The ballroom faded into background noise as they left the stage, applause still echoing behind them. Emma's hand was still curled in Alexander's, her knuckles pale from how tightly she'd gripped his fingers during the impromptu couple presentation. Her heart was pounding so fast she was sure he could hear it.
They said nothing as they exited through a side corridor and into the private elevator leading to the penthouse suite of the hotel.
As the doors slid shut, silence wrapped around them.
Emma turned to him. Start talking.
Alexander didn't flinch. He loosened his tie and exhaled. "I didn't plan for tonight. I didn't even know they'd put us on the program together."
That's not what I meant and you know it. she said
A pause. The elevator climbed.
He finally nodded. "Okay."
Another long breath. "You're right. You deserve the whole truth."
The elevator chimed. They stepped out into the silent luxury of the penthouse. Everything was sleek and modern, but it still felt cold. Like a place that looked perfect but didn't feel lived in.
Alexander walked toward the bar. Do you want a drink?
Emma shook her head. No more distractions.
He poured himself whiskey, then sat on the armrest of the couch, facing her.
Celeste and I weren't just lovers, he began. We were business partners. Investors. I trusted her with things I didn't trust even my own legal team with. And for a while I thought I'd marry her.
Emma stiffened but didn't interrupt.
She was brilliant. Dangerous in the way fire is beautiful, useful, but dangerous if you let it get out of control. I didn't see that at first. She was ambitious like me. Grew up with nothing and climbed her way up. I respected that.
"What happened?" Emma asked, voice low.
She crossed lines I couldn't ignore. Illegal investments. Backdoor deals. She funneled money from Blackwood subsidiaries into her private fund quietly bleeding the company.
Emma blinked. "So you left her?"
I confronted her. She didn't deny it. Just smiled and said it was part of the game. His eyes darkened. "I called off the engagement that same night."
A pause.
Then my father died.
Emma's breath caught. Wait What?
Two weeks after I ended things with Celeste, my father was killed, in a meeting at the harbor. it was framed to be an accident But the cameras along the route and harbor were suddenly all malfunctioning. He sipped his drink. "I couldn't prove anything. But I know in my gut she had something to do with it."
Emma's stomach twisted. But why?
She blamed him for turning me against her. She always believed I chose loyalty to my family over loyalty to her.
A long silence stretched between them.
And you've kept this hidden for how long? Emma asked finally.
Long enough. he said
She sat on the couch, stunned. So all of this the contract marriage, the public appearances this was your way of protecting the company from her?
"In part. The board was panicking after my father's death. Celeste was still a shareholder, and with her charm and connections, I knew it was only a matter of time before she'd try to reclaim control through whatever means necessary. So I needed stability, Optics. And you"
Were the perfect pawn? she finished bitterly.
"No," he said immediately, sitting beside her. "You were the first genuine thing I'd seen in a long time. That day at the registrar you didn't know who I was. You were kind. Confident. Brilliant. You weren't impressed by the name."
Emma looked away, her voice soft. "So you offered me a deal I was too broke to refuse."
Alexander's hand touched hers, calmly. "And somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing it as a deal."
She swallowed hard, not looking at him.
"What about now?" she asked.
He didn't hesitate. "Now I see it as the one thing I can't afford to lose."
Emma turned her head slowly to face him. His eyes were open honest in a way that left her shaken.
"You think saying all this fixes things?"
"No," he admitted. "But maybe it helps you understand the risks." And the danger you're in now.
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
Alexander stood and walked to a drawer near the fireplace. He pulled out a slim manila file and handed it to her.
Emma opened it.
Inside were photos, blurry but clear of her.
One was from the parking lot outside the charity gala two weeks ago.
Another was of her leaving her apartment.
A third was a close up of her face as she entered a café taken from a distance, maybe through glass.
Emma's throat tightened. Someone's been following me.
Alexander nodded, She's watching every move you make. And I suspect she's not working alone.
Emma dropped the file on the table like it burned. "So what do we do?"
We outplay her, he said. "But we stay smart. No more solo trips. Security shadows you everywhere. And we keep up appearances stronger than ever."
Emma exhaled shakily. "I don't know if I can keep pretending."
You won't have to, Alexander said softly.
She blinked. What does that mean?
He hesitated, then said it anyway.
It means I want this us to be real. No more contracts. No more pretending.
Emma stared at him.
She wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust him. But a small part of her, the one that had survived all the abandonment in her life, screamed to run.
Before she could answer, the penthouse phone rang.
Alexander answered it with a frown.
His expression darkened.
He hung up.
What is it? Emma asked.
That was my head of security, he said. Celeste just filed an anonymous complaint to the press alleging that our marriage is fraudulent. A PR stunt.
Emma's blood ran cold. She's trying to blow everything up.
Alexander's eyes met hers, steel in his jaw. Then we fight back.
Meanwhile.....
Celeste sat in the backseat of her limo, swirling a glass of red wine and watching the city blur past the tinted windows.
Her assistant, Kara, sat beside her, tapping away at her tablet.
The leak is already trending on two major blogs. We've also sent whispers to the financial journalists who'll eat this alive.
Celeste smiled, satisfied. Perfect. I want the world watching when it all crumbles.
Kara hesitated. "What if they fight back harder than expected?"
"Oh, they will," Celeste said, sipping her wine. "But that's the beauty of it. I'm not just playing for headlines anymore."
She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope.
Inside was a photo of a man. Rugged. Bald. Tattooed neck.
Kara frowned. "Who is that?"
An old friend, Celeste said smoothly. "He'll be in town tomorrow."
And what's he going to do?
Celeste smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Remind Emma Blackwood what happens to girls who don't know when to leave.