Alexander’s voice was calm, as if he were reciting weather reports, not reordering my life.


    “The merger is finalized. ric Vale’s group takes a percentage, small. The ord returns to the Adams line. You should be relieved.”


    I wasn’t.


    He kept going. “If that deal were to fail—which is unlikely—the Gallos and the Salvos remain in line. But it won’t fail.” His tone left no room for doubt. “Your future is secured.”


    My throat tightened. My future was finished.


    “The families will not agree to your terms regarding heirs. Your heir are dynasty bloodline, and will be treated as such. That is non-negotiable.”


    It hurt. Physically hurt. I wanted to open my mouth, argue, have the courage I somehow found in that boardroom. But I was shocked. I came downstairs for breakfast, not to be told I would be formally announced engaged next week.<fne255> ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? ?ovelFind</fne255>


    Alexander nced at his watch. “Dinner tonight with ric and his cousins. I expect you presentable.”


    And then he was gone. Leaving me with a cup coffee I wouldn’t drink. Presentable. As I had been anything but that my whole life.


    The silence after him felt louder than his voice had.


    I sat still and unlocked my phone.


    I can’t make dinner tonight. I’m sorry.


    Luca: You okay?


    I’m fine.


    Bastion: Why?


    Dinner with Alexander and associates.


    Luca: We’lle get you after.


    I can’t. It’ll bete.


    Bastion: You sure everything’s okay?


    Yes. I’m sorry.


    I locked the screen before I could change my mind. My reflection stared back, polite. But my fingers were trembling.


    This wasn’t something I could tell them in a message. I’m engaged. To ric Vale. The words would hurt differently when spoken aloud, but they would still cut.


    My stomach twisted. I thought of the random hair ties I’d seen on their counter. The jewelry sketches on their table. The spare bedroom lined with racks of women’s clothes.


    I’d turned a blind eye when Luca’s phone lit with security alerts mention her. I’d ignored the thread on Bastion’s, detailed instructions to a driver: Make sure the car is warm. She doesn’t like the cold.


    Signs everywhere they had another woman. Signs I chose not to see. They weren’t mine to keep. Just mine to have in secret. And I was their secret, for as long as they kept me.


    Now I couldn’t. The nausea rose in my throat. I pressed my hand to my stomach, forced myself to breathe slow.


    Tonight, I would sit at a table with ric Vale. Smile when expected. Raise my ss when Alexander gestured. Pretend I hadn’t promised dinner to the only men I still wanted.


    And when the night ended, I’d have to find the strength to tell them the truth.


    Until then, I wore the mask.


    Because that was what dynasty daughters did.