Toxic Sweetheart's Empire

In my past life, I was a toptier gold digger. Now? I woke up in the body of a pickme side character who was cyberbullied to death.

Right now, a candid photo of me and Lachlan sat pinned to the top of the university's anonymous gossip board. [Rumor has it Lachlan’s catching feelings.

Is it actually her?] [Cinderella’s really about to secure the bag, huh?] The girl relentlessly spamming the thread, hyping up the rumors?

My roommate, Gemma. "Just go for it," she urged with a bright smile. "Tell him how you feel.

It’s not like he has a girlfriend." Translucent, glowing comments drifted across my field of vision like a live stream chat. [Lachlan doesn’t have a girlfriend, babe.

He has a FIANCÉE!] [Gemma is literally an angel. She’s totally hiding her engagement just to spare Eden’s feelings.] [Eden is so delusional.

Lachlan only likes her roommate.] [Just wait.

The second that clown confesses tonight, Lachlan is gonna hardlaunch Gemma.] I curled my lips and posted a faceless selfie on a new account.

The caption? [My bestie keeps pushing me to confess to the guy she grew up with. Major red flag.

What should I do?] Chapter 1 Comments from the university’s anonymous forum flooded in. [Wait, are you actually into her childhood bestie?] [OP’s body is literal fire.

Is your friend trying to keep the premium guys in her inner circle?] [Is the guy even hot?] My fingers flew across the keyboard, dropping replies. [A little bit.] [Maybe?

She’s constantly playing matchmaker. She drags me to every single event with him.] [He’s gorgeous. But… we're from completely different worlds.

Old money vs. no money.] The thread immediately blew up with laughing emojis. [You made it into this Ivy League. Who cares about backgrounds?

Unless he’s Lachlan, you’re fine.] [Shoot your shot! Worst case, you guys break up and his family writes you a multimillion dollar check to go away.

Winwin.] I tapped a heart on every single comment.

Right on cue, the translucent livestream text flared across my vision. [Does Eden seriously think a thirst trap is going to seduce Lachlan? Delusional.

He literally only follows Gemma.] [Such pickme behavior. Thank god Lachlan isn't on this app. Imagine if he misunderstood our Gemma!] The live chat was realtime.

A constant, unfiltered feed of spoilers. Information. A slow smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth. I didn't know Lachlan's handle.

But I knew exactly where to find my sweet, innocent roommate's profile. I tapped into Gemma's 'Following' list.

Thirtysix accounts. [Lmao, is the sidecharacter actually trying to stalk Lachlan’s burner account?] [Give it up, babe.

You’ll never find it.] I scrolled, eliminating them one by one. My thumb hovered over a blank default avatar. Handle: @Ghost. Followers: 1. Following: 1.

Location tag pinned strictly to our city. Gotcha. I smashed the follow button. The live chat exploded. [WTF!

Manipulative bitch!] [How the hell did she find that?!] Miles away, Lachlan’s phone buzzed. His private account was a ghost town.

Outside of his tightknit circle of elites, nobody knew that the burner account @Ghost belonged to him.

A harsh crease formed between his brows as he stared at the new notification. @ToxicSweetheart started following you. Who the hell was that?

His thumb swiped the notification away, the screen going black. A misclick. Had to be. The chat room erupted into digital cheering. [He didn’t even click her profile!

I’m screaming!] [This toxic pickme… her username is literally perfect.] [Reminder: this is a childhoodfriendstoarrangedmarriage trope. Lachlan is all about duty.

He’s going to fall for Gemma after they tie the knot. Eden’s looks mean nothing.] [Right! Gemma is always so insecure because Lachlan acts so cold.

But watching him ruthlessly reject a bombshell like Eden?

That’s exactly what gives Gemma the security she needs.] [The clown is literally just a stepping stone for the main couple’s romance.] My eyes dropped from the glowing air to my banking app.

Before I took over this body, Gemma had dragged the original Eden out shopping.

She’d convinced her to drop twentytwo grand on a dress. "You need armor for your confession," Gemma had purred. "Our circle doesn't do cheap mall brands." Driven by her crippling insecurity, the original Eden had gritted her teeth and drained her account for a luxurious, yet painfully tacky, outofseason dress.

Current balance: $0.00. Overdraft limit reached. I stared at the pathetic numbers, my expression turning to ice. Two quick photos later, the dress was listed on a luxury resale app.

Rule number one of being a gold digger? Never, ever spend your own money on a man. I clicked back into Gemma’s profile.

Her feed was a carefully curated shrine to her "flawless" fiancé. Filthy rich. Jawdroppingly gorgeous. A man who swiped his black card at her slightest whim.

Since the arranged marriage was a fresh, tightlykept secret, she never showed his face or dropped names.

Instead, she tossed out luxury giveaways to her rabid shippers in the comments. Her sickeningly sweet romance anecdotes pulled in tens of thousands of likes per post.

But she hadn’t always been this popular.

Chapter 2 It wasn't until Gemma posted a picture of the engagement gift from her fiancé—a twentyfivemilliondollar Tribeca penthouse—that the thread immediately blew up.

I dropped a comment in the warzone: [Literal relationship goals. Your fiancé treats you so well, babe. God, I wish I could pull a guy like that.

What’s his type?] Gemma lived for the validation of her shippers. But seeing my comment? Her perfect, curated facade slipped.

She fired back a reply: [His standards are incredibly high. He expects toptier talent and an Ivy League degree.

You have no idea how hard I worked just to get him to look at me.] Immediately after, she pinned a heart on a specific reply beneath mine: [The most important thing is being in the same tax bracket.

Old money marries old money.] The comments were all frantically shipping the couple. [Our queen literally gave up Stanford just to follow him to this Ivy League!] [Fierce ItGirl VS IceCold Childhood Sweetheart.] [She stayed by his side until he finally saw her.] [The arranged marriage changed everything!

He used to be so distant, and now he literally hands her the world on a silver platter.] [His family is loaded, and he’s already launching a massive startup in college. The drive!

Meanwhile, I'm just out here trying to survive midterms.] I was the only person alive holding the actual script. I knew the truth.

Their real, sweeping love story didn't even start until after my character was six feet under. Right now? This was a pure arrangedmarriagetolovers trope.

Lachlan was only spoiling Gemma out of sheer, cold obligation to their families' corporate merger. The golden couple was just using the original owner as a perfect little pawn.

Rule number three of being a toptier gold digger? Master their upperclass hobbies. Luckily, I was already fluent in piano and equestrianism.

I replied: [I’m actually super talented! ~ Practicing so hard lately. Fingers crossed I can get my crush to notice me.] People sniffed out the competitive, pickme energy instantly.

They swarmed my profile. The sneering comments flooded in: [Wait, the little toxic wannabe goes to our school too?] [Probably faking her location tag.

Post your student ID, let's see it.] I ignored it.

Within minutes, actual alumni recognized the unmistakable brickwork of the campus dorms in the background of my pinned mirror selfie.

The caption sat right at the top of my feed: [My bestie keeps pushing me to confess to the guy she grew up with. Major red flag.

What should I do?] Gemma would never connect this sultry burner account to her gullible, pathetic little roommate. The old Eden was utterly useless.

Just weeks ago, Gemma had dragged Eden to her massive birthday bash, practically shoving her onto the piano bench to "catch Lachlan's attention." Eden, sweating and shaking, plunked out a humiliating, disjointed rendition of 'Happy Birthday.' Daphne and the rest of Gemma's meangirl squad ripped her to shreds.

It was Lachlan who finally cut through the vicious laughter, his voice sharp as he told them to drop it. That single, fleeting scrap of basic human decency? It sealed Eden’s fate.

She fell insanely, desperately in love with him. She had zero clue the secret fiancée was Gemma. Gemma, playing the ultimate supportive bestie, gaslit her into confessing.

And the punchline? Lachlan hardlaunched Gemma right there on the spot, completely humiliating Eden in front of the whole school. The aftermath was worse.

Gemma penned a tearjerking essay online about her "crippling insecurity" living with such a "beautiful roommate." The internet mobilized.

They branded Eden a manipulative homewrecker, cyberbullying her until her heart literally gave out. The translucent chat flared across my vision. [Eden is doing way too much.

So desperate for clout.] [Let her.

Once Lachlan absolutely shreds her tonight, she’ll never show her face again.] Across campus, Gemma opened her phone, ready to spam Lachlan with texts.

Instead, her eyes locked onto his private profile. His follower count had ticked up. From one, to two. A pulse of raw, venomous jealousy spiked in her chest.

Suppressing her anger, she clicked into my profile. Chapter 3 She scoured the feed. When her gaze landed on the photos, a flicker of ugly resentment crossed her eyes.

The silhouette in the faceless selfie sparked a nagging sense of familiarity. The entire account setup mirrored hers. Flexing expensive hobbies. Vagueposting about a secret crush.

Only her elite inner circle knew about Lachlan's burner account. She paraded it in their group chat constantly. Some desperate heiress must have caught wind of it.

So, she directly tagged Lachlan under my photo: [@Ghost Great body. Your type?] Lachlan's gaze flicked over the glowing screen for a fraction of a second.

The photo barely registered. His thumbs moved smoothly. [Boring…] A sharp laugh slipped from Gemma's lips.

She screenshotted the exchange, instantly dropping it into their private group chat as the joke of the day. The translucent text surged across my vision. [LMAO.

Lachlan literally looked at her tryhard thirst trap and called it boring.] [Screaming. She tried so hard for nothing.] [Just a clown.

If she didn't humiliate herself confessing tonight, Lachlan probably wouldn't even bother hardlaunching Gemma.] [Right!

Lachlan secretly develops that indie game Ascension behind his family's back. It remains in closed beta.

He despises drama.] [The postmarriage spice though~ Lachlan acts icecold now, but he absolutely wrecks Gemma in bed once they tie the knot.] [His oldmoney family acts so conservative.

They despise the gaming industry. Gemma becomes his only safe space.] [Just wait until Ascension explodes into a massive global hit.

Even the bottomtier Twitch streamers who play it early make absolute bank.] My eyes tracked the glowing text, ripping the data from the screen.

Days ago, I secured an exclusive beta key for Ascension. Gemma knew absolutely nothing about the game. Using the game to approach Lachlan was the best entry point.

I curled my lips, switching screens to message Lachlan while grinding my game level. Brody farmed mobs in the exact same server zone. He shared a dorm with Lachlan.

Same inner circle. Same toxic loyalty. In the original timeline, Brody read Gemma's tearjerking essay and instantly branded my character a homewrecker.

He spearheaded the cyberbullying campaign. Arrogant, impulsive, playing the selfrighteous hero. The perfect weapon.

I targeted Brody, teamed up with him, and then sniped his kill at the very last second.

I turned on the mic and let out a breathy, "Thanks for the carry, babe." Brody's hand shook, and the victorious smile froze on his face. Lachlan's phone buzzed.

A frantic text from his roommate flashed across the lock screen. [Bro, some cracked egirl literally just stole my boss kill! Lost my serverfirst title!] [I’m fuming!

This @ToxicSweetheart account sits at number one on the leaderboard! The absolute nerve!] The live chat glitched violently. [Eden plays so dirty!

Who steals the final blow?!] [She totally tries to bait Brody. Delusional. He only goes for sweet, innocent girls.] I ignored the floating text.

I opened my single DM to Lachlan's burner account: [Thanks for bailing me out earlier, Lachlan~ Let me treat you to dinner tonight to make up for it?] Without waiting for a reply, I uploaded my Ascension gameplay to my burner account.

Smooth mechanics, along with epic editing and background music. Caption: [The combat in this beta feels like an absolute obsession. Ascension] The algorithm caught it instantly.

The view count started climbing. Chapter 4 Lachlan stared at the familiar handle on his screen. A trace of surprise appeared on his face. His thumb hovered, then tapped my avatar.

The first thing that loaded was my Ascension highlight reel. The thumbnail was Brody’s character getting robbed on the boss kill screen.

The comments scrolled rapidly across my vision. [Lmao, Lachlan is dense as hell. He literally only cares about the game mechanics.] [Thank god.

He’s definitely not going to give Eden any actual attention.] [Who cares if the side character is cracked at the game? It changes literally nothing.] The video neared its end.

He was caught off guard by a sweet and charming voice: "Thanks for the carry, babe." The comments on the video suddenly spiked at this exact moment.

Lachlan's fingers paused slightly. Then he dragged the progress bar back. He listened to it again. In the original novel, he had a secret audio kink.

He didn't discover how obsessed he was with voices until he was in the female lead's bed.

I had engineered that audio clip and planted it at the very end of the video, betting everything that he’d watch the entire flawless combat sequence.

The floating text was cursing relentlessly. [WTF is Eden doing?! So thirsty!] Lachlan forced himself to listen only one more time before sharply exiting the video.

He scrolled down my profile. The only fullbody shot was taken from behind. The framing was perfect. The proportions were excellent, and clearly unedited.

Any sane guy would have swiped out of the app right then. But he didn't. He let his eyes linger. A nagging sense of familiarity tugged at him. His finger tapped on my newest upload.

The screen showed a clip of me playing the piano, with a smooth melody pouring out.

The caption read: [If my confession tanks tonight, I'm changing my name to EdentheManEater and going scorched earth on all trash men.] It suddenly clicked.

He knew exactly who was running the account. Just moments ago, Gemma had texted him. [Come by the dorms tonight.

My little roommate has something she wants to tell you.] Lachlan: [Eden again?

You still haven't told her we're engaged?] Gemma’s reply had been vague and sickeningly sweet: [Oh, she’s just a girl with a crush, it’s understandable.

Just let her down easy in private, okay?] He searched his memory, trying to figure out if he had ever actually offended Eden.

The only thing that surfaced was the image of her stumbling through that painful, disjointed 'Happy Birthday'.

In his mind, Eden was nothing but a pretty face who stuttered uncontrollably whenever he was in the room. This online persona? She was wildly, dangerously alive.

By all accounts, he shouldn't agree to a private dinner with me. Yet… he hesitated. His thumb hovered over the keyboard. He left a comment under the piano video: [Just learned this?

You pick things up fast.] The live chat exploded. [??? WHY IS HE INTERACTING WITH HER?!] [Such a faker! Gemma has been classically trained since she was a toddler.

Eden literally can't compete!] I fired back a cute, pleading emoji, lying through my teeth with absolute confidence: [Yep! Just started.

My instructor says I'm a total natural~ Honestly, I pick up everything super fast!] Lachlan’s eyes locked onto the 'trash men' joke in my caption. His finger paused midair.

Then, he switched to our DMs and typed out a reply. [I'll pick you up outside your dorm at five.] Gemma had arranged for him to come over at eight.

He rationalized it to himself: rejecting me privately, earlier in the evening, was simply the more appropriate way to handle things.

He didn't believe that the brief ripple in his heart would make him betray his fiancée. The original Lachlan was rigid. Bound by duty. Tonight's confession was guaranteed to fail.

My objective wasn't to win him over tonight. It was to violently rip myself out of the "homewrecker" narrative and reposition myself as the innocent victim.

A slow smile curved my lips. I sent back an adorable sticker: [Okay! (Heart)] Then, one final message. [Can we go somewhere cheap? Please?

Crying kitten GIF.] Chapter 5 Lachlan’s brow arched slightly at the screen.

I shot back a screenshot, my text dripping with manufactured pity. [Gemma swore I needed a designer dress for tonight. Now my account is literally zeroed out.] The image?

The payment confirmation for that twentytwogrand, gaudy monstrosity Gemma had shoved down my throat. Lachlan stared at the aggressively red dress on his screen.

Three seconds later, a new message popped up. [Send your wire details.] I didn’t bother playing coy. I pasted it immediately. Ding. A fresh wire transfer hit my banking app.

Twentyeight grand. A slow, wicked smirk curved my lips.

The comments started cursing. [Not just a toxic pickme, but a gold digger!] [Lachlan is just cleaning up his fiancée’s mess! It’s called taking responsibility.

He definitely doesn't care about Eden!] [She literally just flipped that dress on a resale app! She’s actively scamming him!

Unhinged behavior!] Across campus, Gemma frantically replied to her comment section.

Her shippers were begging for a face reveal of her mystery billionaire. [He hates the spotlight,] she typed, pinning the comment. [But I’ll dig up a childhood photo for you guys.] Her comment skyrocketed to the top of the thread.

Mine sat right beneath it. [Childhood friends to lovers supremacy!] the chat cheered. I let out a harsh, dismissive scoff. They had known each other for ten years.

If it was true love, he would have locked her down ages ago. Gemma playing these desperate little mind games just proved my point. Normally, taken men sat entirely off my radar.

But if they walked right into my crosshairs? That was a different story. Lachlan booted up the Ascension beta.

The moment the server loaded, his eyes locked onto the global topspender leaderboard. A very familiar handle sat glowing brightly at the number two spot. @ToxicSweetheart.

Brody held rank one. Lachlan had just been violently shoved down to rank three. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the image of my pathetic 'I'm broke' text flashing in his mind.

He knew my background. I could not afford to spend so much money on the game. Downloading a game to catch his attention? Fine.

But watching me obliterate my nonexistent finances over pixels? It twisted something uncomfortable in his gut. The chat ripped into me, screaming about my reckless spending.

A notification banner snapped across my screen. Lachlan: [I’m outside.] His striking features naturally commanded attention, drawing scattered glances from everyone around him.

When his eyes finally landed on me, his breath hitched. He froze. I wore a bodyskimming silk slip dress. Minimal makeup. A soft, nude gloss on my lips.

A warm evening breeze swept past, catching a stray strand of my hair and brushing it across my cheek.

I stepped into his personal space, deliberately closing the distance. "Sorry to keep you waiting." A faint, intoxicating sweetness drifted up to him. Peach.

Lachlan had an absolute obsession with peaches. I chose a peachscented perfume. It was basic psychology. A simple sensory hook.

From now on, the second he tasted a peach, his mind would snap straight back to me. He glanced at me. The silence stretched, thick and heavy between us. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

A harsh, audible swallow.

When he finally spoke, his voice dropped a full octave, scraping against the night air. "Get in." He drove us to an ultraexclusive, inviteonly tasting menu spot hidden downtown.

Way above my current paygrade. But Lachlan would never let a woman touch the bill. I took the menu and ordered without hesitation.

When the plates hit the table, his movements stalled. Every single dish was his exact preference.

I offered him a shy, slightly embarrassed smile. "Well, looks like my wallet can only handle treating you to this one meal." His dark eyes locked onto mine. "Pace yourself," he stated, his tone flat. "Drop less cash whaling on the beta, and you can afford to eat." Brutally direct.

I tilted my chin up, dropping the shy act, and met his stare headon. "How do you know I spend money on games?

Do you play Ascension too?" Lachlan offered a low, clipped hum of agreement. "Yeah." Chapter 6 The conversation flowed effortlessly.

We spent half the dinner just breaking down the Ascension beta. I steered, he followed. The rigid line of his shoulders finally dropped. His guard vanished entirely.

I didn't rush the confession. I just kept closing the gap, shifting the topic from the game's soundtrack to his actual Spotify playlists.

From the server lore to his favorite scifi authors. No matter where he took the conversation, I met him there. He obviously started talking more.

The translucent chat flickered wildly. [Wait, how is Eden keeping up with him on all this?] [Lachlan is talking WAY too much. He’s totally getting competitive.

Trying to figure her out.] Curiosity and admiration were the deadliest traps a man could fall into. In my past life, I had a full eight years of experience on him.

If I let a college boy figure me out, I would be a disgrace to my profession. He shifted the topic to classical instruments. I offered a quiet, selfdeprecating smile.

I let the silence hang.

His brow furrowed, thrown off by my sudden drop in energy. "That's way out of my league," I murmured, holding his gaze with a look of helpless resignation. "Growing up, my family could barely keep the lights on.

Let alone pay for lessons.

I only just started touching a piano." When he showed an apologetic expression, I tilted my head, my eyes wide with pure, unfiltered admiration. "But you know so much about it.

That's honestly so impressive." A sudden flush crept up the back of his neck. I watched the color spread. Lachlan was surrounded by starryeyed, naive college girls.

He was entirely used to the power dynamic of the unattainable god and the submissive admirer. I preferred keeping my hand firmly on the leash.

Because he was so engaged, so thoroughly disarmed, his usual radar remained completely offline.

When I pushed my chair back and stepped directly into his space, no alarm bells rang in his head. He just looked up at me.

His dark, glacial eyes clouded with a thick haze of confusion. The overwhelming, intoxicating scent of sweet peaches crashed over him. His pupils contracted slightly.

I leaned in, studying his flawless face—the rigid, icy facade clearly fracturing under the weight of his own desires. "Lachlan," I whispered, my breath brushing the shell of his ear. "Do you know why I really asked you here tonight? … I asked Gemma.

She swore you were single." I let my gaze drop to his mouth. "So… can I kiss you?" I didn't wait for his answer.

Leaning in, I pressed my lips gently to his, letting a tremble of manufactured vulnerability slip through before pulling away. A pure, devastatingly direct, yet 'shy' collision.

I pulled back just as fast, feigning a nervous posture as I looked at him. The live chat completely derailed. [HOLY SHIT!

SHE JUST WENT FOR IT?!] [Who actually kisses a guy midconfession?! Unhinged!] [Wait… why didn't Lachlan dodge?!] His body betrayed him. He wasn't a saint.

He pushed me away with a flushed face. "I have a fiancée," he ground out, the words a harsh, shredded rasp. He tried to look unbothered. Cold. Firm.

But he couldn't hide the dark, dilated hunger still pooling in his eyes.

I tilted my head, putting on a 'don't lie to me' expression. "A fiancée?" I echoed, my voice fracturing. "Who?

How could you possibly be engaged… and your childhood best friend doesn't even know?" I snatched my phone off the table and shoved the campus forum directly into his line of sight.

It was a candid photo of us, right beneath Gemma’s glowing, supportive comment. [He doesn't have a girlfriend, babe. Go for it.] Lachlan opened his mouth to speak.

The words died in his throat. He stared at Gemma’s public comment, completely and utterly paralyzed.

Rule number two of the golddigger playbook: Always weaponize their own narrative.

I bit my bottom lip hard enough to leave a brutal indentation. "Did my confession repulse you that much?

You had to make up some pathetic, cheap lie to get out of it?" Before he could formulate a single syllable, I forced a trembling, shattered smile and grabbed my purse. "Don't worry, Lachlan.

I'd never be a homewrecker." Chapter 7 Lachlan fell silent for a long moment before letting out a low, rough hum of agreement. Frustration bled into his normally impassive features.

He was completely at a loss for words, the gears turning violently in his head as he struggled to formulate an excuse.

I cut through his spiraling thoughts with a light, breathy laugh. "Why do you look more devastated than the girl who just got rejected? Relax.

I'm not calling you a liar." I tilted my head, offering a soft, understanding smile. "Honestly, before tonight? I totally thought you were just a player.

It literally makes zero sense for a guy like you to be single." He blinked, completely caught off guard, a muscle ticking along his sharp jawline. "But getting to know you tonight?

I realized how wrong I was." A sweet, knowing smile touched my lips as I met his gaze. "Whoever this mystery fiancée is… you must be absolutely obsessed with her.

I'm happy for you, Lachlan." His dark eyes dropped to the table. He didn't say a single word. I didn't push.

Instead, I dropped my gaze to my phone, casually editing a photo I’d snapped before leaving the dorm. A sundrenched, goldenhour selfie.

Just half my face, softly illuminated beneath the campus oaks. From the corner of my eye, I caught Lachlan’s gaze drifting to my screen.

He forced himself to look away a second later. I turned my phone off, meeting his eyes with flawless earnestness. "We can still be friends, right?" "Yeah," he rasped.

The comments scrolled: [Eden is such a toxic pickme! Lachlan isn't even in love with his childhood bestie yet!

She’s literally just pouring salt in the wound!] [Wait… did Lachlan just stealthswitch to his burner account to stalk her page?!] I hit post. The caption: [Lost a crush.

Gained some clarity.] Right before I stepped out of the restaurant, a notification pinged. Lachlan had followed me back. A second later, my banking app pushed a new alert.

Another wire transfer. Seventy grand. The memo attached: Eat properly. The cash I’d dumped into his beta test had just returned a massive ROI. That kiss was a phenomenal investment.

It was his first kiss. It would violently brand itself into his memory. I was in the right this time. His boundaries slipped, but he was too guilty to blame me. Flawless execution.

Boundaries were meant to be eroded, inch by meticulous inch. The sleek door of Lachlan’s SUV swung open. I stepped out onto the campus curb, directly into the path of Gemma.

She looked absolutely spectral. Her eyes bored into us, wide and manic.

I played completely oblivious to the suffocating tension. "Why is half the campus out here tonight?" I murmured, looking around in manufactured confusion.

Whispers snaked through the massive crowd gathered outside the dorms. "The forum said the confession was at eight! Where the hell is she?" "Wait, isn't that Lachlan?

Why is he getting out of the car with Eden? Are they dating now?!" Lachlan thought tonight was just a simple offline meeting.

He had absolutely no idea Gemma had orchestrated a massive, public spectacle, complete with a sprawling path of roses and a live audience. And Gemma?

She never factored in the possibility of me rolling up in the passenger seat of her fiancé's car. The color drained completely from both their faces.

My fingers clamped into the fabric of my sleeve. I forced a shattered, brittle smile, letting my voice crack just enough for the front row to hear. "So… she’s the fiancée.

And I was the only one who didn't know." Gemma panicked. She never expected me to say it out loud