I had been secretly involved for five years—with my older brother's college mentor, Adrian Chen. On the night I finally turned twenty-three, I arrived unannounced at his office to celebrate. The door to his private study stood ajar, warm light spilling into the darkened corridor. I raised my hand to knock when hushed voices stopped me cold. "You can't seriously be considering taking her to the family estate. She's still playing house with you," a woman's voice sneered. Adrian's response came smooth and cold, laced with amusement I'd never heard before. "Taking her seriously? People don't build futures with their guilty pleasures, Vivian. She's been convenient, I'll give her that." My hand froze mid-air. The birthday cupcake I'd baked myself suddenly felt absurd in my other hand, its single candle mocking me. "Five years is a long time to keep someone on the hook," Vivian said. I recognized her now—Vivian Zhang, the corporate attorney whose family moved in the same circles as Adrian's old-money empire. "She was eighteen when this started. Eager, worshipful, and most importantly, discreet." Ice clinked against glass. "Her brother would have killed me if he knew. That thrill kept things interesting for a while." My lungs forgot how to work. Eighteen. He made it sound predatory, calculated. I'd thought our connection transcended the twelve-year age difference. He'd made me believe I was mature beyond my years, that our love was too profound for others to understand. "And now?" Vivian's voice dropped, turned sultry. "Now that your father's given the ultimatum about marriage and heirs?" "Now I do what I should have done from the start. You and I both know the merger benefits both our families. The wedding timeline your father proposed works perfectly." Wedding. The word detonated in my chest. "What about the girl?" "I'll handle it. She's been useful for stress relief during the campaign for VP, but she always knew this was temporary. I never made promises I couldn't keep." Lies. All lies. I thought of every whispered promise in the dark, every "I love you" murmured against my skin, every time he'd held me and said I was his future. The key to his apartment burning in my pocket. The drawer of clothes I kept at his place. Five years of my life, hidden away like something shameful. "You're cold, Adrian. I like it." Vivian laughed. "When will you tell her?" "After the quarterly reports are finalized. Can't afford emotional distractions right now. She'll cry, probably make a scene, but she'll get over it. They always do." They. Like I was interchangeable. Replaceable. I stumbled backward, my heel catching on the hallway runner. The cupcake tumbled from my grip, splattering against the marble floor in a mockery of celebration. I didn't stay to see if they heard. I ran. The November air bit through my thin dress as I burst onto the street. I'd dressed up for him, worn the emerald silk he'd bought me last month in Paris—a trip where he'd introduced me as his "assistant" to his business associates. Every memory recontextualized itself into something ugly. My phone buzzed. Adrian: *Running late, but I have a surprise for you. Wait for me at the usual place?* The usual place. Never his home. Never anywhere his real life could intersect with whatever I was to him. I blocked his number with shaking hands. Then I called the one person I'd kept this secret from for five years. The person Adrian feared most. "Marcus?" My voice cracked as my brother answered. "I need to tell you something about Adrian Chen." --- ##