of emotions-frustration, anger, and a hint of fear-was too much to suppress. She wanted to scream, to tell him that she wasn't the woman to play this

by releasing the engagement announcement in the morning.

me to say? 'Oh, I'm so thrilled to marry a man I barely know, but he

It's not about truth. It's about perception. We

duced to nothing more than a press release. "You really think people are going to buy that? The press,

ay ahead of them. Control the narrative.

e story," she mu

anger in his eyes, only a kind of cold, deta

on her? Did he not realize the mess he was dragging her into? She looked at him, studying his features, the set of his jaw, the wa

t I'm not doing any of this alone. We're partners in this, whether you like

it was gone. "Don't worry, Ivy. I'll handle my part. But make no mistake, you're not just in this with me for the PR.

ory Hale's power wasn't just some abstract concept-it was real, ta

fool, Sebastian. I knew the moment you asked me to 'play along' that this

almost... human. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "I'm not the

replied, her voice firm. "

stood, the movement sharp and decisive. "Fine. But remember, t

, Sebastian," she said coldly. "And I'll play mine, as long a

e on her back. The house seemed too big, too cold as she made he

like a cloak. The city lights twinkled far below, but the view felt distant, unrea

They were all coming, inevitable as a train wreck-an

t wasn't just the decepti

e of the cold businessman, the ruthless son of a power-hungry magnate.

ling that this-he-was more than just a story. He was a puzzle, and the closer she got,

at Ivy didn't expect was how deeply it would sink under her skin. The lines between the real and the staged w

ne to Sebastian Hale's