CHAPTER 2 — Rules of the Performance
1434 Words
Sebastian Devereux — POV
Sebastian didn’t believe in rehearsal for real life.
If something required practice, it usually meant it wasn’t worth doing.
But as Anastasia Laurent stood across from him in the private meeting room on the executive floor, tablet open, expression composed, he was forced to reconsider that belief in at least one specific context.
“This is not negotiable,” she said.
Sebastian leaned back in his chair. “You’re negotiating a fake relationship like it’s a labor contract.”
“It functions like one,” she replied without hesitation.
That made him pause slightly. He had used that exact phrasing yesterday.
She noticed.
Of course she did.
On the screen of her tablet, a structured document was already open.
He narrowed his eyes. “What is that?”
“Rules,” she said.
“For what?”
“For survival.”
That word again.
Sebastian stood, walking around the table slowly, gaze fixed on the document rather than her face.
It was… organized.
Too organized.
Like someone preparing for a controlled disaster.
He stopped beside her. “You’re taking this seriously.”
“I don’t take risks casually,” she said.
A faint, dry response formed on his tongue, but he didn’t say it.
Instead, he looked at the first line.
RULE 1: CONSISTENT RELATIONSHIP TIMELINE
“You’re building a backstory,” he said.
“Yes.”
“That implies scrutiny.”
“It guarantees it.”
Sebastian exhaled slowly. “You think my mother will interrogate the timeline.”
“I think she will dissect it.”
He didn’t argue.
He knew Evangeline better than most people who had met her twice knew themselves.
He continued reading.
RULE 2: LIMITED PHYSICAL EXPRESSION IN PUBLIC SETTINGS (HAND-HOLDING ONLY IF NECESSARY)
His gaze flicked up.
“That’s restrictive.”
“That’s realistic,” Anastasia corrected.
“You think couples don’t touch.”
“I think fake couples overcompensate,” she said. “That’s how they get caught.”
Sebastian studied her for a moment.
“You’ve done this before?”
A brief pause.
“No,” she said. “But I’ve observed people who have.”
That was her advantage.
She didn’t rely on fantasy.
She relied on pattern recognition.
He continued reading.
RULE 3: NO UNSCRIPTED PERSONAL QUESTIONS BETWEEN US IN FRONT OF FAMILY
Sebastian almost smiled.
“That one’s for me,” he said.
“It’s for both of us,” she replied.
He looked at her then.
“You think I’ll expose us.”
“I think pressure makes people inconsistent,” she said. “And inconsistency is detectable.”
Sebastian stepped closer to the table.
“You’ve reduced my family dinner to a surveillance exercise.”
“I’ve reduced it to something survivable.”
That should have annoyed him.
Instead, it grounded him.
He continued down the list.
RULE 4: IF ASKED ABOUT THE PROPOSAL STORY, WE USE THE SAME VERSION WITHOUT VARIATION
He frowned. “We need a proposal story?”
Anastasia didn’t look up. “Of course.”
“I haven’t proposed to you.”
“I’m aware.”
“And yet we need details.”
“Yes.”
He stared at her.
“This is absurd.”
“It’s necessary.”
A beat.
Then she added, “Your mother will ask where, when, and why. If you hesitate, she will assume deception.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened slightly.
“You’re very familiar with how she thinks.”
“I’m familiar with how powerful people test truth,” she corrected.
Silence stretched.
Then Sebastian leaned forward slightly.
“Continue.”
Anastasia Laurent — POV
Sebastian Devereux didn’t like being managed.
That much was obvious.
But what interested Anastasia more was that he also didn’t resist it when it was done competently.
He was used to control.
Not guidance.
She continued scrolling through the document, keeping her tone neutral.
“Rule five,” she said, “we establish emotional tone consistency.”
Sebastian gave her a look. “Emotional tone?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds unnecessary.”
“It prevents improvisation under pressure.”
A pause.
Then, quieter: “Explain.”
Anastasia hesitated for half a second—not because she didn’t know, but because she was aware she was stepping into territory that felt less like logistics and more like interpretation.
“Couples don’t behave randomly,” she said. “They have patterns. Who leads conversations. Who interrupts. Who defuses tension. If we switch those roles suddenly, someone will notice.”
Sebastian studied her.
“You’re assigning roles.”
“I’m mapping behavior.”
“That sounds like roles.”
She ignored that.
“You tend to dominate silence,” she continued. “You fill it quickly, control direction. I don’t.”
“That’s accurate.”
“So we keep that consistent.”
A faint pause.
“And what am I in this structure?” he asked.
Anastasia didn’t answer immediately.
That was not in the document.
She looked up at him briefly.
“You’re the one people watch,” she said finally. “I’m the one they try to understand.”
Something shifted in his expression—not dramatic, but present.
Like he hadn’t expected that framing.
Then he nodded once.
“Continue.”
She moved to the final section of her notes.
“Rule six,” she said, “we define escalation boundaries.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Escalation.”
“Yes.”
“In a fake relationship.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
Then he said, “Go on.”
Anastasia tapped the screen once.
“This covers what we do if your family pushes intimacy expectations.”
Sebastian didn’t respond immediately.
That silence carried more weight than words.
“Such as?” he asked finally.
“Public affection requests,” she said. “Comments about marriage timelines. Pressure to demonstrate commitment.”
His gaze stayed steady.
“And your solution is?”
“Pre-agreed responses,” she said. “And controlled behavioral cues.”
He studied her for a moment longer.
Then, unexpectedly: “You’re very prepared to be judged.”
Anastasia didn’t look away.
“I work for you,” she said. “I already am.”
That landed differently than she intended.
For a brief moment, Sebastian didn’t speak.
Then he reached out and lightly tapped the edge of the tablet screen.
“Add one more rule,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow. “You’re contributing now?”
“I’m correcting a gap,” he replied.
“Which is?”
He met her gaze.
“No improvisation from you either,” he said. “If you feel cornered, you don’t make assumptions about me to fill the space.”
A pause.
“That’s already covered,” she said.
“It isn’t written.”
She studied him for a moment.
Then, reluctantly, she added it.
RULE 7: NO ASSUMPTIONS UNDER PRESSURE — CLARIFY BEFORE RESPONDING
She looked up. “Satisfied?”
“For now,” he said.
But he didn’t sound satisfied.
He sounded like someone preparing for a storm he had already started.
Sebastian Devereux — POV
When she finished, Sebastian realized something he didn’t like.
They had just built a framework for deception with more detail than most real relationships possessed.
And yet, it didn’t feel like fabrication.
It felt like containment.
Control disguised as structure.
He looked at Anastasia.
“You’re over-preparing,” he said.
“I’m preventing failure.”
“You’re assuming failure.”
“I’m acknowledging risk.”
A faint silence.
Then Sebastian said, “You think this will unravel.”
“I think anything built on deception has a high probability of instability,” she replied.
Honest.
Uncomfortable.
Correct.
He turned slightly toward the window, looking out over the city again.
“Then why agree?” he asked.
A pause behind him.
When she answered, her voice was quieter than before.
“Because I want to see how it collapses.”
That made him look back at her.
She didn’t look uncertain.
She looked curious.
That was worse.
Or better.
He hadn’t decided yet.
Sebastian walked back to the table and closed the document on her tablet with a single motion.
“Then we proceed carefully,” he said.
Anastasia tilted her head slightly. “That’s your conclusion?”
“It’s my condition.”
She studied him.
Then nodded once.
“Sunday,” she said again.
Sebastian met her gaze.
“Sunday,” he confirmed.
Neither of them said what neither of them was thinking:
That rules only mattered until someone broke them.
And in the Devereux family, everything eventually broke.
- Writer
