Playing Love Behind Lies

suffocating emptiness in the air. This was real. In seventy-two hours, she would no longer be Livia Halstead, an ordinary woman s

ted to

to stay calm. This was for her father. If she kept reminding hersel

uiet throughout the negotiation, only speaking when necessary. Now, as the tension

"Did I?" She let out a bitter laugh. "B

't change. "You did

lest thing in the world. "Why me?" she asked, her voice

, as if weighing his words. "Your father made a difficu

down her spine. Pr

ing the conversation was over. "The wedding preparations wi

ays, she would be standing at the altar beside a ma

an object

the next d

eeze her hand when she sat beside him, his eyes filled with

etails for the rushed ceremony. If she had any concerns about marr

as unsettled as Livia was h

that evening, standing in her doorway

ng her temples. "Yo

ouldn't force you if h

er father would never have agreed to this unl

he luxury of find

smile and patted Adrian's

t one they both

rived faster than

Just a quiet, almost clinical exchange of vows in a private estate,

fled by the roaring in her ears. She repeated the vows as instructed, le

e, Kieran turned to her. His hand cupped her chin, tilti

ed, too low for an

lips curving into a p

n he ki

sn't gentle. It was a

session rather than affection, and when he

felt

around them. Th

that, Livia De

an's penthouse was s

st ruined her life. He didn't look at her, didn't acknowle

ernity, she broke the silence. "Are

nd amused. "Do you want me t

I just want to know

first time that day, she saw something in

soon enough," h

eeling she wasn't goi