Anna and Liam marry for cheap college housing and live together two years before he moves out, leaving her legal papers she never reads.

Anna's teenage manager Ricky fires her from the convenience store for taking a pack of gum without paying.

Liam arrives at Anna's apartment, reveals they are still legally married, and asks her to pose as his wife at a family wedding in Indonesia.

After tense negotiating, Anna and Liam agree on a payment of $100,000 for her to accompany him and pretend to be his devoted wife.

Anna and Liam arrive on the private island and spot Ray and Janet approaching them for the first time.

At the first cocktail party, Liam introduces Anna to his siblings, their spouses, and his openly suspicious brother Alex.

During a family kayak race, Anna falls overboard while reaching for a sea turtle, and she and Liam drift far from the group.

Anna receives an email confirming that three of her paintings have been accepted into a gallery exhibition.

Charlie publicly toasts Liam and Anna's fifth anniversary, forcing them to share a passionate kiss in front of the whole family.

Ray introduces Liam to a Forbes editor as the future CEO of Weston Foods without Liam's knowledge or agreement.

Anna and Liam sleep together in the kitchen of a remote pavilion, and she calls him Liam instead of West for the first time.

At Charlie's wedding reception, Alex grabs the microphone and publicly exposes Anna's real identity, accusing Liam of running an elaborate con.

Ray reveals he has known the marriage was a sham and demands Liam take the CEO role or all four siblings lose their inheritances.

Liam refuses Ray's ultimatum to become CEO, and Ray releases damaging PISA documents to the press to publicly destroy his son's reputation.

Alex holds a press conference exposing Ray as the true PISA criminal, leading to Ray's arrest and all four siblings keeping their inheritances.

Anna's difficult life is upended when her estranged husband Liam arrives to reveal they are still legally married and offers her $100,000 to pose as his devoted wife at his sister's lavish island wedding. The two navigate a web of family hostility, social performance, and growing attraction as Liam's toxic family tests their cover story at every turn. Their emotional and physical connection deepens over the course of the trip, culminating in a genuine romantic relationship. At the wedding reception, Liam's jealous brother Alex publicly exposes Anna as a fraud, triggering a devastating confrontation with the manipulative patriarch Ray. Liam ultimately defies Ray's ultimatum to become CEO, and it is Alex who delivers the decisive blow by exposing Ray's true crimes. The siblings keep their inheritances, Ray faces justice, and Liam and Anna choose each other for real.

The essential plot events driving Anna and Liam from strangers to partners.

Liam's mother Janet calls him at a grocery store and insists he bring his wife Anna to his sister's destination wedding in Indonesia.

A courier delivers to Anna's apartment a signed contract, a first-class plane ticket, a black credit card, designer luggage, and a Tiffany diamond necklace.

At the airport, Liam is stunned by Anna's transformation in designer clothes, though she can barely walk in her heeled sandals.

On the flight to Indonesia, Liam presents Anna with a large diamond engagement ring and coaches her on the details of his family.

Janet makes passive-aggressive comments about Anna's pink hair and publicly disparages company employees who use nonstandard hair colors.

The bungalow has only one bed and a doorless shower, and both Anna and Liam admit to peeking at each other while the other showers.

Liam describes to Anna how Ray physically and emotionally abused his children and callously fired a loyal dock manager of 35 years.

Ray corners Liam after a groomsmen suit fitting, threatens he could ruin all his children, and refuses to apologize for the PISA scandal.

At the wedding morning breakfast, Ray crashes into server Thuy and spills mimosas everywhere, then has her fired on the spot.

On the morning of Charlie's wedding, Anna learns that all three of her paintings have sold for $1,000 each.

Anna and Liam agree to be collaborators with benefits, choosing to act on their genuine feelings while still maintaining their cover story.

After Alex exposes them at the reception, Liam follows Anna outside and tells her he is falling in love with her.

In a Singapore hotel room, Anna confronts Liam after realizing he was the anonymous buyer of all three of her paintings.

Anna takes refuge at her father's house, tells him the truth about the trip, and asks whether Liam is too broken for a real relationship.

Anna flies to Palo Alto to support Liam after he refuses Ray's demands, arriving at his house to find reporters swarming outside.

Before the trip begins, the logistics of Liam and Anna's scheme unfold through pivotal exchanges, from Janet's insistent phone call to the arrival of designer luggage and a Tiffany necklace at Anna's door. On the island, social pressure builds through daily confrontations, including Janet's appearance-obsessed hostility, a tense encounter after a suit fitting, and the shocking firing of an innocent server at the wedding morning breakfast. As the week progresses, Anna and Liam openly acknowledge their real feelings and negotiate the emotional complexities of their arrangement. The wedding day brings both private victories and public disasters, and the couple's painful breakup in Singapore forces them both to reckon with what they truly value. Anna's journey back to her father and ultimately to Liam's side completes a cycle of loyalty, honesty, and forgiveness that sets the stage for their genuine reunion.

The supporting scenes and emotional beats that shape the couple's journey.

As Liam moves out of their college apartment, Anna realizes she is unexpectedly attracted to him and wishes she had known him better.

Liam explains that his grandfather's will requires a five-year marriage for him to claim a nearly $100 million inheritance from the Weston Foods fortune.

Anna calls Liam from the airport bathroom for help with her shorts, and he briefly and embarrassingly misinterprets her request as a sexual invitation.

At the first cocktail party, Liam privately reflects on how Ray pulled a teenage Liam out of school to build and implement PISA full-time.

At a cocktail party, Janet asks how Anna's professors react to her pink hair, thinly veiling her contempt for Anna's non-professional appearance.

Alex asks Anna and Liam separately when their anniversary falls, and they give two different dates, deepening his suspicions significantly.

While drifting at sea, Anna advises Liam that showing Alex genuine kindness would undermine Ray's strategy of pitting the brothers against each other.

In the spa steam room, Janet tells Anna that Liam would do anything to protect the people he loves, showing a rare flash of maternal vulnerability.

Anna assures Liam their growing physical connection is real and not part of their deal, calls herself his ride-or-die, and he abruptly walks away.

Liam reveals to Anna the hidden loophole in the inheritance: if any one sibling's marriage is proved fraudulent, all four forfeit their entire fortunes.

Anna reveals to Liam that her father's cancer diagnosis and resulting leukemia have forced her to work multiple jobs for years to cover his medical bills.

Jake calls Liam after the wedding fallout and thanks him for taking one for the team, confirming that his siblings will always choose money over loyalty.

Staring at Anna's paintings hanging in his house, Liam is inspired by her courage and values to call Ray and refuse the CEO role.

Blaire calls Alex in Singapore and reveals the inheritance loophole, convincing him that exposing Ray is the only way to protect all four siblings' fortunes.

On their sixth wedding anniversary, Liam offers Anna the island engagement ring and asks her to marry him for real, and she accepts.

The seeds of Anna and Liam's real relationship are planted even before the scheme begins, when Anna notices her attraction to him as he moves out of their shared apartment. Key revelations about the inheritance terms, the PISA scandal's origins, and the hidden loophole that puts all four siblings at risk steadily raise the emotional and financial stakes of the entire trip. Quiet moments during the week, from Janet's rare vulnerability in the steam room to Anna and Liam's honest drift at sea after the kayak mishap, expose the deeper truths beneath each character's composed surface. Anna and Liam's most candid conversations about their feelings and their pasts build a foundation that neither of them anticipated. The story's final turning points arrive through betrayal and unexpected loyalty, as Jake's selfishness confirms Anna's predictions and Blaire's revelation empowers Alex to act. The couple's arc closes with a genuine proposal on their sixth anniversary, showing how a fraudulent arrangement became the most authentic relationship in the room.

The discoveries, emotional shifts, and decisive moments that define the story's heart.