CHAPTER 7

ZENDAYA'S POV

"Talk," Adrian said, his voice deadly calm. "Now."

I opened my mouth, but Malachi spoke first.

"It's fake," he said bluntly. "The engagement is fake."

Something twisted in my chest at how easily he said it, how casually he dismissed what we'd just claimed in front of the entire board. Even though I knew it was fake, even though I'd been telling myself for days that nothing could happen between us, hearing him say it out loud hurt more than it should have.

"Fake," Adrian repeated slowly. "You just lied to the entire board of directors. You announced a fake engagement. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I saved Zendaya's position," Malachi replied, his tone steady. "That's what I did."

"By lying!"

"By doing what was necessary," Malachi countered. "Victor was going to take everything from her, Adrian. You saw what was happening there. They were going to eliminate her based on sexist, archaic reasoning, and there was nothing you could do to stop it."

Adrian's hands curled into fists. "So you decided to play the hero? To announce an engagement without even consulting either of us first?"

"There wasn't time to consult anyone," Malachi said. "I heard what was happening and I made a decision."

"Wait," I interrupted, finding my voice finally. "How did you even know what was happening? How did you know to come to the boardroom?"

Malachi turned to look at me. "I came to drop off a file for Adrian. Some contracts he'd asked me to review. When I got to the office, his assistant told me he was in the board meeting, so I went to leave the file with her. That's when I heard raised voices through the boardroom doors. I heard Victor talking about eliminating you, and heard the vote going against you."

"So you just barged in and announced we were engaged?" I asked, my voice rising. "Without thinking? Without asking?"

"Without thinking?" Malachi's eyes flashed. "I thought about it for exactly three seconds, Zendaya. Three seconds to decide whether I was going to let you lose everything or do something about it."

"That wasn't your decision to make!"

"Someone had to make it," Malachi shot back. "And you were about thirty seconds away from losing the CEO position permanently."

"He's right," Adrian said quietly.

We both turned to look at him.

Adrian sank into his chair, running his hands through his hair. "God, I hate that he's right, but he is. Victor had you cornered. The board was voting against you. If Malachi hadn't walked in when he did, you would have lost everything."

"But an engagement, Mal?" Adrian looked at his best friend with something like betrayal in his eyes. "You and Zendaya can barely stand to be in the same room together. You argue about everything. You've been at each other's throats since you were teenagers."

If only he knew the real reason for all that arguing.

"Exactly," Malachi said. "Which is why no one will question it too hard. People will think we finally stopped fighting and realized we had feelings for each other. It's practically a romantic comedy plot."

"This isn't a joke," I said coldly.

"I know it's not a joke," Malachi replied, his expression serious now. "This is your life, Zendaya. Your future. Your father's company. I wasn't going to let Victor take that from you."

"Why?" I demanded. "Why do you care so much? You said yourself that night meant nothing, that we should just forget about it and move on. So why risk everything for me?"

Malachi's jaw tightened, and for a moment I thought he might tell the truth. Might admit that he cared, that he'd never stopped caring. But then he looked at Adrian and his expression shuttered.

"Because of Adrian," Malachi said. "Because he's my best friend and he sacrificed his dreams to run this company temporarily for you. Because if you didn't get the CEO position, he'd feel obligated to step back in to protect it from Victor. And then he'd never get to medical school. He'd never get to be a doctor."

The explanation was so logical, so reasonable, so completely focused on Adrian that I almost believed it. Almost.

But I'd felt the way Malachi kissed me. I'd seen the look in his eyes when he'd asked if I ever thought about him. He was lying to Adrian. Lying to protect our secret, to maintain the careful distance we'd always kept.

And I hated that I was grateful for the lie even as it broke something inside me.

Adrian's expression softened. "Mal..."

"You're my brother in every way that matters," Malachi continued. "I wasn't going to let you give up your dream again. Not for Victor. Not for anyone."

Adrian stood and walked around the desk, pulling Malachi into a tight hug. "You're an idiot. But thank you."

I watched them, feeling like an outsider in my own life. They were best friends. Brothers. And I was the complication between them, the reason they had to lie and scheme and pretend.

"So what now?" Adrian asked, stepping back. "You two are engaged. The board expects a wedding in three months. How are we going to make this work?"

"We make it look real," Malachi said simply. "For three months, Zendaya and I pretend to be a couple. We attend events together, we're seen in public, we convince everyone that we're in love. After the wedding, we maintain the marriage for a reasonable period—a year, maybe—and then we quietly divorce. By then, Zendaya will have proven herself as CEO and her marital status won't matter anymore."

"A year," I repeated numbly.

"Unless you want to make it longer," Malachi said, looking at me. "But I figured you'd want out as soon as possible."

He wasn't wrong. I should want out. Should be counting down the days until I could divorce him and go back to my life.

So why did the thought of divorcing Malachi make my chest ache?

I wanted to argue more. Wanted to rage against the situation, against Malachi's high-handed decision, against the fact that I was being forced into a marriage I'd secretly wanted for years but could never have for real.

"Fine," I said finally. "We'll do this. But there are going to be boundaries."

"What kind of boundaries?" Malachi asked warily.

"This is business only," I said firmly. "We're doing this for the company. For Adrian. Not for... anything else. We'll be professional. Cordial. We'll play the happy couple in public, but in private, we maintain our distance."

Something flickered across Malachi's face—disappointment, maybe, or relief. I couldn't tell.

"Agreed," he said.

"And after a year, we divorce. Quietly. Amicably. And we never speak of this again."

"Agreed."

Even as I said the words, even as I set the boundaries that would keep Malachi at arm's length for the next year, part of me hoped desperately that something would change. That maybe before the three months were up, Malachi would find someone else. Someone whole and perfect and worthy of him. Someone who wasn't broken and scared and confined to a wheelchair.

The thought of Malachi with another woman sent a sharp pain through my chest so intense I had to bite my lip to keep from gasping.

No. I couldn't think like that. I couldn't let myself care. This was business. Nothing more.

My phone buzzed in my lap, then buzzed again. And again.

I pulled it out and stared at the screen. Fifteen missed calls. Twenty text messages. All from the same person.

Derek.

"The news leaked," I said, my voice hollow. "Someone told the press about the engagement."

Adrian cursed. "Already? How?"

"Does it matter?" Malachi asked. "It was going to come out eventually."

My phone rang again. Derek's name flashed on the screen.

I stared at it, my finger hovering over the decline button. Part of me wanted to answer, wanted to hear what he had to say. What excuse he could possibly give for calling me now, after everything.

But then I couldn't stand another session of screaming and emotional outburst. It was over between him and me, and I didn't care what he had to say.

I declined the call.