nd her name inked the paper, she was already on the clock. The contract didn't waste time sugarcoating things. There it was, screaming from the pa

turned into this media zoo, reading sideways with detach

ocked in from the start, and weirdly, that certainty felt good-a private spark of pride, that rare calm you get when

o, just waving in a whirlwind of stylists and assistants, their hands full of clothes in every color she's ever hated and some she might secretly want to try. Someone starts taking her measurements before she even remembers what she's weari

d fake warmth, everyone pretending not to be watching everybody else. The walls practically vibrate w

stakes living. Same Adrian from tense negotiations-just... sharpened. The lobby lights cast something new on him, drawing out details she hadn't seen across the boardro

ntler, speaking low just for her, no

chest tightened and she felt too aware of how she fit at his side. Her body didn't care about the rule

them-all the strangers peering through camera lenses. She faked a smile, one s

. That look surprised her-he'd never shown her that warmth under fluorescent lighting in a meeti

ack, softer, wishing her musc

sture, feeling silly that he'd even noticed. "There you

one etching her image deeper into someone else's narrative. She wondered which awkward smile or stiff st

, but it stuck in her chest for a second. She realized this was part of the act, the myth they

rable flicker, or maybe it was just what the lights wanted her to see. It

d it down, and smiled harder.

r, quieter. Adrian melted out of the public role, his hand dropped away from her waist, and the cool, self-contained version of him

't care. But the sting wa

ing held hostage," he muttered, all edges and no comfort, the words mo

ial, but he cut her off. "You w

about optics, exposure, headlines. It wasn

she promised, s

eing her, already resetting f

own reflection in the window-uneasy, half-unrecognizable. The city outside glimmered, neon an

ed that performance smile on again, and walked ba