로그인Sienna tilts her head, studying my face like she's reading a book she's already finished."Feel better now?"I sniffle. Wipe my nose with the back of my hand. Classy. Real classy."I feel stupid," I admit. "I just cried on you like a toddler who lost her favorite toy. My eyes feel like someone poured sand in them. And my face is so puffy I probably look like I lost a fight with a beehive."She doesn't laugh."...Yes," I mutter. "I feel better."She smiles. A soft smile that makes me want to cry all over again."Good. Now. Are you ready to talk?"I shrug. "I guess so."A bit of silence before my interrogation commences."When did you first notice?"I frown. "Notice what?"Her smile widens. "When did you notice you were having feelings for my husband?"My face does something, a twitch maybe, I’m not sure. But I’m sure it was funny enough for Sienna's bad cop act to make her giggle, the sound makes my embarrassment spike from a simmer to a full boil. She’s really enjoying her time, maki
My brain short-circuits.That's the only way to describe it, every circuit in my head just... dies. Fizzles out. Leaves nothing but static and the high-pitched whine of panic.“Since when have you had feelings for Lucian?”The question echoes, bounding off the walls of my skull..How long has she known? Did she always know? Was it obvious? Did everyone know aside from me? Did Lucian figure it out before I did?I open my mouth. Close it. Open it again.Nothing comes out.Say something. Say anything! Lie if you have too. Deflect. Laugh it off like it's the punchline to a joke you don't get. Tell her she's being ridiculous, that you hate him, that you've always hated him, that the very idea is insane and she should probably let me examine her head examined for even suggesting—But the words won't come.Because she's looking at me with those eyes. Those green eyes that have known me since before either of us understood what "known" meant. And lying to her right now would be like lying to
I rush over to her like a woman possessed. My eyes probably look wild and instinctively unhinged. I'm not even sure what face I'm making, but judging by the way Sienna's smile falters, it's not a confident one. I grab her shoulders. Spin her toward the light. Stare.Her hair. Her beautiful, luscious, I-would-kill-for-this-hair hair.It's gone.The long blonde waves that always caught the sun like spun gold, that she treated better than some people treat their children, that she'd brush exactly one hundred strokes every night since we were twelve— is gone. Chopped clean off. Reduced to a straight bob that hovers just above her shoulders like sharp, geometric punishment."Oh. My God!," I breathe. "What did you freaking do."Sienna blinks at me. Puzzled. Oblivious to the fact she just committed a crime against nature."What?" she asks."Your hair!" I yell. "You cut your freaking hair!"I step back. Point at her head like it's a crime scene. My voice goes up an octave."Oh my God. Oh my G
Moving my body feels so much like a hassle. The ceiling stares back at me, same as it has for the past—I don't even know how long. Sunlight's bleeding through the curtains, so bright and aggressive, It’s cursing at me for rotting so long in bed. My head pounds. My mouth tastes like regret and old lipstick.Yesterday was a disaster waiting to happen. It just needed the perfect trigger to set everything ablaze.And boy, did we deliver.I'm still wearing my gala outfit. The champagne dress is wrinkled beyond saving, twisted around my legs like it tried to strangle me in my sleep. One heel is on the floor. The other's somewhere near the bathroom. I don't remember kicking them off. I don't remember much after—I squeeze my eyes shut. But that doesn't stop the replay. Lucian's face. His words. The way he looked at me like I was something he'd scraped off his shoe."You keep pretending you're fighting for your dignity, but deep down you're still the same broke girl who spread her legs for a
The word hung in the air like smoke from a freshly fired gun. Grandfather’s face split into a triumphant grin. His eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of a man who had just closed the deal of a lifetime. “Splendid,” he drawled, voice thick with triumph and that signature Montgomery smoothness to it. As if the entire evening had been scripted for this exact moment. He pulled his phone from the inside pocket of his jacket, tapped once, and spoke into it without breaking eye contact with me. “Bring the contract to the lounge. I need it urgently so don’t waste my time.” Lucian hadn’t moved. He stood frozen two steps away, staring at me like I’d grown a second head and announced I was joining the circus. His dark eyes were wide, disbelief carved so deep into his features that for once the perfect Montgomery mask had cracked so clean in half, I wasn’t sure if it was the same man standing before me.I didn’t care how insane I looked to him anymore. Let him think I’d finally lost my mind
The applause crashes over the room like a wave, but it's mixed with all these gasps and murmurs rippling through the crowd. People are whispering behind their hands, eyes darting around like they've just heard the punchline to some twisted joke. I stand there frozen, my heart pounding in my ears, as Grandfather's words sink in. Produce an heir? Like we're all pieces in his little dynasty board game? Now I get why Damien hates the old man so much. It's straight-up unethical, using unborn kids as gambling chips for who gets the throne. But this is the Montgomery family way, apparently. Ruthless deals and power plays are just how things roll. No wonder Lucian's built like a fortress; he's been navigating this crap his whole life.But why is Grandfather so damn confident I'll be the one to "win" this for Lucian? Enough to dangle that contract in front of me like bait? Does he think I'm that desperate, or does he see something in me that I don't? My stomach twists at the thought. I glance
By now, I’d learned the Montgomery family tree well enough to give a history lecture. Who married who, who died tragically, who cheated, who built the empire from blood and grit. I knew the names, the scandals, the money trails. Nursing school had really toughened my brain for retentive memory…dosa
Three weeks. That’s how long it had been since I agreed, against every sane bone in my body to play Sienna’s double. To be her stunt double. Three weeks of etiquette lessons, posture drills, endless practice dinners, and correcting every little thing I did wrong. Sit straighter. Walk slower. Don’t
The second Lucian’s words left his mouth, I felt my entire body go cold. My legs actually staggered back, and before I knew it, I was shaking my head so hard my hair whipped across my face.“No. Absolutely not.”I started off protesting “You’ve lost your Goddamn mind if you think I’m doing that,”
“What now?” I muttered to myself but loud enough for Lucian to hear me.Lucian strolled all the way back to his seat and collapsed on it like the weight of the world was sitting on his shoulders. His jaw flexed, his fingers tapping against the armrest, his eyes distant and hard. “We wait,” he sa







