Tangled Hearts, Twisted Lies

mphony of car horns, distant sirens, and the occasional hiss of tires against wet

asn't suppose

f rain still lingered in the air, mingling with the subtle notes of aged oak and cologne that clung to the room. Behind her, the lavish suite stretched

palace of shadows, Caden A

ns - warmth laced with ice, charm shadowed by secrets. The world knew him as the elusive billionaire heir to the Alistair fortune

t, it hadn't been fate.

all that was left was a woman standing in a stranger's penthouse, wearing a

smooth, measured, with an undercurrent of

s. The city lights blurred into a thousa

eplace, his frame tall and commanding, tailored in a dark suit that made him seem more myth than man. The

rous game," he said qui

rules," Serena repli

gged at his lips.

ct inked with desperation and guarded lies. She was here because of a promise, because someone she loved had no one else to tur

itute.

d the one thing neither contra

he

hed by the dangerous pull of his world. Yet every glance, every carefully spoken

dows and a future paved in bloodlines. And Serena? S

, beautif

them. Caden's eyes darkened. He moved with predato

rds, but she saw the subtle shift in Caden's expression - the t

n place. Whatever storm had been on the other side

f plans,"

uickened. "What

enough for her to see the faint scar above his brow - a flaw mo

to be my wif

it like a t

ettled. "You said... it would be for appearances. A m

low, laced with warning. "There are people who'll stop at nothin

. To leave this high-rise cage of privilege and peril. But then she thought of her sister'

t

her voice steadier than she

a brow. "And

to look away from the storm in

his lips. "In my world, truth is

time you pa

ween them. Then - as if some invisible

ea

e that, the

e for this arrangement would be fa

wisted lies have a way of un

was about to