wildly unrealistic, particularly for a mega hot billionaire in Miami. Wasted angst potential IMO.
Anyway… I thought it was, Meh. I didn’t actively dislike it, I just didn’t really understand motivations. It’s pretty low on the angst scale. The dog was cute. ✌️
August 30, 2026
A short but perfectly formed fairytale!
This is a well written, well paced story about a marriage of convenience between twenty-nine year old Roman and twenty-four year old Mila.
Roman’s company needs Mila’s family portfolio to complete a merger. Mila's family needs a financial bridge to keep their real estate holdings from collapsing under debt. An agreement is made between their two families and they sign a contract to remain married for five years, meeting once a year for a birthday dinner and one night in a hotel room. The rest of the year they live separate lives - they have never visited each others’ homes.
Roman is an incredibly handsome and successful man. Solitary, because of family circumstances and personal tragedy. Mila is beautiful, intelligent, wise and patient. At there first meeting (on their wedding day) she tells Roman she would like to make the marriage work. For four months they spend time together like a normal couple and Mila begins to fall in love with Roman but he gets cold feet, starts to back track and over a short period of time their marriage is gradually reduced to the original agreement of one birthday meeting a year. During this time Mila buys a house and a dog, she also begins to build her business and becomes successful.
As it gets closer to the end of the fifth year Mila reads an article in a news feed that makes her realise that Roman will never love her as she loves him and decides to cut her losses and files for divorce. Roman is devastated and asks Mila to reconsider; however, she has made her decision and is determined to follow through. After almost five years of showing no interest in her he asks his legal advisor to look into her life and what he discovers amazes him. He begins to realise what he is losing and deeply regrets how he has neglected her over the years - so begin his attempts to win her back.
This story is extremely engaging, I like the way in which Mila makes Roman work hard to win her back, she doesn’t just drop back into his life, he is made to understand how his years of neglect have affected her, and to recognise that he has been in love with her all along. It is well over a year before Mila fully accepts that he won’t hurt her again and some time before they eventually find their HEA.
This is a well written, well paced story about a marriage of convenience between twenty-nine year old Roman and twenty-four year old Mila.
Roman’s company needs Mila’s family portfolio to complete a merger. Mila's family needs a financial bridge to keep their real estate holdings from collapsing under debt. An agreement is made between their two families and they sign a contract to remain married for five years, meeting once a year for a birthday dinner and one night in a hotel room. The rest of the year they live separate lives - they have never visited each others’ homes.
Roman is an incredibly handsome and successful man. Solitary, because of family circumstances and personal tragedy. Mila is beautiful, intelligent, wise and patient. At there first meeting (on their wedding day) she tells Roman she would like to make the marriage work. For four months they spend time together like a normal couple and Mila begins to fall in love with Roman but he gets cold feet, starts to back track and over a short period of time their marriage is gradually reduced to the original agreement of one birthday meeting a year. During this time Mila buys a house and a dog, she also begins to build her business and becomes successful.
As it gets closer to the end of the fifth year Mila reads an article in a news feed that makes her realise that Roman will never love her as she loves him and decides to cut her losses and files for divorce. Roman is devastated and asks Mila to reconsider; however, she has made her decision and is determined to follow through. After almost five years of showing no interest in her he asks his legal advisor to look into her life and what he discovers amazes him. He begins to realise what he is losing and deeply regrets how he has neglected her over the years - so begin his attempts to win her back.
This story is extremely engaging, I like the way in which Mila makes Roman work hard to win her back, she doesn’t just drop back into his life, he is made to understand how his years of neglect have affected her, and to recognise that he has been in love with her all along. It is well over a year before Mila fully accepts that he won’t hurt her again and some time before they eventually find their HEA.
August 15, 2026
Regret is not enough
The story is engaging for the first few chapters, but eventually it falls into the familiar cliché of a woman being pulled back into the life—and the man—she had already learned to live without. This was a five-year marriage in which he saw her once a year and gave her very little beyond his name.
I could understand her staying until the contract ended, but I struggled to understand why she would return to the marriage afterward. She had built a life, found her independence, and moved forward professionally. I wish the story had allowed her to do the same personally.
His eventual regret and realization of what he lost may show character growth, but regret that comes too late is not the same as doing enough to deserve reconciliation. Realizing someone’s value only after losing them does not erase years of neglect. For me, her choosing herself and continuing forward would have been a much stronger and more satisfying ending.
The story is engaging for the first few chapters, but eventually it falls into the familiar cliché of a woman being pulled back into the life—and the man—she had already learned to live without. This was a five-year marriage in which he saw her once a year and gave her very little beyond his name.
I could understand her staying until the contract ended, but I struggled to understand why she would return to the marriage afterward. She had built a life, found her independence, and moved forward professionally. I wish the story had allowed her to do the same personally.
His eventual regret and realization of what he lost may show character growth, but regret that comes too late is not the same as doing enough to deserve reconciliation. Realizing someone’s value only after losing them does not erase years of neglect. For me, her choosing herself and continuing forward would have been a much stronger and more satisfying ending.
August 25, 2026
A redemption love story
Roman and Mila are in a contract marriage for their families. Mila asks Roman to try for making it real but he is afraid and withdraws to a once a year dinner and sex. Before their 5 year contract ends, Mila asks to end early. Roman realizes he loves her and wants a second chance. Mila, not so sure.
Great characters, lovely love story, no other women or men, just 2 hearts that are not sure how to find each other.
Roman and Mila are in a contract marriage for their families. Mila asks Roman to try for making it real but he is afraid and withdraws to a once a year dinner and sex. Before their 5 year contract ends, Mila asks to end early. Roman realizes he loves her and wants a second chance. Mila, not so sure.
Great characters, lovely love story, no other women or men, just 2 hearts that are not sure how to find each other.
September 22, 2026
The Wife He Ignored, part of the Billionaire Grovel and Redemption series, was about 29-year-old Camila "Mila" Lark Girard, the founder and owner of Lark Property Group (a property development firm), and 34-year-old Roman Everett, the owner and CEO of Everett Holdings.
Mila and Roman had agreed to a five-year marriage that was a business contract rather than based on love. His family had needed the Girard name for a business merger. Mila's family had needed a "financial bridge" to keep their real estate holdings from collapsing. They had not met before the contract was written, and then they had only met twice before the wedding. Virtual strangers-to-married. She had suggested they try to make something of their marriage, but that only lasted for four months; then he drew back, not wanting to stay involved with her. So for five years, in accordance with the contract, they maintained separate homes, separate lives, and had an expiration date. They got together for one birthday a year, one night together in a hotel room, and only a handful of conversations exchanged. Neither one of them had been to the other's home. Their text messages to each other were bland and almost formal. But Mila hadn't expected to fall in love with her contract husband, so when, sixty days before the contract was to end, she saw a photograph of him at a gala with a woman named Sierra Gordon, and the caption under it stated that she had been his "long-time companion, Mila decided it was time to walk away before it expired. They met at the restaurant on Mila's birthday, and she brought up the facts of the expiration date and handed him an envelope with divorce papers. He tried to talk her into extending the contract, but she refused. Throughout the rest of the dinner, he constantly tried to talk her out of the divorce, but she kept refusing, then walked away when the meal ended.
When Roman's attorney informed him of Mila's business, business partner, and equity, he started to interfere with her business deals, thus forcing her to work with his company and, by doing so, forcing her to work with him, something Mila had done her best to avoid. She never wanted her business to have any connection to the Everett or the Girard businesses. He was using her business as leverage to force her to stay in his life.
The storyline was well-written, with plenty of angst, drama, and a small emotional rollercoaster. The only issue was that there wasn't much conflict; the other-woman issue was hardly a speck on the wall, and everything wrapped up way too quickly. There wasn't any push-pull between the two main characters, and they were almost too vanilla in their lives, and I'm not talking about the spicy scenes (which weren't all that to begin with). I mean, it was too bland, too boring, and not very interesting. Once Roman decided to pursue his wife, everything just...fell into place and became stagnant and dull. The reader was informed that they only had sex once a year, but what it didn't say was whether or not they had been with other people at any time during the other 364 days of the year. There were too many unresolved issues and questions that weren't answered by the author in the story. I gave it a two-star rating.
Mila and Roman had agreed to a five-year marriage that was a business contract rather than based on love. His family had needed the Girard name for a business merger. Mila's family had needed a "financial bridge" to keep their real estate holdings from collapsing. They had not met before the contract was written, and then they had only met twice before the wedding. Virtual strangers-to-married. She had suggested they try to make something of their marriage, but that only lasted for four months; then he drew back, not wanting to stay involved with her. So for five years, in accordance with the contract, they maintained separate homes, separate lives, and had an expiration date. They got together for one birthday a year, one night together in a hotel room, and only a handful of conversations exchanged. Neither one of them had been to the other's home. Their text messages to each other were bland and almost formal. But Mila hadn't expected to fall in love with her contract husband, so when, sixty days before the contract was to end, she saw a photograph of him at a gala with a woman named Sierra Gordon, and the caption under it stated that she had been his "long-time companion, Mila decided it was time to walk away before it expired. They met at the restaurant on Mila's birthday, and she brought up the facts of the expiration date and handed him an envelope with divorce papers. He tried to talk her into extending the contract, but she refused. Throughout the rest of the dinner, he constantly tried to talk her out of the divorce, but she kept refusing, then walked away when the meal ended.
When Roman's attorney informed him of Mila's business, business partner, and equity, he started to interfere with her business deals, thus forcing her to work with his company and, by doing so, forcing her to work with him, something Mila had done her best to avoid. She never wanted her business to have any connection to the Everett or the Girard businesses. He was using her business as leverage to force her to stay in his life.
The storyline was well-written, with plenty of angst, drama, and a small emotional rollercoaster. The only issue was that there wasn't much conflict; the other-woman issue was hardly a speck on the wall, and everything wrapped up way too quickly. There wasn't any push-pull between the two main characters, and they were almost too vanilla in their lives, and I'm not talking about the spicy scenes (which weren't all that to begin with). I mean, it was too bland, too boring, and not very interesting. Once Roman decided to pursue his wife, everything just...fell into place and became stagnant and dull. The reader was informed that they only had sex once a year, but what it didn't say was whether or not they had been with other people at any time during the other 364 days of the year. There were too many unresolved issues and questions that weren't answered by the author in the story. I gave it a two-star rating.
August 4, 2026
Notes for me
Roman
Mila
Married 5 years. Contract marriage to the point they met for dinner and were intimate one night a year on her birthday at a hotel. He’s gone before she wakes up.
Wedding night she asked if they could try to be happy. They dated for a couple of months. He realized he actually liked her so he stopped responding to texts or accepting her dinner invitations.
Mila had fallen in love with Roman. She saw gossip picture of him with Sierra Gordon listed as long time companion. She’s touching his arm and he’s laughing. She realized they’d never have this type of relationship and it was time to let go.
This year’s birthday dinner she gives him divorce papers. He tries to talk about it, but she leaves. At home he thinks how he’s never invited her over. He decides signing the papers is the best thing to do.
Within the next couple of days he’s at her door wanting to talk. She asks about Sierra. She’s someone he dated years before. She showed up uninvited and he was actually irritated at her cloying presence.
She is not open to reconciling. He gives her the divorce to try and start over versus keep what’s broken.
Roman
Mila
Married 5 years. Contract marriage to the point they met for dinner and were intimate one night a year on her birthday at a hotel. He’s gone before she wakes up.
Wedding night she asked if they could try to be happy. They dated for a couple of months. He realized he actually liked her so he stopped responding to texts or accepting her dinner invitations.
Mila had fallen in love with Roman. She saw gossip picture of him with Sierra Gordon listed as long time companion. She’s touching his arm and he’s laughing. She realized they’d never have this type of relationship and it was time to let go.
This year’s birthday dinner she gives him divorce papers. He tries to talk about it, but she leaves. At home he thinks how he’s never invited her over. He decides signing the papers is the best thing to do.
Within the next couple of days he’s at her door wanting to talk. She asks about Sierra. She’s someone he dated years before. She showed up uninvited and he was actually irritated at her cloying presence.
She is not open to reconciling. He gives her the divorce to try and start over versus keep what’s broken.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2026
This started out weird…
The “ignored” in the title is real. This couple gets married due to an arrangement between the families, because of business interests. They start out after only a couple of meetings, but she wants to try to be happy within the relationship. So they try for about four months, and then he starts holding back. By the end of the five year requirement, they have met once a year and then gone to a hotel after having dinner.
I hate this guy. He never took her to anything, he never took her to his house! She finally decides to dissolve the marriage after seeing a photo in the paper showing him with some wannabe. Turns out she’s nobody and appears in the book for essentially a millisecond.
KU and cute enough, but I found him to be a wimp. This is written well enough so I give it 3.5 rounded up.
The “ignored” in the title is real. This couple gets married due to an arrangement between the families, because of business interests. They start out after only a couple of meetings, but she wants to try to be happy within the relationship. So they try for about four months, and then he starts holding back. By the end of the five year requirement, they have met once a year and then gone to a hotel after having dinner.
I hate this guy. He never took her to anything, he never took her to his house! She finally decides to dissolve the marriage after seeing a photo in the paper showing him with some wannabe. Turns out she’s nobody and appears in the book for essentially a millisecond.
KU and cute enough, but I found him to be a wimp. This is written well enough so I give it 3.5 rounded up.
September 1, 2026
These Mills & Boonsy style books are such a guilty pleasure… emotionally constipated and ignorant husband who discovers too little, too late that he’s lost something of value - his wife. Then personal growth, a redemption arc and a bit of grovelling.
It’s a lottery on how well they’re written and many of them genuinely feel like monkeys with typewriters, or AI have written it. This isn’t one of those books. It’s quite an extreme storyline, so you do have to suspend your disbelief a little and ignore the fact that the marriage was a contract and they barely saw each other in five years, but it’s still a nice growth and redemption story. There are some frustrating aspects to it - the woman kind of just gave up early on and the dude is an emotional coward, but it’s still worth some time.
It’s a lottery on how well they’re written and many of them genuinely feel like monkeys with typewriters, or AI have written it. This isn’t one of those books. It’s quite an extreme storyline, so you do have to suspend your disbelief a little and ignore the fact that the marriage was a contract and they barely saw each other in five years, but it’s still a nice growth and redemption story. There are some frustrating aspects to it - the woman kind of just gave up early on and the dude is an emotional coward, but it’s still worth some time.
August 3, 2026
This was a sophisticate account of an arranged marriage that had almost zero interaction for the almost 5 years that the contract demanded. Just once a year, on her birthday they would meet and have a cordial dinner then sex. They lived separately. He didn't even know where she lived. For five years that was the extent of their marriage. Until she quit. She wanted more, expressed it initially, but was met with coldness and complete disinterest for 4 1/2 years. The first couple of months they did intermingle a bit, but slowly he became walled off. When she presented her divorce papers he woke up. The rest is the path to HEA.
September 4, 2026
Another beautiful love story by ML Hall.
Roman and Mila marriage was a business arrangement and after 4 months into marriage Roman starting pulling away to a point where they live separately, and only meet on her her birthday for dinner and to spend a few hours in a hotel suite .
For 5 year that was their live until on her birthday in the 5th year she asks him for a dissolution of marriage.
That's when he gets an eye opener and does everything to get to know his wife better.
This book is a story of finding each another again and not been afraid to love openly.
Roman and Mila marriage was a business arrangement and after 4 months into marriage Roman starting pulling away to a point where they live separately, and only meet on her her birthday for dinner and to spend a few hours in a hotel suite .
For 5 year that was their live until on her birthday in the 5th year she asks him for a dissolution of marriage.
That's when he gets an eye opener and does everything to get to know his wife better.
This book is a story of finding each another again and not been afraid to love openly.
August 13, 2026
done being ignored
I loved that this wasn’t an OWD story. This is the story of a husband who did everything to not fall in love with his wife (they married for business reasons for each of their families) and then when she hands him the divorce papers realizes that he’s been in love with her the entire time and now needs to earn the right to be her husband.
I loved that this wasn’t an OWD story. This is the story of a husband who did everything to not fall in love with his wife (they married for business reasons for each of their families) and then when she hands him the divorce papers realizes that he’s been in love with her the entire time and now needs to earn the right to be her husband.
August 17, 2026
Second chance?
Roman is closed off emotionally and it takes Mila serving divorce papers to wake him up. Five year contract marriage has run its term, they live separate lives. It should be obviously easy to end but here is where the story builds.
This is good reading. A well written story.
Roman is closed off emotionally and it takes Mila serving divorce papers to wake him up. Five year contract marriage has run its term, they live separate lives. It should be obviously easy to end but here is where the story builds.
This is good reading. A well written story.
August 24, 2026
I didn’t hate reading this. It’s a short easy read where the husband is an idiot and the wife stands up for herself completely.
My issue is how Can Roman say he loves her when for the 5 years they were married they spent virtually no time together at all. Lime, none. Once a year. It’s very very far fetched.
But I read it to be entertained and I was.
My issue is how Can Roman say he loves her when for the 5 years they were married they spent virtually no time together at all. Lime, none. Once a year. It’s very very far fetched.
But I read it to be entertained and I was.
August 7, 2026
I read the first part of the story in a previous book, so I was excited to see that this one came in from Roman’s point of view. It did cover some of the same material that I really enjoyed the epilogue.
August 24, 2026
The wife he ignored
Loved this, very different and emotional. The characters were fantastic and the storyline took me on a journey of the awakening of real love. Well written and highly recommend
Loved this, very different and emotional. The characters were fantastic and the storyline took me on a journey of the awakening of real love. Well written and highly recommend
August 25, 2026
Bittersweet - so happy Roman came to his senses...
Nicely done - I'll recommend this one to any romantic. This author has really improved in writing technique and characterizing emotions. I enjoyed thid series much more than earlier ones. Four and a half stars. 🌟🌟🌟🌟❇
Nicely done - I'll recommend this one to any romantic. This author has really improved in writing technique and characterizing emotions. I enjoyed thid series much more than earlier ones. Four and a half stars. 🌟🌟🌟🌟❇
August 4, 2026
ML Hall
All of Ms Hall’s books provide a variety of experiences for the reader. All are dwell written, bringing talent to the genre.
All of Ms Hall’s books provide a variety of experiences for the reader. All are dwell written, bringing talent to the genre.
Did Not Finish
August 4, 2026the whole once a year thing was weird
August 7, 2026
Enjoyed It
Just enough story to get the job done and once again, the dog brought the humans together. The lead characters earned their HEA.
Just enough story to get the job done and once again, the dog brought the humans together. The lead characters earned their HEA.
August 18, 2026
very boring
Flat, dry, uneventful. No real feeling, zero angst or intrigue. I was waiting for something to happen but nothing did.
Flat, dry, uneventful. No real feeling, zero angst or intrigue. I was waiting for something to happen but nothing did.
September 10, 2026
It was okay. Find it hard to believe two healthy adults had sex once a year for five years, though.
September 13, 2026
Sooooo good!!
I read it in one afternoon!! It was a great story and happy endings are so nice!! My favorite kind of story!
I read it in one afternoon!! It was a great story and happy endings are so nice!! My favorite kind of story!
August 23, 2026
No longer ignored, but loved and wanted
I found myself reflecting on seeing Mila and Roman gradually learn about each other, recognizing their feelings but also the layers of their personalities and past experiences. Where perspectives change in small moments and honest communication reframe how they see each another. It was a wonderful read.
I found myself reflecting on seeing Mila and Roman gradually learn about each other, recognizing their feelings but also the layers of their personalities and past experiences. Where perspectives change in small moments and honest communication reframe how they see each another. It was a wonderful read.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews