I’ll never forget the day my life changed forever. I was stepping out of my tiny apartment, late for work again, when my phone rang. The hospital’s number flashed across the screen, and my heart sank before I even answered.
“Your father is in critical condition,” the doctor said. “Without emergency surgery, he might not make it.”
The air left my lungs. I gripped the doorframe, trying to steady myself.
“How much will it cost?” I whispered.
The number he gave me felt impossible. I was a waitress barely scraping by, living paycheck to paycheck. I had no family to turn to, no savings, and no way to come up with that kind of money in time.
At work, I begged my manager for an advance. She gave me two months’ pay, which barely covered half of what I needed. I spent my shift in a daze, my mind spinning with desperate ideas—selling everything I owned, taking out a loan I couldn’t afford, anything.
I didn’t notice the man sitting alone in the corner, watching me.
Hours later, as I walked home, exhausted and on the verge of breaking down, a sleek black car pulled up beside me. The tinted window rolled down, and a man with sharp, dark eyes and a perfectly tailored suit leaned toward me.
“I have an offer for you,” he said.
I froze. “Excuse me?”
He smirked, like he knew exactly how desperate I was. “I heard about your situation. I can pay for your father’s surgery. In full.”
My stomach twisted. “Why would you do that for a stranger?”
“Because I need something in return.”
Every instinct told me to walk away, but desperation kept me rooted in place. “What do you want?”
He leaned back, as if considering how much to tell me. “My family is… complicated. My father is forcing me into an engagement. I need a fiancée—someone convincing. Someone desperate enough to play the part.”
The air around us felt heavy. My mind screamed at me to say no.
But my father was dying.
“How long?” I asked.
“Three months. Maybe four. Just until my father secures the merger he’s pushing for. You’ll have everything you need—money, a place to stay, security.” He tilted his head, reading my hesitation. “And when it’s over, we go our separate ways. No strings attached.”
No strings.
I swallowed hard.
“Deal,” I said.
The next day, I met the family.
We arrived at a sprawling estate outside the city. I had grown up in a small apartment with creaky floors and a landlord who never fixed anything. This place looked like something out of a movie—grand, pristine, untouchable.
His name was Adrian Vaughn, heir to one of the largest business empires in the country. He introduced me to his parents as his fiancée, and to my relief, they barely looked at me before nodding in approval.
But then, his brother walked in.
Noah Vaughn.
I had met Adrian the night before, but nothing could have prepared me for Noah. He was the opposite of his brother in every way. While Adrian was cold and calculated, Noah had a warmth to him, a quiet intensity that made my breath catch. His sharp brown eyes studied me like he could see right through the lie.
“Fiancée, huh?” Noah said, his tone laced with disbelief.
“Yes,” I answered, forcing confidence into my voice.
He smirked but said nothing more.
Over the next few weeks, I played the perfect fiancée. I attended charity events, family dinners, and social gatherings, always at Adrian’s side. But it wasn’t him I thought about at night.
It was Noah.
He was different from his family. He didn’t treat me like a pawn in a game. He asked questions that made me laugh, challenged me in ways Adrian never did. He saw the cracks in my façade and never called me out on them.
I told myself it didn’t matter.
Then, one night, everything changed.
Adrian left on a business trip, and I was alone in the estate. I had trouble sleeping, so I wandered outside, finding solace in the garden. I wasn’t alone for long.
“You’re not what you seem,” Noah said from the shadows.
I turned, my pulse racing. “What do you mean?”
He took a step closer. “You flinch when Adrian touches you. You smile at all the right moments, but your eyes—” His gaze locked onto mine. “Your eyes tell a different story.”
I swallowed hard. “You think you know me?”
He studied me for a long moment before shaking his head. “No. But I want to.”
I should have walked away.
Instead, I let myself get closer.
As the weeks passed, I fell for him. Hard. The stolen glances, the late-night conversations, the way he made me feel seen—it was real in a way nothing else was.
And then Adrian found out.
One evening, I walked into my room to find him waiting for me.
“I thought you’d play your part better,” Adrian said coldly.
My heart pounded. “Adrian, I—”
“Save it.” He stood, stepping toward me. “You were supposed to be mine.”
His words sent a shiver down my spine. “This was never real.”
His jaw clenched. “You made a fool of me.”
“No, Adrian. I saved my father.” My voice wavered, but I held his gaze. “And I fell in love with the wrong brother.”
His eyes darkened, and for a moment, I thought he might lash out. But then he exhaled, shaking his head with a bitter laugh.
“You’re free to go,” he said.
I hesitated. “What?”
“The deal is off. Your father’s bills are paid. You owe me nothing.”
I should have felt relieved. Instead, my chest ached. “I never meant to hurt you.”
Adrian didn’t respond.
I left that night.
I had nothing—no job, no money, no place to stay. But I had my father, and I had the truth.
Noah found me two days later.
“I don’t care about the lie,” he said, breathless from chasing after me. “I care about you.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I don’t have anything to give you.”
He took my hands in his. “You don’t have to.”
And just like that, I realized—sometimes, the greatest risks lead to the greatest rewards.
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