Chapter 4: The Ex Factor
1397 Words
Julian Blackwell’s penthouse was the kind of place that belonged on the cover of luxury design magazines. Clean lines, minimalist furniture, towering windows that bathed the space in golden afternoon light. It was cold, beautiful—and distant. Just like its owner.
Sienna stood in the living room, still in the emerald gown from the night before, sipping lukewarm tea Julian’s housekeeper had made. She’d stayed the night—not because anything had happened, but because Julian had insisted on avoiding the paparazzi chaos outside the gala. Too many reporters. Too many questions. Too much risk.
He’d offered the guest room. She’d taken it without argument, even if she barely slept.
Now it was morning, and Julian was already on a business call in his home office, voice sharp and precise behind closed doors. Sienna wandered through the space, trailing her fingers along the marble kitchen counter. It felt surreal—this life, this setup. It was only day two, and already her brain struggled to separate what was real from what was scripted.
She paused at the edge of the living room, where a black-and-white photo hung on the wall.
A woman.
Striking. Blonde. Elegant. Laughing as Julian looked at her.
Sienna leaned closer.
It was Madeleine.
She recognised her from the online photos: Julian’s ex-fiancée. The woman who was the whole reason Sienna was even here, pretending to be the love of his life. They looked genuinely happy in the picture, which only made the knot in Sienna’s stomach tighten.
“Don’t let her face fool you,” came a voice from behind.
She jumped and turned. Julian was there, sleeves rolled up, phone forgotten.
“She knew exactly what she was doing the entire time,” he added.
“You kept the picture,” Sienna said quietly.
Julian’s eyes flicked to the frame, unreadable. “I haven’t redecorated since she left. It was never about aesthetics to me. I let people assume it was.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“So are wolves.”
Sienna didn’t press further. Julian walked past her into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and leaned against the counter.
“She’s not just beautiful. She’s dangerous. Especially when she wants something.”
Sienna raised an eyebrow. “And what does she want now?”
Julian took a slow sip. “Me.”
Sienna blinked. “But… you’re over her. Right?”
His silence stretched too long.
“I am,” he said finally. “But that’s never mattered to her.”
Sienna set her tea down. “So all of this—me, this fake relationship—it’s to keep her away.”
“Yes.”
“And what happens if she finds out it’s fake?”
Julian’s jaw tensed. “She won’t.”
But Sienna wasn’t convinced. There was a flicker of something uncertain in his eyes—a vulnerability he worked very hard to bury.
“You’re scared of her,” she said before she could stop herself.
His eyes snapped to hers. “I’m not scared.”
But he was. Not of her, exactly. Of what she represented. A time when he’d been open, trusting. A time when someone had held his heart and crushed it beneath designer heels.
“You know she’ll approach me, right?” Sienna asked. “If she sees us together. If she thinks I’m competition.”
Julian nodded slowly. “She might.”
“Then you should prepare me.”
“For what?”
“For the war she’s about to start.”
That afternoon, Sienna had her first real taste of media training.
Lexi brought in a publicist named Harper—a chic brunette with red lipstick and the confidence of someone who regularly told off billionaires and got away with it. She spoke fast, walked faster, and handed Sienna a packet titled: Public Girlfriend Playbook.
Rule #1: Always smile, even when you want to scream.
Rule #2: Never contradict Julian in public. Even in jest.
Rule #3: Dress the part—every part.
Sienna scanned the guide, trying not to feel overwhelmed.
“People don’t fall in love with you,” Harper explained. “They fall in love with the story. And right now, your job is to make them believe the fairy tale.”
“But we’re not exactly…” Sienna gestured vaguely, “...Romeo and Juliet.”
“No one wants a tragedy,” Harper replied. “They want aspiration. Glamour. The fantasy that love can exist even at the top.”
Lexi added, “You need to be untouchable but relatable. Elegant but fun. It’s a tightrope, but you can do it.”
Sienna wasn’t so sure.
That night, they had dinner at Julian’s favourite rooftop restaurant in Manhattan. It was the kind of place where there were no prices on the menu and everyone knew your name before you introduced yourself.
Julian arrived in a navy suit and, for once, looked almost relaxed.
Sienna wore a red slip dress that Lexi had chosen—something bold, simple, and undeniably stunning.
They sat at a private table near the edge, city lights sparkling around them like stars on earth. The wine was aged. The food was perfect. The conversation, at first, was business.
Until she asked him something no one else had dared to.
“What were you like before the money?”
Julian paused. Fork halfway to his mouth.
“I was ambitious,” he said finally. “Angry. Focused.”
“Why angry?”
He gave her a tight smile. “Because I knew how poor we were.”
Sienna’s heart tugged. “You built everything yourself?”
“Mostly. My father died when I was seventeen. My mother did what she could, but we barely scraped by. I learned fast that the world doesn’t stop for people like us. So I decided to stop waiting.”
His voice was calm, but there was a heat beneath the words. A fire that hadn’t gone out.
Sienna studied him. “And now that you have it all… are you happy?”
He didn’t answer right away.
“Some days,” he said.
She believed him.
As they left the restaurant, hand in hand for the cameras, Sienna felt a strange pull in her chest.
This wasn’t her life. This wasn’t real.
But the way he looked at her sometimes—the way his hand lingered on her back, the way his voice softened when they were alone—it made her forget.
For just a second.
They didn’t expect to see Madeleine that night.
They were exiting through the private elevator when the doors opened—and there she was.
Blonde. Tall. Wearing a white silk pantsuit and the kind of smirk that could ruin reputations.
“Well, well,” she purred. “Julian. And… guest.”
Sienna froze. Julian’s grip on her waist tightened slightly.
“Madeleine,” he said curtly.
Her blue eyes slid to Sienna. “You must be the new project.”
Sienna smiled. “Fiancée.”
Julian’s eyes flicked to her in surprise.
Madeleine’s perfectly arched brows lifted. “Oh? Already putting a ring on it, Julian?”
“Things move fast when it’s right,” Sienna said sweetly, looping her arm around his. “You of all people should know that.”
Madeleine’s smile didn’t waver, but her eyes turned sharp. “Of course. I only hope you can keep up with him, darling. It’s a long fall when you’re not built for the top.”
“Luckily,” Sienna said, “I’m a fast learner.”
The tension between the three of them was electric.
Finally, Madeleine gave a theatrical sigh. “Well. Good luck, both of you. Love is such a delicate thing.”
She stepped into the elevator, turned, and pressed the button with a manicured finger.
As the doors slid closed, Sienna let out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding.
Julian looked at her. “Fiancée?”
“You’re welcome,” she said, trying not to shake. “You wanted her to believe it, didn’t you?”
A long pause.
Then Julian leaned down, brushed a whispered into her ear.
“You’re very good at this, Sienna Carter.”
She looked up at him.
“I’m starting to think,” she said softly, “that you are too.”
- Writer
