He Took The Bait.

KANE'S POV

The TV was still on. I should’ve muted it, or maybe just smashed the damn thing. There they were Zane and Sibil, sitting like two devout saints on national television, spinning their sob story with so much performative grief, it almost deserved an award.

Zane’s voice grated through the speakers, calm and careful. Like a man deeply wounded by betrayal. And Sibil… God, her eyes watered on cue like she’d practiced in front of a mirror all night...who knows?maybe she had.

I clenched my jaw and turned back to the tablet in my hand. The photos from last night were already everywhere. Me and Aria stepping out of the limo. My hand behind her back, her dress catching the light just right. And that forehead kiss right there, captured mid-frame, like some perfect fairytale moment.

I hadn’t planned that. I hadn’t even thought about it before doing it. But something about the way she looked on the verge of breaking but still holding herself together like threadbare lace—compelled me. I just…did it. And now it was the headline shot of the year.

Zane took the bait. Hook, line, and sinker.

Good.

He deserved every bit of humiliation he was about to walk into. I’ve never been one for petty rivalry, and I sure as hell never cared enough about women to get tangled in their messes but this? This wasn’t just a feud, it was justice.

Each time I heard Zane’s voice, I remembered Aria’s face last night, the tears she fought in public, the way she crumbled in private. And I hated him more.

He’s weak, greedy and predictable.

I have every intention of taking everything he holds dear. Not because of Aria, but because he’s a coward who uses people, discards them, and plays the victim when they crawl away.

I looked up from the tablet and glanced at Aria. Her fists were clenched, eyes still red, lips trembling with restrained fury.

"They’ve done us a favor" I said finally "The attention, the drama...it’s all fuel. As long as we control the next move, they’ve handed us the game."

She turned to me slowly. "And if we don’t control it?"

I nodded at the screen. 'Then the narrative becomes theirs. Zane’s version becomes fact, that ou’re the unstable ex. I’m the manipulative brother and we lose everything."

She swallowed hard.

I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees. "We have to move quickly. The press needs something else—something bigger to bite into. A new story."

Her brows furrowed. "Like what?"

"I’ll figure it out..." I replied, already forming the outlines in my mind. "But you need to be prepared. This won’t be about feelings, this is strategy. A war of optics, they want to drown you in emotion. We’ll bury them in perception."

She said nothing, but her eyes didn’t flinch from mine.

Good.

Because this is war...and I don’t lose wars.

⁠•⁠•

ARIA'S POV

My phone buzzed violently in my hand, the sharp sound breaking through the static roar of the television and Kane’s voice. I flinched, glanced down, saw Ava, and immediately walked out of the sitting room.

"Ms Aria" her voice came through immediately, breathless and tight. "It’s bad, the clients are reaching out...emails, DMs, even some trying to cancel. They saw the interview, it’s everywhere. They’re asking if it’s true—if you’re… unstable. And if—" she hesitated, ...if you’re really married."

My breath hitched as I stopped by the hallway window. The light from outside did nothing to soften the panic slicing through me.

No, no no no..

If anyone dug too deep, if anyone so much as scratched the surface of this illusion Kane and I had put up... they’d find the truth. That I was a wife-for-hire. A businesswoman who sells the fantasy of marriage, one exclusive lie at a time.

Everything I’d built, the brand, the reputation, the perfectly controlled image. It would all crumble.

My voice was tight when I finally spoke. "Just handle it, Ava, do the damage control. Divert the conversation...uh say I’m unavailable for comment and that legal teams are being consulted."

"But Aria—"

"I have a bigger fish to fry..." I snapped before softening my tone. "I’ll call you later."

I hung up.

I gripped my phone like it was the only thing keeping me tethered. My heart was still thudding in my chest, fear running up my spine but beneath that fear… was anger.

Zane thought humiliating me publicly was checkmate.

And if Kane hated him even a quarter as much as I did, then maybe… just maybe, we could do more than survive this. We could destroy him.

I rubbed my forehead, the tension gathering like a knot above my brow. Would Kane agree to a longer play? To standing beside me even after the contract ended?

I wasn’t sure, but I had to ask.

I walked back into the sitting room and Kane was still there, seated, his eyes fixed on the tablet now resting on the table. The TV still spewed garbage from Zane and Sibil, the audio now a dull background noise.

I sank beside him slowly and let out a long breath.

He didn’t look at me.

"I want to offer you something.." I said, quietly at first. "An alliance."

That made his eyes shift to me.

"An alliance?" he echoed.

"Yes, you hate him, I hate him. And if we pool that hatred together, we can destroy him. Not just play defense, not just ride this out—we hit back harder."

His stare was unreadable. "What about our deal?"

"It's still on, seven days. Nothing changes.." I said quickly. "But after the contract ends… we continue the performance. Only this time it’s for our benefit, not just your business."

He leaned back, arms folded. Skepticism written across his face. "You’re proposing we keep the charade going."

"I’m proposing we weaponize it."

Kane was quiet for a long beat. Then finally, he said, "We won’t be able to achieve much in six days."

"I know.." I replied. "That’s why we continue after, y'know off-records. No contracts, no obligations...just two people with a shared goal."

He watched me for a moment that stretched too long. Then he nodded once, slow. "You’re serious."

"Dead serious."

••

KANE'S POV

An alliance.

Of all things she could’ve offered, I didn’t expect that not from her, atleast not now.

But there she sat beside me again—looking calm and collected, when I knew damn well she wasn’t. She was cracking beneath it all, but somehow holding together. And yet, even with the weight of the world pressing into her ribs, she asked to partner up.

I stared straight ahead for a while, not answering. Not because I needed time to think, but because I already had.

The moment Zane opened his smug mouth on live television, I’d made my decision. The moment he let Sibil cry fake tears for sympathy and dragged Aria’s name through the dirt with veiled references and clipped smiles, I’d made my decision.

I tapped my tablet to life again. The screen blinked to my files, already organized, I didn’t sleep last night. I don’t sleep most nights. But I’d been collecting pieces of this puzzle for months, just in case.

Zane made a public move an emotional and reckless one. Exactly what I needed.

"This..." I said, turning the screen toward her "gives us an opening."

Aria leaned in without speaking, eyes scanning the reports, articles and financial flags, movement within Zane’s circle. She didn’t need to ask how I got them.

"Zane’s bleeding..." I said. "Financially and privately. That interview? It wasn’t strength it was cover."

She scoffed. "He’s losing control."

I nodded once. "Bad men don’t break cleanly, they flail."

She looked over at me, her face unreadable. "And we push him?"

"No..." I locked the screen again. "We give him rope."

She studied me for a second, her lips pressed thin. "So you’re in?"

I turned toward her, met her stare. "The seven-day contract still stands. But if we’re doing this, we start now."

Her throat bobbed but she didn’t flinch.

"You won’t regret it.." she said quietly.

I didn’t answer, regret wasn’t part of my equation...not anymore.

I stood. "Get ready, we’re going public this afternoon."

She blinked. "Public how?"

I met her eyes again. "The next snapshot, you and me...together. Let them see what they want to believe.”