Caden's POV
Victoria Ashford's nails are digging into my arm.
"Smile, darling," she whispers through perfect teeth. "The photographer from the Willowbrook Times is watching."
I force my face into something resembling pleasant while Mayor Thompson drones on about the new community center I donated. My third this year. The building behind us is glass and steel, state-of-the-art, equipped with everything this town could need.
I barely hear a word he's saying.
Because this—all of this—is a lie.
The engagement ring on Victoria's finger? Fake. Our "relationship"? A business arrangement. Her father controls the largest real estate network on the West Coast, and I need his connections for my merger. Victoria wants the Rivers name and my money to save her family's failing company.
We're using each other. That's it.
"Caden?" Victoria's voice sharpens. "Are you even listening?"
"Of course," I lie smoothly, my CEO mask firmly in place.
The mayor finishes his speech. People applaud. I shake hands and accept thanks I don't deserve. These people think I'm a hero—the local boy who made it big and came back to save his hometown.
They don't know the truth.
I didn't save Willowbrook out of kindness. I saved it because ten years ago, the girl I loved told me I wasn't good enough for her. That this town was a trap. That staying here meant dying poor and forgotten.
So I built an empire just to prove her wrong.
Every dollar I earned. Every company I bought. Every success I achieved. All of it fueled by one single goal: show Lennox Gray exactly what she threw away when she left me.
"Mr. Rivers!" A reporter pushes forward. "How does it feel to transform your hometown?"
"Rewarding," I say, the lie smooth as glass. "This community gave me everything. It's only right to give back."
Victoria leans into me, playing the devoted fiancée. Her perfume is expensive and suffocating. Everything about her is calculated—the way she laughs, the way she touches my arm, the way she positions herself so photographers catch her "good side."
She's beautiful. Accomplished. The perfect trophy wife.
And I feel absolutely nothing for her.
Just like she feels nothing for me.
"When's the wedding?" another reporter shouts.
"Soon," Victoria answers before I can speak, her smile bright and fake. "We're thinking spring. Something intimate and—"
She stops mid-sentence.
Her grip on my arm turns painful.
"What is she doing here?" Victoria hisses.
I follow her gaze across the town square, and my entire world stops.
Lennox Gray.
Standing fifty feet away, looking lost and terrified, like a ghost who wandered into the wrong dimension.
My heart slams against my ribs. Ten years. Ten years since I've seen her face in person. And even from this distance, even though she looks like hell, she's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
And I hate myself for thinking that.
She's thinner than I remember. Her dark hair is longer, pulled into a messy ponytail. She's wearing jeans with holes in the knees and an old jacket that looks two sizes too big. No makeup. Dark circles under her eyes like she hasn't slept in weeks.
She looks broken.
Good, the cruel voice in my head whispers. Let her see what thriving looks like. Let her see what she could have had if she'd stayed.
But another voice—the one I've spent ten years trying to kill—whispers something different: She needs help.
"Excuse me," I tell Victoria, pulling my arm free.
"Caden, don't you dare—" she starts, but I'm already walking away.
The crowd parts for me like I'm royalty. Because in this town, I basically am. My money rebuilt these streets. My company employs half the people here. They worship me.
But as I walk toward Lennox, all I feel is the ghost of who I used to be: the poor kid in secondhand clothes, working three jobs, loving a girl who saw me as a dead-end.
She sees me coming. Her eyes widen. For a second, I think she might run.
But she doesn't. She just stands there, frozen, as I close the distance between us.
Up close, she looks even worse. Her clothes are wrinkled like she slept in them. Her hands shake. There's a bruise on her cheek that makes my jaw clench.
"Caden," she breathes. My name in her voice still does something to me. Still makes my chest ache.
I force ice into my expression. "Lennox. I was wondering if you'd actually show up."
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," she says quickly. "I didn't know Marion was sick. No one called me until yesterday, and I drove straight through, and—"
"Save it." My voice cuts like a blade. "I don't care about your excuses."
She flinches. I feel a twisted satisfaction seeing it.
"Please," Lennox whispers. "I need to talk to you. About Marion. The hospital said you're her emergency contact? That you've been paying her bills?"
"For five years," I confirm coldly. "Someone had to take care of her after her niece abandoned her for the big city."
Direct hit. Lennox's face crumbles. "I didn't abandon her. I called every week. I sent money when I could—"
"Fifty dollars a month?" I interrupt. "Wow. So generous. Marion's medications alone cost three thousand. But I'm sure your fifty dollars really helped."
"I didn't have more!" Lennox's voice breaks. "I was working three jobs just to afford my apartment. Marcus said we needed to save for our future, so I—"
"Marcus." I laugh, but there's no humor in it. "The fiancé who stole your work and destroyed your career. Saw that on the news. Very entertaining."
She looks like I slapped her. "You watched?"
"Everyone watched," I say cruelly. "You got dragged out of that gallery screaming. It was viral. 'Psycho Ex Ruins Boyfriend's Gallery Opening.' Great headline."
Tears fill her eyes. "Marcus lied. Those were my photographs. Mine. I can prove—"
"I don't care." And that's the truth. I don't care about Marcus or her stolen photos or any of it. I only care that she's standing in front of me, desperate and broken, exactly like I was ten years ago.
"Caden, please." She's begging now. "Marion needs surgery. Today. The doctor said it costs $150,000. I don't have that kind of money. I don't have any money. But you... you're successful now. You built all this." She gestures at the town square. "Please help her. I'll pay you back. I'll work. I'll do anything—"
"Anything?" The word hangs between us, dangerous and sharp.
Lennox nods desperately. "Yes. Anything."
I should walk away. Let her drown in the consequences of her choices. But as I stare at her—this ghost of my past, this girl who destroyed me—a plan forms. Dark. Twisted. Perfect.
"I'll pay for Marion's surgery," I say slowly. "And her recovery. All her medical bills for the next year."
Hope floods Lennox's face. "Thank you. Oh god, thank you—"
"I'm not finished." My voice stops her cold. "I want something in return."
Her hope wavers. "What?"
I step closer, lowering my voice so only she can hear. "I want you to be my fiancée."
Lennox's mouth drops open. "What? But you're engaged to—"
"Victoria?" I glance back at where she stands, glaring at us. "That's a business arrangement. Fake. Her father needs family connections for a merger I want. But Victoria's becoming... problematic. Demanding. She thinks the ring makes her own me."
"I don't understand," Lennox whispers.
"It's simple," I say coldly. "You pretend to be my girlfriend for six weeks. We tell everyone we reconnected. You make Victoria jealous. Insecure. Compliant. After my merger closes, we 'break up' mutually. You walk away with Marion's bills paid. I get my deal. Everyone wins."
"That's insane," Lennox breathes. "Why would you want me? I'm a disaster. My reputation is destroyed. I have nothing—"
"Exactly." I let her see the cruelty in my eyes. "You're desperate. Controllable. And most importantly, you're the one who got away. Victoria will lose her mind seeing us together. The whole town will eat it up—the prodigal daughter returns, the billionaire forgives her. It's perfect."
Lennox stares at me like I'm a stranger. "You've changed."
"You changed me," I correct. "You taught me that love is weakness. That trust is for fools. That in the end, everyone leaves. So now I play the game better than anyone."
"This is revenge," she says quietly. "You want to hurt me."
I lean in close, my lips nearly touching her ear. "I want to watch you pretend to love me while knowing it means nothing. I want you to smile and touch me and act devoted while your heart breaks. Because that's exactly what you did to me ten years ago."
When I pull back, tears are streaming down her face.
"Marion dies without this surgery," I remind her. "In six hours, they'll take her off the machines. So what's it going to be, Lennox? Six weeks of discomfort, or a lifetime of guilt?"
It's not really a choice. We both know it.
Lennox closes her eyes. When she opens them again, they're empty. Defeated.
"I'll do it," she whispers.
Satisfaction floods through me. "Smart girl."
I pull a folded paper from my jacket pocket—the contract I had my lawyer draw up yesterday. Because I knew she'd come. I knew she'd be desperate. I've been planning this moment for ten years.
"Sign it," I order.
Her hands shake as she takes the pen. She doesn't even read the contract. Just scribbles her name at the bottom like she's signing away her soul.
Maybe she is.
"Perfect." I take the contract back, fold it carefully. "My assistant will bring your things to my house tonight. You'll move in immediately. For appearances."
"Move in?" Lennox's voice cracks. "With you?"
"We're engaged," I say with a cruel smile. "Couples live together. Don't worry. The house has ten bedrooms. You'll be far from me."
Victoria appears at my elbow, her face a mask of fury. "Caden, what is going on?"
I wrap my arm around Lennox's waist. She stiffens, but doesn't pull away.
"Victoria, meet Lennox Gray," I say smoothly. "My first love. She just came back to town, and well... we've decided to give our relationship another chance."
Victoria's face goes white, then red. "You're breaking up with me? Here? Now?"
"Our arrangement is over," I say flatly. "Tell your father the merger is off."
"You'll regret this," Victoria hisses. "Both of you."
She storms away, and I feel Lennox trembling against me.
"Smile," I murmur in her ear. "Everyone's watching. Give them a good show."
Lennox lifts her head, forces her mouth into something resembling a smile.
And as cameras flash and people whisper and Victoria screams at her assistant, I feel something dark and satisfying settle in my chest.
Ten years ago, Lennox Gray walked away and broke me.
Now it's my turn.
But as I look down at her face—so close to mine, her eyes full of pain—something unexpected twists in my gut.
She's not the girl I remember. The confident, bright-eyed dreamer who left to conquer the world.
She's broken. Destroyed. Just like I was.
And for just one second, I wonder if my revenge will feel as good as I thought it would.
Then I remember the letter she left me. The cold, cutting words: "I can't be with you anymore. I need more than this town can give me. More than you can give me. Don't try to find me. Goodbye."
The wound reopens, fresh as the day she left.
No. She deserves this.
I lean down and whisper in her ear, "Welcome home, Lennox. Let the games begin."