Chapter 5: The Public Lie

(Jane's POV )

I barely recognized the person staring back at me in the mirror.

Those swollen eyes.  

The trembling lips.  

The girl whose whole world crumbled in less than a day.

I looked like someone teetering on the edge of a breakdown.

Which… let’s be honest, I was.

William stood behind me, arms crossed, observing me like a mechanic inspecting a damaged luxury car.

“Fix your hair,” he said softly. “We need to go.”

I nearly hurled the hairbrush at him.

Instead, I inhaled, shaky and uneven.

“Go where?” I managed to ask.

“The press conference.”

My hand froze, hairbrush suspended in midair.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“William,” I murmured, “I can barely breathe.”

“You don’t need to breathe,” he replied. “You just need to look composed.”

I whirled around to face him. “How can I? My fiancé just dumped me an hour ago. Everyone thinks I’m your mistress. Reporters are chasing me down. I don’t even have a place to call home anymore. And you…” I raised my voice. “You want me to stand in front of cameras and pretend everything’s fine?”

He didn’t flinch.

“You want to reclaim your life? This is how.”

I stared at him, searching for any sign of understanding.

No sympathy.  

No warmth.

Yet beneath that icy exterior… a curious steadiness.  

Unshakeable.  

As if he was holding things together because I couldn’t.

“Come on.” He reached out, his hand hovering not comfort, but a signal to move.

I ignored his hand but fell in step behind him.

Because what other choice did I have?

THE CAR RIDE

Silence enveloped us.

Just the hum of the engine and the suffocating weight in my chest.

I gazed out the window as everything whizzed by. Reporters swarmed the entrance of the building like a pack of scavengers.

A sharp twist of anxiety shot through me.

“This is a terrible idea,” I murmured.

“Too late for that,” he said flatly.

I shot him a withering look. “You’re infuriating.”

“And you’re emotional,” he replied, surprisingly gentle. “You just lost someone important. I get that.”

His words hit me hard.

I didn’t expect even a hint of empathy from him.

“You… understand?” I whispered.

His jaw tightened. “More than you realize.”

I studied him intently, really looked for the first time.

I spotted it,a flicker of fatigue in his eyes.  

A hint of loneliness.  

A lurking shadow.

But then he straightened, closing off like a steel door slamming down.

“We’re nearly there,” he stated.

THE PRESS CONFERENCE

The noise engulfed me right away.

Flashes.  

Shouting.  

Hands reaching.  

Cameras exploding like gunfire.

“William! Over here!”  

“Is she your mistress?”  

“Are you replacing Annie?”  

“Jane, why did you betray your fiancé?”

That last question felt like a stabbing pain.

William stepped closer, using his body to shield me as the security team struggled to hold back the crowd.

“Stay by me,” he murmured.

My legs felt like jelly, but I nodded.

We stepped onto the raised platform.

The crowd erupted in noise.

My heart raced.

William leaned toward me. “I’ll handle this. Just keep breathing.”

I wasn’t sure I could.

But he put a hand on the podium, lifted his chin, and instantly, the room fell silent.

Just like that.

Power emanated from him.

“Thank you all for coming,” he started, his voice calm, deep, and steady. “I’d like to address the swirling rumors concerning myself and Miss Jane Mark.”

Camera flashes burst around us.

My stomach plummeted.

“Firstly,” he stated, “there’s no affair. We have never had a romantic relationship.”

A ripple of surprise passed through the crowd.

“Secondly,” he continued, “Miss Mark has faced harassment, slander, and constant stalking. She has lost her job and her home due to these false claims.”

A lump formed in my throat.

I hadn’t anticipated him defending me like that,not in public, not so defiantly.

“Thirdly,” he said, “the photograph currently circulating was taken out of context during a chaotic moment. I was helping her after she sustained an injury.”

The atmosphere buzzed with a mix of shock and curiosity.

Then he dropped the bombshell.

“To avoid causing any further upheaval in her life,” he explained, “Miss Martins and I are embarking on a private project together. Think of it as a partnership, temporary but formal.”

The sound of hushed chatter erupted around us intense, like a crashing wave.

I could hardly process what he had just revealed.

A partnership? That sounded far more serious than I had anticipated.

William glanced at me, giving a slight nod. It was my cue to speak.

My throat felt constricted as I stepped up to the microphone, my fingers trembling with anxiety.

“Um… hi,” I began, stumbling over my words. 

What a brilliant start, right?

Yet, the sincerity in my voice managed to quell the noise in the room.

“I…I didn’t ask for any of this,” I continued, “I come from no influential family. I don’t have wealth or connections. I’m just… a person trying to make ends meet, care for my mom, pay my bills, and live a quiet life.”

Camera flashes flickered around me.

“I understand what the media is reporting,” I pressed on, “but none of it is accurate. I didn’t cheat, nor did I attempt to entice anyone. I simply found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

My voice wavered, betraying my nerves.

“And right now… I’m just trying to hold myself together.”

A hush fell over the crowd.

An honest silence.

William looked at me with an expression I hadn’t noticed before. 

It was complex,something softer, almost… protective.

Then…

“Miss Martins! Did your fiancé leave you because of this scandal?”

That question struck like a dagger. 

I felt a chill run down my spine, and panic rose in my throat.

I opened my mouth, but no sound emerged.

William quickly stepped in. 

“That question is inappropriate,” he interjected firmly. “It will not be addressed.”

He stood as my shield against the outside world.

As soon as we stepped off the stage, my legs felt weak beneath me.

I leaned against a wall, struggling to catch my breath.

He moved closer, lowering his voice. “You did well.”

I shook my head. “I felt paralyzed.”

“You were real. People connect with that.”

I looked up at him, trying to understand.

This man…

He puzzled me.

Victorious and ruthless one moment, yet unexpectedly gentle in ways he might not even recognize.

“Jane,” he said softly, “I promised to help you through this.”

“And after today?” I murmured. “Did we achieve anything?”

“No,” he acknowledged. “We’re just getting started.”

I covered my face with my hands in despair. “It all hurts.”

“I understand.”

“And I still dislike you at times.”

A small, weary laugh escaped him equal parts amused and exhausted.

“You have every right to feel that way.”

I let my hands fall to my sides. “What’s next for us?”

He straightened his posture. “Now,” William replied, “you’ll move into my penthouse.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“It’s the safest option, and it’s essential if we want to convince the world that this partnership is legitimate.”

I felt a knot in my stomach.

Living with him? In the same space?

This was happening too quickly. It felt overwhelming,too intimate.

“No,” I whispered. “I can’t…”

“You no longer have a home, Jane.”

His words hit hard.

He was right.

“And,” he added, “the media is already reporting that we left together.”

Panic washed over me.

Meaning… the world had already bought into the narrative.

“Pack whatever you can,” he

urged gently. “You’re coming with me.”

I stared at him, a mix of fear, exhaustion, and numbness swirling within me.

Yet beneath it all, something else began to awaken.

A storm. A change. A fresh start.

And I understood…

Nothing in my life would ever be the same again.