t or Real Romance? Tari Amadi and Fiancée Spotted Sharing a Moment."* Every time she saw the words *"real romance"*, her heart twisted. Because deep down, even if it started as fake... something a

ntract to protect her. Three days passed. No calls. No texts. Nothing from Tari. Zara thought she'd feel relieved. Instead, every hour of silence cut deeper. Her emotions were all over the place - part of her still angry about the leak, another part terrified of how quickly her feelings had shifted from fake to *something else entirely*. And then there was the small, aching part of her that missed him. Missed the way he said her name when no one was listening. Missed the softness he tried to hide. But she had work to focus on. Her atelier was buzzing. A new celebrity client. A custom wedding gown. Sketches everywhere. Still... her heart wasn't in it. "Zara," her assistant said gently, "your stitchwork's off today." "I know. Sorry. Mind's scattered." "Want to talk about it?" Zara just smiled tightly. "Not yet." *** Tari wasn't doing much better. He sat in his office, staring at the same contract for an hour. He hadn't called her because he didn't want to make it worse. Didn't want to push her away for good. But every part of him screamed to go back, say something, do anything. "You're distracted," Ayo, his best friend and CFO, said casually. Tari grunted. Ayo smirked. "Is it Zara?" Tari didn't respond. Ayo leaned against the desk. "You know... this fake engagement? You were never *this* bothered when it wa