The Fiance He Never Knew

The Secret Call

Lyra's point of view

I looked at the pen. It was heavy, silver, and looked like it cost more than my monthly mortgage. Cassian had put it there, waiting. He looked like a statue.

My hand was shaking, but not from the cold of his presence. It was from the weight of the decision. Pride? No. Pride was a luxury for people who didn't have a child relying on them.

I reached out and picked up the pen. The metal felt cold in my hand.

"Read the terms, Lyra," Cassian said. His voice was all business, like he was talking to a junior associate. "Six months. No feelings. No surprises. You play the role, you get the money."

No surprises. If he only knew the surprise I was hiding. The surprise was sleeping soundly in my tiny apartment across town.

I didn't need to read the contract. I knew the deal. I signed my name quickly, making the letters as neat as I could, even though my heart was pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I heard the sharp, definite scratch of the pen on the paper.

I pushed the signed contract back across the desk. It felt like I had just sold my soul for seven figures.

Cassian picked up the paper and looked at my signature. He didn't smile. He didn't thank me.

"Good," he said. He picked up a secure phone on the desk and dialed a number. "Get the Sterling Bank contract drawn up for Hayes Designs. Exclusive partnership. Immediate start. Send the confirmation to my email. Tonight."

He hung up without waiting for an answer. Just like that, years of hard work, months of begging for meetings, were solved with one cold phone call.

"The contract is yours," he told me, looking back at my eyes. "The funds for your firm will transfer tomorrow. You will move in tonight. My driver will take you. We start immediately."

"Tonight?" I stood up. My legs felt shaky. "I can't. I have... I have arrangements."

"Your old life ends now," he said, like he was tearing up an old parking ticket. "Your public life as my fiancée begins. I need you on my arm tomorrow morning for the press calls. No delays. Go home, pack one suitcase, and tell your sitter to prepare for a long stay. I will send security to get you."

I felt a rush of panic. Leo. My sitter was my best friend, Chloe. She was the only person who knew I had a child, but she didn't know the father. I had to create the lie now. It had to be convincing.

I turned and almost ran out of study. I didn't say goodbye. I didn't look at Cassian again. I just needed space to breathe and lie.

I ran through the velvet-and-gold ballroom. I kept my head down, ignoring the rich eyes that were now watching me. I pushed open the big front doors and walked out into the cold city night. I hailed a cab instantly.

"The Upper East Side, please," I told the driver. My neighborhood. My home.

As the cab sped away, I pulled out my phone. My hands were shaking so much I almost dropped it. I had to call Chloe.

She answered on the first ring, her voice tired and warm. "Lyra? Did you get the job? Is the gala over?"

"Chloe," I whispered, holding back tears. "I got it. Not just the job. I got everything. I need your help. A huge, life-changing favor."

"What is it? Did they hire you to rebuild the whole city?" she joked.

"It's Cassian Vance," I began, using the deep breath I had saved. "He's the principal investor in the Sterling deal. He's funding the whole thing. He... he offered me a crazy, exclusive partnership. A contract I can't say no to."

I paused, thinking fast. I had to make the lie big and believable.

"It's a complete, immersive partnership," I rushed on. "He needs me working alongside him, focused only on this project. He is demanding I move into one of his properties right away. An apartment in his main tower. For six months."

Silence. Then Chloe said, "Wait, what? Move in with the King of New York? Tonight?"

"Yes! He's a total tyrant, you know that," I said, trying to sound annoyed instead of terrified. "He said he needs me nearby 24/7 for the project. He is paying me a fortune, Chloe. Enough to save the firm and put Leo in that amazing new preschool next year."

"Six months? Lyra, what about Leo?"

My heart squeezed. This was the hardest part. "That's the favor. He's giving me a high-security apartment in his building. I can't put Leo in a sitter's house for six months. I need you to stay with us. Please, Chloe. You, me, and Leo. We can pretend you are my high-powered, new executive assistant who needs to live nearby for the contract. You can be close to your work, and Leo is safe."

"His tower?" Chloe asked. I could hear the shock in her voice. "Lyra, are you serious? Cassian Vance? That jerk?"

"I know," I admitted. "But this is business, Chloe. Only business. It's six months of hell for a lifetime of financial freedom for Leo. I need you there. Please tell me you can come. Say yes."

After a long pause, Chloe sighed. "You know I would do anything for Leo. Okay. I'll pack his bags. I'll tell my landlord I'm doing a temporary project overseas or something. Text me the address. And Lyra? Don't let that monster get to you."

"Thank you, Chloe," I whispered. I hung up the phone. The lie was set. Chloe knew nothing about the fake engagement, and she definitely knew nothing about Cassian being Leo's father. She was my protection. She was my witness.

The cab stopped outside my small building. I looked up at the windows of my tiny apartment. This was my life. Safe. Hidden. Now, I had to pack that life into one suitcase and move into the cage Cassian had built for me. I was trading my peace for Leo's future. And I knew the most dangerous thing in that huge, expensive penthouse was the cold, grey-eyed man waiting for me.

My war had just begun.