THE FAKE FIANCÉ CLAUSE

d. She hadn't gone to the bridge thinking she'd end up in his apartment, tangled in sheets and truths. But when it happened, it didn't feel like a mistake. It felt inevitable. Now, in the golden hu

and thoughtful. "You really meant what you said last night?" He didn't hesitate. "Every word." Zara's fingers brushed her tea cup. "I've been hurt before. Not just by lovers. By people I trusted. People who thought loving me meant owning me." Tari's voice was low. "That's not what this is." "I know," she said softly. "That's why I stayed." He reached for her hand across the table. Held it gently. They sat like that for a long moment, no lies, no pressure - just the soft, terrifying bloom of something real. But the world wouldn't let them live in

eart pounded. "They have everything. Even the original clause document." Mimi's eyes narrowed. "Who else had access?" Only a few people. Her old friend Ada. The investor group. Tari's legal team. Zara swallowed hard. She didn't want to believe it. But someone wan

you," she said, voice rising. "But you had access. You and your lawyers." "You really think I'd do that to you?" His voice cracked with something close to hurt. "After everything?" "I don't know what to think, Tari! You have more to lose now than I do-public trust, board seats-maybe this was cleanup for you!" He stepped closer, his voice steady but deep. "I have *everything* to lose if I lose you." Zara flinched. Silence. Then she turned away. "I don't know who I can trust anymore." "I'll find out who did it," Tari said firmly. "You deserve the truth. And whoever tried to humiliate you-*they won't get away with it*." - Hours late