Chapter 007

Brayden's POV

I sat back against the cheap vinyl of the booth, watching Janessa stare at her buzzing phone like it was a live grenade.

The screen kept lighting up, casting a pale glow over her face as Trevor's name flashed across it for the umpteenth time. She looked completely frozen, her chest heaving as she swallowed hard, her thumb hovering over the screen but never actually touching it. It was honestly beautiful to watch. For my entire life, Trevor’s perfect little world had been this untouchable, pristine thing that my parents worshiped. Now, just by sitting across from me in a run-down diner, his precious little fairytale was starting to crumble at the edges.

But then I actually looked at her.

Really looked at her.

She wasn't just stressing; she was fully spiraling into a panic attack. Her fingers were trembling so violently she could barely hold the device, her breathing was coming in short, shallow gasps, and all the color had completely drained from her face. She looked like she was about to faint right into her untouched plate of pancakes. Seeing her look that small and helpless made that weird, annoying protective instinct flare up in my chest again. I hated it, but I couldn't stop it.

I reached across the table, wrapped my fingers around the top of her phone, and took it right out of her hand.

"Hey!" she gasped, her voice cracking as her empty hands clutched at her cardigan. "Give it back, Brayden. I have to—"

I didn't answer. I just hit the side button to mute the ringer, flipped the phone face down onto the table, and pushed it completely out of her reach. "You're not answering him while you look like you're about to hurl. Sit back and breathe, Janessa."

"You don't understand," she whispered, her eyes wide and frantic. "He's going to keep calling. Caleb told him I left, and if I don't tell him where I am soon, he’s going to call the police or fly out here, and everything will be ruined."

"Let him call," I said smoothly, leaning my elbows on the table. "Listen to me. You’re staying at my place permanently."

Janessa blinked, looking totally stunned. "What? No, I'm not. We talked about this last night, it was just for one night until I figured things out."

"Caleb's apartment is a toxic wasteland," I pointed out, my tone deadpan. "You saw him this morning. The guy is a vindictive prick, and he’s broke. He doesn't give a crap about housing you; he just wants to use you to look good in front of Trevor. And you just told me last night you're completely broke. You don't have the cash for a hotel room in this city for a weekend, let alone a semester. You have zero options."

"I can't live with my boyfriend's bitter twin brother, Brayden!" she hissed, leaning over the table, her voice a harsh whisper so the old people a few booths over wouldn't hear us. "That is insane! Trevor would despise me. He hates you!"

"Exactly," I smirked. "Which is why we are going to give him a real reason to hate me."

She stared at me like I had just spoken in a different language. "What are you talking about?"

The waitress finally dropped off our plates and the two black coffees, but I barely noticed. I kept my eyes locked on Janessa, laying down the ultimate ultimatum. "You fake date me to keep the family off your back, or you get on a plane and go back home. Those are your choices."

Janessa’s jaw literally dropped. "Fake date you? Are you out of your mind?"

"Think about it, good girl," I said, taking a slow sip of my coffee. The bitter liquid burned my throat, but it cleared my head. "If we tell everyone that we met and immediately fell for each other, Trevor will back off out of shock. His massive ego won't be able to handle the fact that his girl chose me over him, and he’ll spend all his time seething instead of trying to drag you back into his little cage. Plus, my mother won't be able to say a word because she wants us 'united' anyway. And Caleb? Caleb won't dare touch you or breathe in your direction because I own the hockey team, and he knows I will personally ruin his life if he crosses me."

"This is crazy," she muttered, shaking her head violently. "This is completely toxic. I love Trevor. I’ve been with him since forever."

"You love the idea of him," I corrected sharply, my voice dropping into a dangerous register. "You love the safety he gives you. But safety is just another word for a cage, Janessa. You want a fresh start at Berkeley? This is it. Real survival isn't pretty."

She didn't eat a single bite of her food. She just sat there, staring at the flipped-over phone, her mind clearly working a mile a minute.

I paid the bill, grabbed her phone, and practically shoved her back into the SUV. The drive back to my condo was completely silent, the tension in the car so thick you could cut it with a knife. Janessa looked like she was having a full-blown existential crisis in the passenger seat.

The second we walked through the door of my loft, she started pacing.

Up and down the polished concrete floor, her sneakers clicking softly against the surface. She walked past the glass case holding my jersey, past the floor-to-ceiling windows, her hands gripping the edges of her cardigan. I stood by the kitchen island, quietly watching her. 

It was fascinating to see her so completely torn between her old "good girl" persona—the quiet, peace-keeping girl who did exactly what her strict family and her perfect boyfriend wanted—and the harsh reality of survival in a city where she had nothing.

"If I do this," she said suddenly, stopping her pacing and turning to face me. Her voice was trembling, but her jaw was set. "If I actually agree to this insanity... What are the rules?"

"I already told you the rules," I said, a slow, wicked smile tugging at the corner of my lips. "Stay out of my way, don't touch my stuff, and when we are in public, you belong to me. You smile, you hold my hand, and you let everyone think I’m the only guy you’re thinking about."

She swallowed hard, looking at me like I was the devil himself offering her a contract. She took a deep breath, her shoulders dropping as she finally gave up the fight.

Slowly, Janessa nodded. "Fine. I'll do it."

A massive, wicked surge of satisfaction coursed through my veins, making my chest tighten. I looked at her standing in the middle of my living room, officially trapped in my territory by her own choice.

I didn't do nice. I didn't do charity. But knowing that I had just officially stolen Trevor's girl, and that he was about to lose his mind when he found out, made this entire mess totally worth it.

Welcome to my world, good girl.