The burgundy dress Elias had selected for me was a masterpiece of cruelty. It clung to my body like a second skin, highlighting every curve I tried to hide behind my timidity. Standing before the dressing room mirror, I felt like a lamb in wolf's clothing. The diamond necklace weighed heavily on my collarbone, a cold reminder that every inch of my appearance belonged to the Thorne Corporation.
"You're taking too long," Elias's voice echoed from the doorway.
I turned slowly. He stood there, impeccable in a custom-made navy tuxedo. His shoulders seemed broader, his jaw sharper. For a second, the air between us seemed to hold. I saw a spark in his icy eyes, a glimmer of something that wasn't financial calculation. It was desire. Pure and dangerous. But he buried it so quickly I wondered if I'd imagined it.
"Let's go," he said, retrieving his stone mask. And remember: from the moment we step out of this car, you're the love of my life. Smile like you don't hate me.
The limo ride was an agonizing silence. When we arrived at the gala hotel, the burst of paparazzi flashes blinded me. I felt panic rise in my throat, but before I could back away, Elias's hand closed firmly around my waist, pulling me to his side. His warmth was the only solid thing in a world that was beginning to spin.
"Breathe, Zahra," he whispered against my ear, his breath brushing against my skin and sending a jolt down my spine. "Don't let them smell your fear."
We entered the main ballroom. It was a sea of silk, champagne, and fake smiles. Elias greeted associates and rivals with terrifying confidence, his arm possessively around me.
"Elias!" A sharp, venomous female voice interrupted us.
A blonde woman, dressed in a design that screamed "heiress," approached. It was Isabella, the ex-fiancée the tabloids had been talking about. Her eyes scanned me with a disdain that made me feel naked.
"So this is the famous... Zahra?" she said, dragging out my name as if it were an insult. "I must say, you have very peculiar tastes now, Elias. After being with me, this seems like a... degradation."
I felt my cheeks burn. I was about to lower my head, but Elias's hand tightened on my waist.
"Isabella, always so charming," he replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Zahra isn't just my fiancée. She's the only woman who has managed to make my fortune seem irrelevant. Something you, with all your inheritance, could never do."
I was stunned. He said it with such conviction that for a moment I forgot the contract in the safe. Isabella went pale and walked away into the crowd.
"Thank you," I murmured, looking up at his perfect profile.
"Don't thank me," he interrupted, without looking at me. "She's a distraction to my business. I was just protecting my investment."
But when the music started and he pulled me onto the dance floor, his hands didn't feel like an investor's. They felt like a man's who was afraid to let go. We danced under the crystal lights, feigning a romance the whole world envied, unaware that behind the diamonds and silk, there were only two strangers trying not to drown in their own lies.