silent efficiency. Elena sat in a butter-soft leather chair that seemed designed to swallow its occupants, facing a poli

ad well and truly burst. It lay dissected now in a 47-page d

it A: The Public Timeline. This details the sequence of mandatory milestones-the official engagement announcement via exclusive

opolitan Opera Gala. Week 18: "Candid" weekend getaway photos re

rted completely to the glacier-impeccable, detache

required frequency and nature of touch for public events, categorized by venue formality. Clause 4.5: Digital Hygiene. All social media interactions must be approv

ow thud in her chest. The man who had shared the secret o

nd Penalties." She detailed the escrow account, the release of the first million upo

ure page forward, along with two expensive pens. "

it legally, inescapably real. She glanced at Xander. He met her gaze, his own

igned Elena Maria Torres with a steady hand she didn'

rformance is now legally binding. Copies will be couriered to your respective

t was done. They were

thicker than in the lawyer's room. Elena stared at her reflection in

he said quietly, not lo

it force. What we agreed to yesterday was a concept. This," he tapped

"Your belongings have been transferred," he stated, answering her unasked question. "The east

enthouse. Her fingers tighten

at and foreign, were lined up in the foyer of the east wing

ddenly less like a party to a contract and more like a man in his own home, unsure of his new roommate. "Th

him. The day's tension finally cracked through her prof

aze searching her face. "The architecture is made of

they'd entered the lawyer's office. It didn't erase the

" she said,

e shared calendar invite." A ghost of his dry smile returne

ll-the legal language applied to dating, to life-hit her at

temporary room, they could build something inside the architect

d a calendar aler