NORA POV
Ella nearly spits out her wine when I tell her.
"He what?"
"You heard me." I stab at the takeout container between us. "Adrien freaking Moreau wants me to play his fake girlfriend."
She sets her glass down with a thud, eyes practically sparkling. "That is the most romantic thing I've ever heard."
"It's not romantic!" I snap. "It's manipulative, arrogant, absurd—"
"It's delicious," she interrupts. "Do you know how many women would sell their kidneys for this chance?"
I glare. "Well, good news for them—I'm not interested."
She just leans back, grinning like the cat who got the cream. "Mm-hm. Sure. That's why you're ranting about it on my couch instead of ignoring his very existence."
I throw a pillow at her head. She dodges, cackling.
The worst part? She's not entirely wrong.
Because as much as I want to laugh Adrien out of my life, his words keep replaying:
A united front. Just for a while.
And God help me, a tiny traitorous part of me wonders… what if he's right?
⸻
Chapter 9 – Nora
Part 2
By Monday morning, the media circus has only grown.
A crowd of reporters swarms outside the school gates, snapping photos as if I'm some A-list celebrity instead of a woman trying not to spill her coffee.
"Miss Quinn! Are you moving in with Adrien Moreau?""Is it true you're engaged?"
Engaged?! I nearly choke.
Kids whisper in the hallways, teachers shoot me sympathetic looks, and my principal pulls me aside with a worried frown.
"Nora… perhaps you should consider addressing this."
As if I have a press secretary in my back pocket.
By the time I drag myself home, exhausted, my phone buzzes with a message from an unknown number:
We need to talk. – A.M.
I freeze, pulse skipping.
I never gave him my number. Which means he went out of his way to get it. Which means he isn't finished.
I drop my bag, sink into the couch, and mutter to myself:
"This man is going to ruin my life."
And the stupidest, scariest part?
I'm starting to think I might let him.