lia

wind died. The distant ci

that moved from my tear-streaked makeup to my clenched fists. It felt like he w

actured courage began to c

y would he ever say yes to a crazy

offer, he spoke. His voice was a low, rough rasp, la

aze, to not back down. "No, M

. He seemed surprised by

marriage to shut everyone up. I need to escape the 'poor abandoned bride' narrative, and you need to prove th

my tongue. It was cruel, but the pu

mrest of his chair. His eyes darkened, becoming u

al. "A purely PR marriage. We get what we need, we don't interfere in each ot

my cards. It

ime. So long I thought he

en, his gaze fixed on the wilting floral

he asked suddenly, w

Evans," I answer

silence. Then he

, but something in those

s," he said. It wasn't a complim

caught in

with strong knuckles, calloused fr

ne," he c

e small, hidden pocket of my

r the screen. He dialed his o

r. A second later, a text message

aw

es," he said, his tone le

at the

is way of

rbal promise,

lchair past me, headin

," was a