Match Made in Deception

I finally met my online boyfriend in the flesh.

He claimed he lugged packages for a living.

I told him I scrubbed floors as a hotel maid. To survive the crushing weight of sky-high bills and rent that always seemed one day away from default, we spent our evenings grinding through DoorDash deliveries.

Fast forward. We locked eyes across the room at an obscenely lavish high-society gala.

He was the heir to a massive multinational conglomerate.

I was the arranged fiance he swore he'd rather forfeit his board seat than marry.

Him: ""

Me: ""

Chapter 1

I fell for a guy I met gaming online.

He was insanely skilled, had a voice like smooth whiskey, and judging by his photos, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

We agreed to meet IRL. But as a trust-fund kid with a healthy dose of paranoia, I couldn't exactly broadcast my bank account balance. So, I fed him a lie: I was a high school dropout scrubbing toilets as a hotel maid.

[ Me: "I'm buried under my grandmother's astronomical medical bills. I'm sorry, my life is a complete mess. I'm not good enough for you." ]

The moment I hit send, dead silence.

For over ten minutes, the 'typing' bubble mocked me. I figured he was agonizing over how to ghost me politely.

[ Then his message popped up: "I barely finished high school too. I lug packages for a living. We're in the same boat, so drop the 'not good enough' crap." ]

So, we agreed to meet up and walk around the free public park in the neighborhood.

I showed up wearing a two-dollar beat-up t-shirt and faded jeans I dug out of a Goodwill thrift store, clutching two cheap slushies I grabbed from a gas station convenience store.

A few minutes later, Declan arrived.

He wore a basic white athletic shirt that did nothing to hide his ridiculously long legs. Under his ripped jeans, he wore a pair of knock-off Vans, the torn seams barely held together by waterproof duct tape.

Sharp jawline, piercing eyesdefinitely no catfish here. He was even hotter than his pictures. I pressed my lips together to hide a grin.

Declan jogged to a stop beside me, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, bringing with him a rush of warm, early summer air. He immediately apologized. "My bad. Couldn't find a spot to park, held me up."

I nodded in perfect understanding. "Yeah, parking around here is a nightmare." I'd gotten slapped with enough parking tickets on this block to know.

Wait a second.

Me: "You have a car?"

That stopped him cold. He stiffened. "Uh I rented a Lime e-scooter. So I can run some DoorDash deliveries for extra tips when I'm free."

Me: "Oh."

Damn, the hustle was real. Working two jobs just to survive.

But with all that daily cardio, no wonder he was built like that. Nice. And somehow he hadn't roasted in the sun; his skin was flawless. I caught myself practically drooling and quickly wiped my mouth.

Me: "You work so hard, you really need to make sure you're getting enough rest."

Declan looked at me like I'd just handed him a winning lotto ticket. He immediately flipped the concern back to me. "We're all grinding. Even college grads can't find jobs right now. Scrubbing floors must be exhausting for you, right?"

Me: ""

That question actually stumped me.

Me: "It's brutal. The physical labor is one thing, but working in service? Some of those Wall Street suits are not only total pricks, but they stiff you on the tip and look right through you like you're invisible."

Declan nodded, totally getting it. "Same in my line of work. Always running into unreasonable customers."

My throat tightened at the thought of him digging for details, and I shoved one of the slushies into his chest.

Declan stared at it, looking genuinely moved. "I've never had something this expensive before. I usually just pick up orders from the store for other people."

Hearing that tugged right at my heartstrings. "It's nothing, really. It only cost like two bucks. Don't worry about it."

He flashed a boyish smile. Caught in the sunlight, it was blinding enough to make my head spin.

Wait, a sudden realization slammed into me.

My persona was a maid living paycheck to paycheck on minimum wage. A two-dollar slushie shouldn't be framed with the word "only."

Luckily, Declan was too busy grinning like an idiot to catch my slip-up.

I hurriedly tried to cover my tracks. "It's my first time too." My first time drinking something this cheap. I cautiously took a sip.

Chapter 2

Me: ?

What the hell? This stuff tasted exactly like the imported organic lemon juice my private chef freshly squeezed at home. Damn it! I'd been getting ripped off for years!

Declan and I kept walking and somehow stumbled into a noisy community farmer's market. A mob of nosy neighborhood church ladies swarmed us.

"Goodness, what a stunning pair of kids. You two must be dating, right? When's the wedding? Want to come to our church's singles mixer this weekend?"

Me: ""

Declan: ""

Just as we were about to be swallowed by the crowd, Declan grabbed my wrist in a panic. "We're already married!" he yelled.

Taking advantage of their momentary shock, we broke through the human barricade.

A booming voice from one of the ladies chased after us. "Well, come back when you're divorced!"

Declan dragged me into a dead sprint. We ran and laughed until we hit the street on the other side of the park, stopping to wheeze and crack up.

A supercar was parked on the curb, and a couple of traffic cops were moving down the street slapping tickets on windshields.

Declan froze.

I followed his gaze. It was a Ferrarisleek, aerodynamic lines, definitely easy on the eyes. No wonder Declan couldn't look away.

I shrugged and tried to make him feel better. "That's definitely driven by some fat-cat Wall Street vampire. Walking is way better. Not only is it eco-friendly, but we save on carbon taxes." Even though I had one sitting in my garage, I had no problem roasting myself.

Declan: "" He added, "Yeah, and parking like a jerk too. Classless rich trash."

As someone who'd racked up my fair share of parking tickets: "" Don't take it personally, Blair! He doesn't know!

"Let's grab food. My treat," Declan said.

Right across from the park was a shopping district. The second we walked into the mall, I ran into someone I knew.

My best friend, Kendall. She was decked out head-to-toe in Chanel, swinging the newest season's handbag, with a sales associate trailing right behind her.

We would've missed each other, but the sales associate had eagle eyes. "Ms. Blair! Welcome back!" she greeted enthusiastically.

Me: Thanks a lot. I whipped my head away so fast I practically gave myself whiplash.

But Kendall had already spotted me. She marched out of the boutique, her eyes scanning the frayed threads on my cheap shirt and the gas station slushie in my hand with pure bewilderment.

I sped up, trying to make a quick getaway.

But Kendall was in stilettos and clearly faster. She blocked my path. "What the hell are you doing?"

Me: "" Fine, showtime.

I raised my voice, bordering on a wail. "I'm so sorry, miss! When I cleaned your house last time, I didn't mean to accidentally get dirt on your purebred Persian cat! You already docked half a month's minimum wage from my paycheckdo you really need to humiliate me on the street too?!"

Kendall stared at me, her perfectly manicured nails freezing in mid-air.

I kept going. "I'm leaving! I'll never show my face in front of you again! I hope you and your cat have a wonderful life, and I hope you find a new cleaner who doesn't mind the smell of its crap!" With that, I grabbed Declan's arm and dragged him forward.

Declan sounded genuinely pissed on my behalf. "She docked your pay?"

I blinked, suddenly feeling guilty. "Ugh, you know how rich people are. Just greedy and heartless."

Declan: "" He gave me an unreadable look. "Do you have a problem with rich people?"

Me: "Uh, most of them are total players with zero morals."

Declan went dead silent.

Chapter 3

After a long pause, he said, "Actually, there's a small minority of rich people who are decent."

Yeah, I know. Because I'm one of them.

But I slapped on a look of utter disbelief. "Don't sympathize with the capitalists!"

We stopped in front of a sleek, high-end barbecue joint. I hesitated, putting on a show. "Looks pretty expensive."

Declan waved it off like a high roller. "Don't worry about it, I've got money. I pull in 800 bucks a week!"

I played along, letting out an exaggerated gasp. Eight hundred a weekthat was twice my supposed minimum-wage paycheck!

Right then, two girls walked past us, complaining loudly about bills. "With rent downtown being this insane, I'm dropping four grand a month just on rent and student loans. How the hell am I supposed to afford getting married?"

Me and Declan: ""

What were we supposed to do with that? We hadn't even eaten yet, and the bleak reality of broke romance was already suffocating us.

I cleared my throat, pretending I hadn't heard a thing. "Let's go in. I'm starving."

As we looked at the menu, that $800-a-week brag kept echoing in my head. I quietly crunched the numbers, determined to keep our total budget under forty bucks. But Declan completely missed my subtle frugality. Terrified I'd go hungry, he went all out and ordered a massive mountain of meat.

Halfway through the meal, my phone buzzed. It was my dad.

He cut straight to the chase. "The heir of the Declan family is back in the States. When are you two planning to meet up?"

Me: ""

A few months ago, I suddenly found out I had an "arranged fianc." Our grandfathers had made some ancient verbal pact to merge the families. Now that his family was back in town dealing with corporate affairs, they were bringing up this ridiculous alliance again.

My family had been hounding me about it non-stop for weeks. It annoyed me so much that I buried myself in video games just to blow off steam. But hey, silver liningthat was how I met Declan.

I blew my dad off into the receiver. "I already told you, I'm not interested and I don't want to meet him. That's it. I'm eating right now. Don't ruin my appetite and give me indigestion." I hung up.

Meeting Declan's concerned gaze, I forced a tragic, bitter smile. "My family is dirt poor. To pay off my bastard stepdad's gambling debts, my dad is trying to force me to marry some sixty-year-old Texas oil money creep. But I'll never give in."

Declan set down his grilling tongs, the hard line of his jaw ticking. "If you run into any real trouble, you have to tell me. I'm actually pretty loaded."

I hummed in agreement, thinking to myself: No matter how loaded you are, there's no way you're richer than me.

Right as we were finishing up, I sneaked off to the front counter. The cashier was a girl rocking a messy bun.

Me: "I need to pay for table eight. But whatever you do, do not tell the guy sitting across from me."

Messy Bun: "Uh what do you mean?"

Me: "When we both come up to the register later, just tell us we're the hundredth customers of the day and our meal is fully comped."

Messy Bun: "Got it. Consider it done."

I paid the bill and strolled back to the table, playing it completely cool. Declan stood up, pulling out his wallet to settle the tab. Paranoid that the cashier would blow my cover, I shadowed him to the front.

We got there, and I froze.

The cashier at the register had completely changed!

Chapter 4

A girl with pigtails was sitting at the front counter. The second she saw us, she gave Declan a subtle, tight-lipped nod. Her face screamed, Leave it to me, I got this.

Her acting, though, was painfully over-the-top. "Wow, congratulations! Your meal is totally comped today!"

Declan offered a faint smile, looking exactly like a guy who had everything under control. "Is that so? How lucky for us."

Pigtails beamed. "Yep! Today is our boss's divorce anniversary."

Me: ???

Seriously? What are the odds?

Declan's brow furrowed. "A divorce anniversary? That's a bit grim for a giveaway."

Pigtails stammered. "Uh my bad, I'm not great at improvising. How about today is the anniversary of her second marriage? So we're celebrating. Does that reason work better for you?"

Suddenly, the door behind the register swung open, and the girl with the messy bun from earlier burst out. The second her eyes locked onto me, she started winking frantically and yelled, "Don't charge this table! They're the hundredth customers of the day, their meal is comped!"

Me: ""

Declan: ???

Total, unadulterated chaos.

Pigtails and Messy Bun turned their backs, whispering furiously for what felt like an eternity. Finally, they turned around, looking painfully awkward. "Because our register system glitched, your table actually won the free meal twice. So I'm just going to give you guys a fifty-dollar supermarket cash gift card."

Me: ??? What the hell was going on in this place?!

Declan and I walked out of the BBQ joint clutching the boss's "second marriage" gift card.

Declan shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'll walk you to the subway."

But I had already texted my family's driver to pick me up at this exact intersection! I shut that down instantly. "No, no, absolutely not. Please don't walk me. Where did you park your e-scooter? Let me walk you!"

The easy smile vanished from Declan's face. He stayed quiet for a long beat. "How about we just head home separately?"

I figured Declan probably didn't want me to see his beat-up scooter. A guy's fragile ego and all that. I looked at him with dead sincerity. "Can I at least see your scooter? I can't even afford to buy one myself."

For some reason, hearing that only made Declan look more deeply cornered. He forced the words out through gritted teeth. "Right. The scooter. I definitely have one. I just forgot where I parked it. Let's go find it."

While we were hunting for his scooter, my phone buzzed. It was Eugene, my driver. I cupped my hand over the receiver and hissed, "Eugene, keep circling the block. Don't pick me up yet."

Eugene let out a long sigh. "Miss, I've circled the block ten times. The cops have already pulled me over and checked my license twice."

"It's fine! It's not a fake ID, let them check it!" I snapped.

The second the words left my mouth, I spotted my all-too-familiar Rolls-Royce idling right on the curb. Eugene looked utterly defeated as he handed his license out the window to a cop.

Cop: "Is that so? Looking at the address on your license, you don't exactly seem like the type to be cruising around this low-income neighborhood just for fun."

Eugene threw his hands up defensively. "Officer, I swear I'm not on drugs or doing anything illegal!"

Meanwhile, I was casually walking right past them.

Me: "" Just hold on a little longer! I'm almost out of here.

Chapter 5

Declan finally found his e-scooter. It was actually hot pink.

Watching him wobble down the street, I couldn't help but feel a little bad for the guy. His driving was that terrible, and he still hustled doing deliveries. I let out a sigh and slipped into Eugene's car to head home.

The moment I walked through the door, I found Kendall lounging on my sofa. She let out a cold laugh. "Spill it. What kind of insane stunt are you pulling today?"

I had no choice but to confess everything.

Kendall just stared at me. ""

"Faking being broke? You've really outdone yourself, Blair. Are you just playing slum cosplay? Dating a delivery guy? What, do you want to move into a trailer park and live off food stamps? His entire yearly salary wouldn't even cover a single day of maintenance on your yacht."

I had zero comeback for that. The conversation crashed and burned.

Later that night, I tagged along with her to a new club downtown. I wore a tight camisole, my face layered with heavy makeup. The club was a blur of neon lights and pulsing bass, but I stayed glued to my VIP booth, solely focused on texting Declan.

[ Me: "Scrubbing toilets. Exhausted." ]

[ Declan: "Just finished my deliveries. I'll come help you scrub." ]

I practically leaped out of my seat. "No no no! The hotel strictly bans non-employees!"

[ Declan: "I know a way in. Just tell me which hotel." ]

Me: "" Talk about digging my own grave.

I threw my phone down and literally dropped to my knees in front of Kendall. Her family owned a massive hotel chain. "Kendall, my one and only best friend, I seriously need you to save my life right now."

After begging her into submission, we bolted for the club exit.

Suddenly, I slammed on the brakes, nearly face-planting on the steps. I pointed at a stupidly handsome figure up ahead. "Doesn't that guy look exactly like Declan?"

He wore a crisp white button-down, practically glowing under the club lights. But that wasn't the point.

The point was, we were on a direct collision course!

Have you ever literally fought for your life for love? Because I did right then.

I dove sideways into the shadows of the corridor and snatched a passing waiter by the arm. "Ten thousand bucks. Take off your uniform."

The waiter looked horrified. "Miss, this is a legitimate establishment."

What the hell was he thinking?!

I ripped the jacket off him, threw it on, and snatched a drink and some napkins off his tray. I splashed the liquor straight onto my face and furiously scrubbed it with the napkins, barely wiping off the heavy club makeup.

The second I finished, Declan stepped right into my personal space. In this narrow, dimly lit hallway, we were cornered.

Him: ???

I struck first. "Weren't you out doing deliveries? What are you doing here?"

Declan: ""

Standing next to him was a trendy guy with dreadlocks. The guy's face was a massive question mark. "Deliveries? What deliveries?"

Declan's reflexes kicked in. He shoved the guy. "Did you forget what you literally just ate?"

Dreadlocks: ?

Declan narrowed his eyes, shooting daggers at him. "I drive for DoorDash. You just ordered a taco loaded with extra garlic and super spicy jalape?o hot sauce. You squatted on the curb and shoved it down your throat. Ring a bell?"

Dreadlocks looked completely stunned. "Are you off your meds?"

Declan didn't skip a beat. "Right, he took meds. He ate so fast he got sick, so I had to run to the pharmacy to get him some Pepto-Bismol. He told me to come inside to grab the cash."

Oh. Sounded totally bulletproof.

Chapter 6

Declan recovered from his brief panic. His gaze dropped to my oversized waiter's jacket, then up to my dripping, scrubbed-raw face. "Why are you here?"

Me: "Uh I moonlight at the club. The hourly rate for scrubbing their toilets pays way better."

Declan's jaw clenched, his dark eyes tracking the dirty water dripping from my chin. "How many toilets do you have left?" he asked. "I'll help you finish."

He threw a sharp, threatening glare at the guy with dreadlocks. "You just said you own this place, right? I'm staying to scrub the toilets. Do you have a problem with that?"

The owner crossed his arms. "" He replied, "I wouldn't dare. You're more than welcome. In fact, you should come scrub them every day. I could sell tickets and charge admission."

Declan and I stood outside the club's restrooms, each gripping a toilet brush like a weapon, neither of us daring to take a single step inside.

Did I really need to pretend to earn this money?

Me: "Why don't you wait for me outside? I'm a pro at this. I'll be fast." The second you leave, I'll just stand in here for five minutes and walk out.

Declan refused to budge. "An extra pair of hands always helps. I'm not leaving you to do this alone."

Damn it, why are you so stubborn!

I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste copper. I opened my mouth to argue, but Declan cut me off.

"Drop it. Let's knock this out so I can take you home." He gripped his brush and marched toward the door.

The club owner, who had been leaning against the wall enjoying the free show, stepped in front of him. "Look, it's not that I don't want to give you the gig. It's just that demand for this job is incredibly high." He pointed toward the VIP lounge and the dance floor. "They all want a shot at scrubbing the toilets."

A group of jacked male models rushed over, completely swarming Declan and me.

"Bro, you let me scrub this toilet, you're my god."

"Miss, my three-year-old golden retriever needs to see the vet, I desperately need this tip."

Me: "You look barely twenty, and you're already claiming a golden retriever as a dependent?"

The model blinked. "Uh, yeah, my dog. He's a living breathing life too, okay?"

Before we could process that, they rushed forward, snatching the toilet brushes right out of our hands.

Declan and I exchanged a look. I was doing backflips internally, but I forced a bitter, sympathetic smile onto my face. "They look like they need this gig way more than I do."

Declan let out a visible sigh of relief. "Yeah. Sometimes it's good to step back and help others out."

Me: "Well, my shift is officially over. Let's get out of here."

I just wanted to sprint away from this cursed club as fast as humanly possible.

Declan and I walked side-by-side down the street outside the club. The night wind had a sharp bite to it, leaving both of us shivering.

Noticing my trembling shoulders, Declan smoothly stepped upwind, using his broad frame to block the chill. "I'm taking you home," he declared.

My brain, slightly short-circuiting from the sudden warmth, mumbled a dizzy "Okay."

"Where do you live?" he asked.

Me: "" Great. I was instantly sober. Where exactly did I live?

A top-tier detached estate in the wealthy Long Island enclave? Obviously, that wasn't an answer that fit my minimum-wage persona. My brain went into overdrive, practically frying its circuits before I finally scraped together a response.

"I stay in the employee dorms at the Riverside Hotel." Kendall's family owned the hotel. It was about a thirty-minute drive from here.

Chapter 7

Me: "Where's your e-scooter? Give me a ride back."

Declan paused for a fraction of a second. "Uh, it got stolen. Let's just grab an Uber."

I hesitated, leaning into my broke persona. "But surge pricing right now is insane."

Declan flashed a careless, easy smile. "I can't exactly let you freeze out here in the wind."

The way he said that he sounded exactly like some billionaire CEO in a romance novel. I pressed my palms against my suddenly warm cheeks, realizing my brain was probably turning to mush. What kind of billionaire delivers for DoorDash?

When we finally reached the hotel entrance, Declan and I shared a sickeningly sweet goodbye.

Meanwhile, Kendall stood by the entrance doors with her arms crossed, pointing coldly at the manicured front lawn. "See that landscaping over there? I saved it just for you. From now on, you're the only one allowed to scavenge for scraps on my hotel property."

Me: ""

Kendall wasn't done. "When you run out of weeds here, I'll ship you to Europe to scrounge outside my branches there. Wherever my family's hotels open, the dumpster-diving rights are exclusively yours."

I rolled my eyes. "Wow. Thanks so much."

Later that night, lounging in the Presidential Suite, I doom-scrolled on my phone before bed. The algorithm pushed a viral TikTok video onto my For You Page.

[ "Besties, I am literally crying laughing today. So, your girl is a corporate slave at the US branch of a massive multinational conglomerate. Today, I finally met the big boss's sonaka our future CEO. And it wasn't because of my outstanding ability to slack off, but purely because of my poverty." ]

[ "Here's the tea: The benefits at our company are top-tier, so basically everyone drives. I'm the only loser who rides a beat-up e-scooter to work. Around noon, I was rolling past the executive secretary, and he literally hijacked my scooter on the spot, claiming he needed to borrow it for the CEO." ]

[ "I thought it was a joke, but the CEO actually came up to thank me personally afterward. He is insanely hot and ridiculously polite. But that's not even the best partthe best part is he told HR to give me an extra month's salary as a bonus. LMAO, the universe has chosen me to be rich!" ]

[ The comment section was flooded with "claiming this financial energy" and "manifesting that bonus." ]

I laughed out loud and casually dropped a [ "claiming this luck" ] comment of my own.

But when I finally fell asleep, I was plagued by nightmares. In my dream, I was dirt broke, literally going on a global tour dumpster-diving for scraps outside Kendall's hotels, and eventually turned into a raccoon from eating too much trash.

When I woke up and walked out of the hotel the next morning, my eyes couldn't stop drifting toward the pristine lawn. I couldn't help myself. I plucked a blade of grass and tasted it. Blech. Bitter as hell.

As things with Declan got more serious, I started trying to figure out how to come clean about my background. To avoid looking like a total con artist, I decided to lay the groundwork slowly.

Me: "Have you been busy with work lately?"

Declan replied instantly: "Volume picked up a bit, but overall it's fine."

Me: "When you have some free time, you should binge-watch some of those trashy reality shows about guys marrying into insanely rich families. It'll come in handy later."

Declan: "???"

Figuring he had no idea what I was talking about, I explained in detail: "You know, the kind of melodramatic shows where a broke guy signs a brutal pre-nup with a billionaire heiress and has to bust his ass to keep his rich wife happy for the cash."

Declan: "I'm not entirely sure why, but alright."

I suddenly remembered my schedule. "I've got something going on this weekend, so I probably won't have time to meet up."

My family was launching a massive joint venture with the Declan conglomerate, and the official signing ceremony was this Sunday morning. For a commercial partnership this huge, my attendance was mandatory. After dodging it a million times, the inevitable meeting with that heir named Declan-whatever was finally happening.

Chapter 8

I dug my nails into my phone case and texted Declan: "No matter what happens, I really like you."

Declan picked up on the weird vibe instantly. "Did something happen?"

Me: "I have to head back to my hometown this weekend to sort some things out. I also have to meet up with that Texas oil money creep, but I swear I will absolutely never like him."

Declan: "If anything goes wrong, you have to tell me. Don't carry it all on your own. I'm heading back to my hometown this week for a family banquet too. When I get back, I want to introduce you to my family."

I replied with a simple "Okay."

Tossing my phone aside, I made a silent vow. I was going to use this launch gala to completely kill my parents' delusional hopes. Arranged marriage my ass. I would never, ever be with that Declan-whatever guy!

The gala was hosted at Kendall's family hotel, booking out the entire grand ballroom.

The second I stepped out of the car, a reporter shoved a microphone into my face. "Ms. Blair! Rumor has it you're engaged to the Declan heir. Does this joint venture signal a deeper, long-term merger between the two conglomerates?"

Me: "The verbal engagement between our family elders is just a stale joke. Our two conglomerates have always maintained close cooperation; we don't need to solidify our board seats through some archaic business marriage."

The reporter's eyes lit up like a shark smelling blood. "We've heard there's bad blood between you and the Declan heir. Is that true? What are your thoughts on the arranged marriage?"

I slapped on my most flawless, corporate-approved smile. "Mr. Declan and I have actually never met. The rumors of bad blood are completely fabricated. And as for the engagement, again, it's nothing more than a joke among our grandfathers."

Without missing a beat, I bypassed the press pool and ducked into the venue.

The ballroom was packed with the city's elite. Glancing across the crowd, my eyes locked onto a strangely familiar silhouette. The guy was poured into a bespoke, hand-tailored suit. Tall, broad-shouldered, and entirely too recognizable.

A specific name flashed through my head, but I immediately killed the thought. Don't be paranoid. There was zero chance that was Declan. He was supposed to be on his way to a rural hometown banquet.

I kept my eyes fixed forward, marching straight toward my assigned seat.

Suddenly, the chandeliers dimmed, plunging the entire ballroom into darkness before a massive overhead spotlight sliced through the black.

No way. A terrible feeling twisted in my gut. Are they really being this dramatically extra?

The beam of light snapped directly onto me. A booming announcer's voice echoed through the sound system. "Please welcome the head of the new joint venture, Ms. Blair"

The moment my introduction finished, a second spotlight crashed down, illuminating another figure across the room. "and Mr. Declan, to the stage."

I whipped my head around to look

This supposed fianc I had never met before was painfully hot. Under the harsh glare of the spotlight, his sharp features were even more striking. He oozed old money, exuding an effortless, untouchable elegance