Lennox's POV
Caden's hand is on my back, guiding me through the crowd like I'm something precious.
But I can feel the truth through his touch—the barely controlled anger, the tension in his fingers, the way he's holding me just tight enough to hurt without anyone noticing.
This is not a rescue.
This is a trap.
"Keep smiling," he murmurs in my ear as we walk past gaping townspeople. "Everyone's watching. Make it believable."
I force my face into something that might pass for happiness while my heart pounds against my ribs. Victoria's screaming fades behind us. People whisper. Cameras flash. Someone calls out, "Caden! Is it true? Are you two back together?"
"Yes," Caden answers smoothly, his CEO voice confident and warm. "Sometimes the best things in life are worth a second chance."
Lies. All lies.
He leads me to a sleek black car parked at the curb. The kind of car that costs more than most people's houses. A driver opens the door, and Caden practically pushes me inside.
The leather seats smell expensive. Everything in this car screams money. The boy I knew ten years ago drove a beat-up truck held together with duct tape and prayers.
This man owns empires.
Caden slides in beside me, and the door closes with a soft, final click. The privacy screen goes up, separating us from the driver.
We're alone.
"Where are we going?" I ask, my voice smaller than I want it to be.
"My office." Caden doesn't look at me. "We need to discuss the terms of our arrangement properly. Sign the actual contract."
"I already signed—"
"That was a preliminary agreement," he interrupts. "This is business, Lennox. We do it right, or we don't do it at all."
The car glides through Willowbrook's streets. I stare out the window, watching my old hometown pass by like a stranger's dream. New shops. Happy families. Everything thriving.
Everything I missed.
"You really built all this?" I whisper.
"Does that surprise you?" Caden's voice is cold. "You said I'd never amount to anything. That this town was a dead end. That staying with me meant dying poor and forgotten."
"I never said that!" I spin to face him. "I never—"
"Your letter said it clearly enough." His golden eyes finally meet mine, and they're full of barely controlled rage. "Don't try to find me. I need more than you can give me. More than this town can give me.' Sound familiar?"
My stomach drops. "That's not why I left. You don't understand—"
"Then explain it to me." Caden leans forward, his face inches from mine. "Explain why the girl who said she'd love me forever walked away without a word. Explain why you never called, never wrote, never came back. Not even when Marion got sick. Not even when she almost died last year."
Last year? Marion almost died last year?
"I didn't know," I breathe. "No one told me—"
"Because you made it clear you didn't want to know," Caden cuts me off. "You wanted out. You got out. Congratulations. How'd that work out for you?"
The cruelty in his voice makes me flinch. But he's not wrong. I left. I stayed away. And now everything I built in New York is ashes, while Caden built a kingdom.
The car stops in front of a glass tower. Rivers Tech headquarters. Forty stories of steel and success.
"Come on," Caden says, opening his door. "Time to seal the deal."
His office is on the top floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the entire town. I can see everything from up here—the community center, the restored downtown, the mountains in the distance.
A throne room overlooking his kingdom.
Caden goes to a bar cart and pours amber liquid into a crystal glass. Whiskey, from the smell. He doesn't offer me any.
"Sit," he commands, pointing to a leather chair across from his massive desk.
I sit. My hands won't stop shaking.
Caden leans against his desk, swirling his drink, studying me like I'm a problem he needs to solve. "Let me be very clear about what this arrangement entails."
"Okay," I whisper.
"You will move into my house tonight. Guest bedroom, far from mine. We maintain the fiction that we're a couple."
"For how long?"
"Six weeks." Caden takes a sip. "That's how long until my merger closes. After that, we stage a mutual, amicable breakup. You leave town. I never see you again."
The words hurt more than they should. Never see him again. Like I'm a disease he needs to cure.
"What exactly do I have to do?" I ask.
"Attend events with me. Smile. Hold my hand. Act like you're madly in love." His smile is sharp. "Shouldn't be hard. You're a good actress. You fooled me for two years."
"I never fooled you," I say quietly. "I loved you. I did."
"Past tense," Caden notes coldly. "How appropriate."
He sets down his glass and picks up a thick folder from his desk. "The contract. Read it carefully."
I take it with trembling hands and open to the first page. The legal language is dense, but the main points are clear:
Duration: Six weeks from signing date
Compensation: All medical expenses for Marion Gray (surgery, recovery, medications, nursing care)
Requirements: Attend all public events as Caden Rivers' companion. Maintain appearance of romantic relationship. No contact with press without approval.
Restrictions: No romantic involvement with other parties. No discussion of arrangement with third parties. No breach of contract or all benefits terminate immediately.
There's more—pages of it—but one section makes my blood run cold:
Section 7: Past Relationship
Both parties agree that any previous romantic involvement is irrelevant to this arrangement. Discussion of past relationship is strictly forbidden. Any attempt to resurrect former emotional connection will result in immediate termination of contract.
I look up at Caden. "You're serious about this? We can't even talk about what happened between us?"
"There's nothing to talk about," he says flatly. "You left. I moved on. The past is dead. This is purely business."
"Business," I repeat, the word tasting like poison.
"Exactly." Caden pulls out a pen and slides it across the desk. "Sign on page twelve. Initial every page."
My hand hovers over the pen. This feels wrong. Like I'm selling my soul.
But Marion is dying.
And I have nothing else.
"Why are you really doing this?" I ask, looking up at him. "You could hire anyone to make Victoria jealous. Why me?"
Caden's expression turns to stone. For a long moment, he doesn't answer. Then he leans down, bringing his face close to mine, and I can smell his cologne—expensive, unfamiliar, nothing like the boy I knew.
"You want the truth?" His voice drops to a dangerous whisper. "Because ten years ago, you destroyed me. You walked away like I was nothing. Like our love meant nothing. Like I meant nothing."
Tears prick my eyes. "Caden—"
"I spent ten years building an empire just to prove I was worth something," he continues, his voice shaking with barely controlled emotion. "Every success, every million, every company I crushed—all of it to prove that you were wrong about me. That I wasn't the worthless poor boy from nowhere."
"I never thought you were worthless," I whisper.
"Then why did you leave?" The question explodes from him, raw and painful. "Why did you walk away without giving me a chance to fight for us?"
I open my mouth, but no words come out. Because the truth is too complicated. Too painful. Aunt Vivian's manipulation. The fear. The belief that loving him would ruin his life.
Caden sees my hesitation and laughs bitterly. "That's what I thought. You still can't even give me a real answer."
He straightens up, his mask sliding back into place. "Sign the contract, Lennox. Or walk away and let Marion die. Your choice."
It's not really a choice.
I pick up the pen and sign my name. The ink feels like blood.
Caden takes the contract, examines my signature, and files it in his desk drawer. "Perfect. Welcome to the team."
"What happens now?" I ask, my voice hollow.
"Now?" Caden checks his watch. "Marion's surgery starts in two hours. I've arranged for the best cardiac surgeon in the state. She'll be in recovery by tonight."
Relief floods through me. "Thank you. Thank you so much—"
"Don't thank me," he cuts me off. "You're paying for it with six weeks of your life. This is a transaction, not a favor."
He walks to the window, hands in his pockets, staring out at his kingdom. "My assistant will pick you up from the motel at six PM. Bring everything you own. You're moving in tonight."
"Tonight?" My voice cracks. "That's so fast—"
"We're engaged, remember?" Caden turns back to face me. "Couples don't wait. And Lennox?" His eyes gleam with something dark. "This arrangement works because I control it. You do what I say, when I say it. Break the rules, and Marion loses everything. Are we clear?"
I nod, unable to speak.
"Good." He presses a button on his desk. "Security will escort you out."
"Wait," I say desperately. "Can I at least see Marion? Before the surgery?"
Caden's jaw tightens. "She's sedated. They're prepping her now."
"Please," I beg. "I haven't seen her in three years. I need to tell her I'm sorry. I need—"
"What you need," Caden interrupts coldly, "is to stop making this about your guilt. Marion needs surgery, not your tears."
The words are a slap.
A knock at the door. A security guard enters.
"Escort Miss Gray to the lobby," Caden orders without looking at me.
The guard nods. "This way, ma'am."
I stand on shaking legs. As I reach the door, I turn back one last time. "Caden?"
He doesn't turn around. "What?"
"I really am sorry. For everything."
His shoulders tense. For one second, I think he might say something real. Something true.
But then he speaks, his voice ice: "Save it for the cameras. That's the only place your apologies matter now."
The door closes behind me, and I'm alone in the hallway with my escort and my shattered heart.
As the elevator descends, taking me away from Caden's tower, my phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number:
"Saw the news. You and Caden Rivers? Really? This should be interesting. —Victoria"
Then another text, this one from a different unknown number:
"I know what you're doing, Lennox. Playing house with a billionaire won't erase your past. I'm coming for you. —Marcus"
My hands shake so badly I almost drop the phone.
Marcus is coming here. To Willowbrook.
And he's bringing whatever evidence he has about my "mental breakdown" to destroy me all over again.
The elevator doors open to the lobby. Outside, through the glass walls, I see news vans pulling up. Reporters gathering. Everyone wants the story of Caden Rivers and his long-lost love.
They have no idea this love story is actually a revenge plot.
And I have no idea how I'm going to survive six weeks in hell with the man I destroyed.
But as I step outside and face the cameras, forcing my broken heart into a smile, one thought screams through my mind:
What if Caden isn't the only one playing games?
What if someone else has been pulling the strings all along?