Todos los capítulos de The Playboy's Forced Bride: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

I had worked for three years to be unnoticed. Tonight, Adrian Tao ruined it.The trick to remaining unnoticed in a room full of wealthy people is simple. You bring your shoulder down, move at the right time, not speedily or slowly either. I kept my eyes down on the tray in my hand, not on the faces of people around me.I have practiced this so well and I'm very good at it.The ballroom was glittering with light in the high ceilings, expensive flowers that cost more than my monthly rent arranged on every surface. Almost three hundred guests in their designer outfits, glasses of exotic wines in their hands, as I move around with a tray of drinks: some discussing things they think I was too irrelevant to understand.But, I understood everything. That was the real game, to listen carefully, not just remain overlooked. I passed through a group of some board members near the east wall and overheard them talking. They kept glancing at the entrance, as if they were expecting someone. I didn't

I have stayed in good and bad places, and in both cases, I always did the same thing when I arrived: I mapped the space before I unpacked a single thing. The Exits and sightlines. Where the wifi router was and the walls were thin enough to hear through.Old habit, but useful.The Tao estate sat at the end of a long driveway, flanked by trees that had been growing for decades. The house itself was three floors of pale stone and dark glass, and it had a tranquil environment. The gardens were perfect. The gravel was raked. Even the light at the front entrance was well-positioned.I got out of the car with two suitcases and a laptop bag.Mrs. Delacroix met me at the door.She was the housekeeper, grey-haired, with the calm composure, She shook my hand properly and led me inside without any fuss.I liked her. It was obvious that I liked her and I kept moving.The east wing corridor was long and very quiet. My suite was at the far end, and when she opened the door I stood in the entrance fo

I had been in Dominic Tao’s building for three years without ever going above the thirty-eighth floor.His executive suite was on the 40th floor, and the moment I stepped out of the elevator I understood why the separation existed. Everything up here was different. The carpet was darker. The light was warm. The whole floor had the particular calmness of a place where decisions are made that shape people’s lives. His assistant ushered us in without a word. The office was big, with wall-to-wall glass stretching from floor to ceiling on two sides, and the whole of Silverton’s skyline arrayed behind his desk like a masterpiece on display. Dark furniture, clean surfaces, no personal things about him around his office, no photographs.Dominic stood when we entered and greeted us like we had done him a personal favor.We had, of course. The photo had hit eighty thousand shares before midnight and the press had run with the story he wanted: the Tao heir had settled, the family name was sta

Adrian stepped out for the evening. Which meant the west wing was accessible. I had been careful about it up until now, staying in my own space in the house and respecting the boundaries we had drawn without ever discussing it. Our living arrangement was divided, just like a map. I stayed in the east wing, and he stayed in the west wing, and trespassing on it felt like the kind of thing that would demand an explanation I didn’t want to give.But I needed to understand the full layout of this estate. Every room, every corridor, every space I hadn’t accounted for yet. That was not curiosity. That was work.I told myself that and crossed the line.The west wing was much calmer than I expected. I moved through it with careful precision. A sitting room, and a study room in the corner with the door half open, there was nothing interesting on the desk. I went further, then opened the door at the end of the corridor. I stood there for a second without going in.The room was long and narrow,

By the third week, the story had a life of its own.The photo from the charity dinner had given the press everything they needed. A playboy who had finally settled down. A woman no one saw coming. A romance that looked real because of one unguarded moment caught on camera. The city decided we were a love story, and it ran hard with that idea.Our schedule became someone else’s project.Dominic’s communications team took over the appearances. They slotted us into events like they were building something important. A charity auction. A board anniversary dinner. A long reception at the Ardent Club where I had to play Adrian’s wife in front of people who had known him for twenty years. They watched every look, every touch, every word between us with sharp eyes. They had seen his relationships come and go.I did not slip up.But the constant effort started to weigh on me. Each event on its own was manageable. It was the steady acting that got tiring. I had to be two people at once: Harper