LOGINTyrone's POV “How bad is it?” I asked. "Three board members have already emailed," Melissa replied. "People are asking whether the money was a condition of the wedding. Right now the public story is a whirlwind romance but the private story is a contract. If the board starts digging, the contract becomes a problem.” I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my eyes. “Who’s leading the questions?” “Daniel O’Neal," She replied. "He's asking for a full breakdown of the Yates Foundation’s decision process.” "Okay, set it up." I rubbed a hand over my face. "Anything else." "Yes," she said carefully. "Your cousin has been making calls. Kelvin reached out to two board members directly, asking questions about your finances and your, and your decision. He’s pushing the custody team to request an emergency review.” "Of course he is," I said. "Kelvin never wasted an opportunity, when it came to Belle’s trust funds. Schedule the board call for tomorrow morning and tell legal to prepare
Tyrone's POV “It’s nothing,” I said. Belle didn’t move. She stepped closer, and squinted up at my face under the hall light like she was examining a patient. “Why is it bleeding?” she asked. "It's barely bleeding anymore," I said. "It's still red." She looked at it a second, then her eyes moved sideways, straight to Valeria. "Did you two fight?" "No," I said. "Then how'd you get hurt?" I glanced at Valeria, who had gone very still, clearly hoping I'd invent something quickly. "Your aunt bit me," I said. Belle's whole face scrunched up in confusion. "She bit you?" "Yes she did," I nodded. "Why would you bite him?" Belle turned to Valeria. "I didn't mean to..." Valeria's voice was high. "I-it wasn't..." Valeria stopped, cheeks already pink, then she turned her gaze to me. "You're the one who shoved your..." She stopped cold, eyes wide, clearly realizing any complete sentence was about to make everything worse. “Your aunt has sharp teeth," I said quickly.
Valeria's POV The car pulled away from the curb and neither of us said a word. I stared straight ahead at the back of the driver's headrest, hyperaware of everything, the leather seat under my thighs, the way Tyrone's leg sat maybe six inches from mine. My mouth still felt swollen and lips still tingled a little. I kept replying Maxwell's face going from smug to stunned in about half a second, the exact moment Tyrone's hand had landed hard on my waist and pulled me in, the way his mouth had felt against mine, and then the bite. Somewhere in the middle of that kiss I'd just stopped thinking entirely, and now there was an actual cut on my fake husband's mouth because I couldn't control myself in a hospital parking lot. I snuck a glance at him. He was looking out the window, jaw set, one hand resting on his knee, not looking at me at all, which somehow made the silence worse instead of better. The city lights slid across his face in strips as we moved, and I found myself star
Valeria's POV I woke up to the sound of his voice. “What the hell.” My eyes opened and for half a second my brain stayed fuzzy, then everything came in at once. I was pressed against him. My head was on his shoulder and my was thrown over his with his hand was on the bare skin of my waist under the nightgown. I could feel his heartbeat under my cheek. We just stared at each other, his eyes were dark and wide awake. Neither of us moved. The only sound in the room was our breathing. My face went hot so fast it almost hurt. I pulled back too quickly. The nightgown tangled around my thighs and I nearly fell off the edge of the mattress trying to get free. My knee knocked into his leg. The sheet twisted. I ended up half-sitting, clutching the blanket to my chest like it could erase the last eight hours. “I...” My voice came out rough. “I didn’t mean to...” “Yeah.” He sat up slower than I had and his hand left my skin. “Neither did I.” We both looked anywhere except at each other.
Valeria's POV I tried to keep my face neutral. “Good morning to you too, Stella.” "Don't 'good morning' me She blocked my path, eyes wide, coffee forgotten in her hand. “You got married. To Tyrone Yates? The Tyrone Yates. When the hell did you even start dating him? because as far as I knew two weeks ago you were still complaining about him being late to his own follow-ups." “It’s recent," I said. “Recent enough that I, your actual best friend, wasn’t invited?". She shook her head. "Not even a text? Not even a ‘hey, I’m doing something insane today’ warning?” I kept walking toward the staff entrance but she matched my pace. "There wasn't a planned date," I said. "There wasn't really a wedding, in the traditional sense. It was small. Fast." Stella grabbed my arm and pulled me into the empty consult alcove near the elevators. "We both know you hate rushed decisions," She said. "Does this have anything to do with the hospital? I heard something this morning. Finance sen
Valeria's POV I crouched down in front of her, right there on the gravel drive, so we were eye level. "Hey," I said. "Look at me." She did, reluctant, eyes glassy but not spilling over, because apparently even here, standing outside with just me and Tyrone, she still hadn't let herself fully cry. "You are not stupid," I said. "Whoever told you that, they're wrong." "Nobody said it," Belle mumbled. "Grandma just says I have to try harder. Like trying harder is a thing I'm not already doing." "I believe you're trying," I said gently. "Nobody else does." She looked down at her shoes. "I hate piano now. I used to like it. Now every time I mess up a note I think about her face when Ms. Bianca calls to complain, and I just... I don't want to go near the piano bench anymore." "I know," I said. "It's hard to enjoy something when every mistake feels like proof of something bad about you." She looked up at that, surprised, like she hadn't expected me to actually understand.







