he air in the room had shifted, no longer filled with quiet hopelessness but heavy with a strange, da

ract m

atch with her mother before her passing. But this was real. Her life. Her pain

for something even greater in return. Adrian Blackwood was a billionaire, a man w

n stone, always with a look of calculated charm. Women draped on his arms like accessories. Headlines shouting his business victories, speculating on

one of the more

gagement: Sources Say Betrayal

been caught in a scandalous affair with Mason, just weeks before their wedding. The tabloids h

e sens

was looking to erase the memory of a woman who ha

n't as emotionless as he seemed. Maybe he was just as broke

ed her. She frowned. Two visits

all-too-familiar smug look on her flawless face. Clad in designer clothes and clutching a purse that p

nvitation. "Heard you missed family dinner last night. Stepm

r arms. "I wasn

ess of yours. Still playing the sympathy card? Maybe you sh

eless to argue with Clarissa. She was her stepmother'

ty is in two days. She expects you to handle the decorations. A

e changed everything last-minute without telling

ghed. "Detai

oney, about survival, about whether her body would give out on her before she could even get a chance to live. She lived off Lena's father

ena said coldly. "If she wants some

ittle rat is growing a spine? What happened to the

f being everyone

the new attitude get to your head

erfume lingering behind like an unwanted remin

n she meant to. Her breathing

uzzed again

're thinking it over. Meet me at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Blac

ering above the screen. She didn't kno

ont

arr

was sounding lik

-

blazer and a pencil skirt that had seen better days. She looked herself in the mirror and swa

reflection of Adrian's reputation-cold, modern, and impossible to ignore. The security guards

48th floor was smooth and

marble and soft lighting. A receptionist greeted her wit

h a glass of water in his hand. He turned when she e

oked like a man carved from stone-sharp angles, deep eyes, unreadable expr

he said, gesturi

y. On the table before her was a fil

appearances as needed. You live with me. No romantic entanglements outside the marr

idened. "This

is. You have until

ted. "And

want to go through this with anyone else. "Then I find some

d. Lena reached for the file, run

ispered. "You co

cause you have nothing to gain... and every

ice barely a whisper.

t about love, Lena. This is a

slowly, hea

decide. But deep dow