CHAPTER 3

The second glass of scotch was easier to swallow, but it didn't make the world feel any more stable. Sienna leaned back into the leather booth, watching the condensation drip down her glass. The music in the lounge had shifted to something slower, a low bass line that vibrated through the floor.

Declan didn't rush her. He checked a notification on his watch, tapped the screen once, and then returned his attention to her. He looked perfectly comfortable in the silence.

"You're serious," Sienna said, finally breaking the quiet. "You want me to marry you for a business reputation."

"It’s more than just reputation," Declan said. "It’s a strategic alignment. The board wants a settled CEO. Your family’s name carries weight in social circles I usually ignore. It’s a gap in my armor that you happen to fit perfectly."

"And if I say no?"

"Then my driver will take you to a hotel or a friend's house. I’ll pay for your room, and you can go back to figuring out how to handle your parents and Liam on your own tomorrow morning." Declan shrugged. "I'm offering a shortcut, Sienna. A way to skip the part where you’re the victim of the season."

Sienna looked at her hands. Her skin was still pale from the cold. "My parents will come after me. They’ll try to force me back into the Thorne deal. They need that merger for their own debts."

"They won't come after you if you're under my roof," Declan replied. "And as for their debts... if we’re married, your problems become my problems. Within reason."

The waiter arrived with a small plate of appetizers they hadn't ordered. Declan gave a small nod of thanks.

"Eat something," Declan said, pushing the plate toward her. "You’ve had two scotches on an empty stomach and a ruined wedding."

Sienna picked up a small piece of toasted bread. She wasn't hungry, but her hands needed something to do. "What’s the catch? There’s always a catch when someone offers to pay off a family’s debt."

"The catch is that you have to be convincing," he said. "We would live in the same house. We would attend every event together. People need to believe that this wasn't a snap decision, but a whirlwind romance they didn't see coming."

"A whirlwind romance while I was engaged to someone else?"

"People love a scandal that ends in a power couple," Declan said. "They’ll assume you and I were the ones sneaking around, and that catching Liam was just your excuse to finally go public with me. It flips the narrative. He’s not the cheater who broke your heart; he’s the guy you left for a better man."

Sienna looked at him. His eyes were sharp, calculating, but not unkind. "You've thought about this a lot."

"I've thought about it for exactly ten minutes. I’m good at seeing opportunities, Sienna. It’s why I have the company I have."

A phone started buzzing on the table. It wasn't Declan’s. Sienna reached for her wet silk skirt and pulled her phone out of a hidden pocket. The screen was lit up with a photo of her mother.

"She’s called twelve times," Sienna whispered, watching the phone vibrate against the wood.

"Are you going to answer?"

Sienna watched the name flash until the call went to voicemail. Almost immediately, a text message popped up. Sienna, where are you? Liam is devastated. He said you misunderstood. Come back to the hotel right now. We have guests waiting.

Sienna slid the phone across the table, screen-up, so Declan could see it.

He glanced at the message and let out a short, unimpressed breath. "Misunderstood. That’s a bold choice of words for a man caught in his own bedroom."

"They’re going to try to gaslight me," Sienna said, her voice trembling for the first time. "They’ll make it my fault for making a scene."

Declan reached out and placed his hand over her phone, covering the screen. He didn't touch her hand, but the gesture felt like he was closing a door.

"You don't have to go back," he said. "Stay here. Finish your drink. Make a choice."

"I don't have anything," she said. "No clothes, no money. Everything is at the house or in the honeymoon suite."

"I have a guest wing," Declan said. "And I have an assistant who can have a new wardrobe delivered by seven a.m. tomorrow. You wouldn't have to step foot in your parents' house until you’re ready."

Sienna took another sip of the scotch. It felt like liquid courage now. She thought about Liam’s face when the ring hit the desk. She thought about her sister’s silence.

"One year?" she asked.

"One year," Declan confirmed. "After that, we file for a quiet, no-fault divorce. You walk away with a settlement that ensures you never have to rely on your parents' money again."

Sienna set the glass down. She picked up the business card he had slid to her earlier. She turned it over in her fingers, feeling the embossed letters.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

Declan stood up and buttoned his jacket. He signaled to Marcus, who was standing near the door.

"Now," Declan said, "we go to my house. You get out of that wet dress, and I call my lawyer."

He held out his hand. Not like a savior in a movie, but like a business partner closing a deal.

Sienna took a breath, pushed the wet towel off her shoulders, and stood up. She left her heels under the table. She didn't need them anymore. She reached out and took his hand. His grip was firm and dry.

"Okay," she said. "Let's do it."

They walked out of the lounge together. The rain was still coming down, but Marcus was already there with the umbrella. As they reached the SUV, Sienna’s phone buzzed again. This time it was a text from Liam.

Don’t be dramatic, Sienna. Pick up the phone.

Sienna didn't even read the whole thing. She handed the phone to Declan.

"Can you get rid of this?" she asked.

Declan took the phone, turned it off, and slipped it into his pocket. "Consider it done."

He helped her into the back seat and climbed in beside her. The door shut with a heavy, expensive thud, sealing out the sound of the rain and the city. As the car pulled away from the curb, Sienna looked out the tinted window. They passed the St. Regis, where the lights were still bright in the ballroom, but she didn't look for her parents or the man she was supposed to marry.

Declan opened a small compartment in the armrest and pulled out a clean, folded blanket. He handed it to her without saying a word.

Sienna wrapped the blanket around herself, leaning her head against the cool glass of the window. The car turned a corner, heading away from the hotel and toward the outskirts of the city.

The streetlights blurred into long lines of yellow and white as they picked up speed. Sienna watched the rain streaks move horizontally across the glass. Beside her, Declan was already back on his watch, his face illuminated by the soft blue light of the screen. He looked like a man who had just finished a routine meeting, not a man who had just proposed to a stranger.

The city began to thin out, the buildings getting taller and further apart. Neither of them spoke as the car climbed the hill toward the private estates.

The SUV slowed down as it approached a set of massive iron gates. A security guard stepped out of a small booth, recognized the vehicle, and waved them through. The gates swung open silently.

Sienna watched as they drove up a long, winding driveway lined with trees. At the end of it stood a house made of glass and dark stone, glowing against the rainy sky.

The car came to a smooth stop under the front portico. Marcus opened the door.

"Welcome home, Ms. Sienna," Marcus said.