The billionaire who needs me to save his company is the only man who’s ever truly ruined me.

My life runs on clean lines, sharp rules, and never needing anyone who can walk away.

Then New York calls—and the client is the man who once broke me open, now a scandalized CEO who looks at me like he remembers every mistake we made in the dark.

Adrian Vale is off‑limits, infuriating, and impossible to ignore.

One glance and my body sparks like it never learned the word no.

A tabloid explosion forces us into a fake‑dating arrangement to control the narrative—turning boardrooms, headlines, and late nights into a slow burn ready to ignite.

Every staged touch feels real. Every kiss pulls us deeper.

I tell myself it’s strategy. A necessary lie.

When he shields me in public and steadies me in private, the past won’t stay buried—and the truth he’s hiding will unravel the very life I built to survive losing him.

Wanting Adrian could cost me my heart, my credibility, my company…and the safety I found in never loving him again.