OVERLOOKED TO IRRESISTIBLE

Chapter 6: Complications

Aria woke up to her phone exploding.

Not literally, though the constant buzzing made it feel close. She grabbed it, squinting at the screen. 8:47 AM. Twenty-three new notifications.

Instagram. Twitter. Text messages. Even LinkedIn, which she hadn't checked in months.

She opened i********: first and immediately regretted it.

Someone had posted a photo from the engagement party. Her and Dominic, mid-kiss, his hand on her face, her fingers twisted in his jacket. The caption read: "Sienna Hartley's engagement party just got INTERESTING. That's her brother Dominic with Aria Castellano, Ethan's childhood BFF.

Three thousand likes. Five hundred comments.

Aria scrolled through them, each one worse than the last.

"She's totally using him to make Ethan jealous"

"Poor Sienna, having to deal with this at her own party"

"Dominic Hartley could do so much better"

"Wait isn't this the broke girl from Brooklyn? She's punching WAY above her weight"

Aria threw her phone across the room. It bounced off a pillow and landed on the floor, still buzzing.

She needed coffee. And possibly a new identity.

By the time she made it to work, Charlotte already knew. Of course she did. The New York art world was small and vicious, and gossip traveled at light speed.

"My office," Charlotte said the moment Aria walked in. "Now."

Aria followed her boss into the glass-walled office, trying not to feel like she was being called to the principal's office.

Charlotte sat behind her desk, fingers steepled, expression unreadable. "I told you your personal life becomes my professional problem if it interferes with work."

"I know."

"So explain to me why I'm getting calls from board members asking if my new junior curator is dating Dominic Hartley and causing scenes at society events."

Aria's stomach dropped. "I didn't cause a scene. I just... we kissed."

"At your ex-boyfriend's engagement party."

"He's not my ex-boyfriend."

"No?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Then what is he?"

Aria didn't have a good answer for that.

Charlotte sighed, pulling off her reading glasses. "Look. I don't care who you date. Sleep with half of Manhattan for all I care. But Dominic Hartley is a major investor in several galleries, including ones we compete with. Dating him puts you in a complicated position professionally."

"I didn't think about that."

"Clearly." Charlotte leaned back in her chair. "But here's the thing. If you're actually with him, and this isn't some revenge plot that's going to blow up in all our faces, it could be useful. Dominic has connections. Money. Influence. Those things matter in this world."

Aria hadn't expected that. "So you're not firing me?"

"Should I be?"

"No. I can keep my personal and professional lives separate."

"See that you do." Charlotte put her glasses back on, returning her attention to her computer. "And Aria? If this is just a game you're playing, end it before it costs you your career. Understood?"

"Understood."

Aria escaped to her desk, her hands shaking slightly. She'd been so focused on hurting Ethan that she hadn't thought about the professional consequences. What if this fake relationship damaged her reputation before she'd even built one?

Her phone buzzed. Dominic: "Saw the i********: post. We're trending. Hope you're ready for your fifteen minutes of fame."

Aria: "This isn't funny. People think I'm using you."

Dominic: "You are using me. That was the point."

Aria: "You know what I mean."

Dominic: "Relax. Let them talk. Controversy is good for both of us. Makes the relationship more believable."

Aria: "My boss just gave me a lecture about keeping my personal life separate from work."

Dominic: "So keep it separate. I'll handle the public stuff. You just show up and look pretty. Speaking of which, Marcus is coming by your place at 7 tonight with dress options. Be there."

Aria: "You can't just order me around."

Dominic: "I literally just did. See you Friday, girlfriend."

He was infuriating.

The rest of the day dragged. Aria tried to focus on work, but every time she looked up, she caught people staring. The other gallery employees had definitely seen the photos.

By lunch, she couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her coat and headed out, planning to eat alone at some random deli where no one knew her.

She made it half a block before someone grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk."

Ethan.

He looked terrible. Rumpled suit, dark circles under his eyes, hair sticking up like he'd been pulling at it. Like he hadn't slept.

"I'm working," Aria said, trying to pull away.

"Please. Five minutes." His grip tightened. "That's all I'm asking."

There was something desperate in his voice that made her pause. Against her better judgment, she let him pull her into a coffee shop, into a corner booth away from the windows.

"Talk," she said.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, making it worse. "Is it really real? You and Dominic?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because I need to know if I lost you or if there's still a chance."

Aria stared at him. "A chance for what, Ethan? You're getting married in eight weeks."

"I know. I know, but..." He reached across the table, taking her hand before she could pull away. "Seeing you with him, it made me realize something. I made a mistake. A huge mistake. I should have chosen you years ago."

The words she'd waited over a decade to hear. And now, sitting here, they just made her tired.

"You don't get to do this," Aria said quietly.

"Do what?"

"Only want me when someone else does. That's not love, Ethan. That's ego."

"It's not ego. I've always wanted you. I was just too scared to admit it."

"And now? You're suddenly not scared anymore? The week after you get engaged?" Aria pulled her hand away. "You don't want me. You want to not lose to Dominic Hartley. There's a difference."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it?" Aria stood up. "You had six years to figure this out. You didn't call. You didn't text. You didn't think about me once while you were building your perfect life with Sienna. But now that I'm with someone else, suddenly I matter?"

"You always mattered."

"No. I was convenient. I was safe. I was the backup plan." Aria grabbed her purse. "But I'm not waiting anymore. I'm done."

She walked out before he could respond, her heart hammering. On the street, she sucked in cold air, trying to steady herself.

Her phone buzzed. Ethan: "I'm not giving up on you. I can't."

Aria deleted the message and kept walking.

That night, Marcus arrived at her apartment at exactly seven PM. He was shorter than Aria expected, impeccably dressed, and carried what looked like an entire clothing store in garment bags.

"Aria Castellano?" He swept in without waiting for invitation. "Let's see what we're working with."

For the next two hours, Marcus had her try on dress after dress. Silk. Satin. Sequins. Each one more expensive than the last.

"This one," Marcus declared, holding up a deep emerald gown. "This is the one."

Aria looked at the dress. It was stunning. The kind of dress that made statements. The kind of dress that cost more than her monthly rent.

"I can't afford this."

"Mr. Hartley is covering it. Don't worry about the price."

"I'm not letting him buy me a dress."

Marcus gave her a look that suggested she was being ridiculous. "Darling, you're dating one of the richest men in New York. Let him buy you things. That's how this works."

"But we're not really..."

She caught herself before finishing that sentence. Marcus didn't know this was fake. No one could know.

"We're not really what?" Marcus asked, genuinely curious.

"Nothing. The dress is beautiful."

Marcus smiled. "Try it on. Trust me."

The dress fit perfectly. Aria stared at herself in her bathroom mirror, barely recognizing the woman looking back. She looked expensive. Polished. Like she belonged in Dominic's world.

Like she belonged with him.

That thought scared her more than it should.

After Marcus left with promises to deliver shoes and accessories, Aria collapsed on her futon, exhausted. Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Miss Castellano?" A woman's voice, crisp and professional. "This is Patricia Hartley. Dominic's mother. I'd like to invite you to brunch tomorrow. Just us girls. To get to know my son's new... friend."

Friend. Said like it was something distasteful.

"I'm not sure I'm free tomorrow."

"I insist. Le Bernardin, eleven AM. I'll see you there."

The line went dead before Aria could refuse.

She immediately called Dominic.

"Your mother just invited me to brunch," she said when he answered.

"Ah. That was fast."

"What do I do?"

"Go. Be charming. Don't let her intimidate you."

"Is she intimidating?"

"Terrifying. But you'll be fine."

"Dominic."

"Aria." She could hear the smile in his voice. "You kissed me in front of seventy people. You can handle brunch with my mother."

"Those two things are not equivalent."

"Sure they are. Both require acting. You'll be great." He paused. "And Aria? Wear something conservative. Mother hates anything too flashy."

He hung up.

Aria stared at her phone, panic rising in her chest. Brunch with Patricia Hartley. The woman was society royalty, the kind of person who could destroy reputations with a single well-placed comment.

This fake relationship was getting complicated fast.

Her phone buzzed again. Ethan: "I meant what I said. I'm not giving up. Whatever it takes."

Then another message, this time with a photo attachment. Aria opened it and her breath caught.

It was a picture from junior high. Her and Ethan at a school dance, her in an awkward dress, him in an ill-fitting suit. They were laughing about something, his arm around her shoulders, completely comfortable with each other.

Before everything got complicated. Before Sienna. Before heartbreak.

The caption read: "Remember when things were simple? I miss this. I miss us."

Aria looked at the photo for a long time. Then she looked at the emerald dress hanging on her closet door, ready for Friday's gala.

Two different futures. Two different versions of herself.

She didn't know which one scared her more.

Her phone rang. Dominic.

"Change of plans," he said without preamble. "My ex-fiancée just showed up at my office. Vanessa. She wants to have dinner. All three of us. You, me, and her."

"What? Why?"

"To 'clear the air' apparently." Dominic's voice was tight. "This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. She thinks if she meets you, she can prove we're not serious."

"What do we do?"

"We go. Tomorrow night. Right after your brunch with Mother. We show Vanessa exactly how serious we are."

"How?"

"I don't know yet. But we'll figure it out." He paused. "Unless you want to back out? This is getting messy."

Aria thought about Ethan's text. About the photo. About the simple girl she used to be who loved a boy who never chose her.

"I'm not backing out," she said.

"Good. Because neither am I."

After they hung up, Aria sat in the dark, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

One fake relationship. Two ex-situations. Three days until the gala where everything would become real in the eyes of everyone who mattered.

Her phone lit up one more time. A text from an unknown number: