A Heart Forced To Choose

Chapter 1: A Secret Worth Billions

Vina’s POV:

I rested my chin in my palm, squinting at the trading terminal through the morning glare. The entire portfolio was up again, rows of green figures flickering as the market opened. Managing millions on a laptop made sense to me—it was clean, logical, and followed rules. It was everything else in my life, especially whatever I was supposed to be feeling, that usually ended up a complete mess.

I leaned in until my nose was practically touching the glass, half-expecting the numbers to shift back down to something reasonable. They didn't. A trade I’d thrown money into on a whim last week had climbed an additional twelve percent overnight.

"You're doing it again," Jayden said, his voice cutting through the quiet behind me. I kept my eyes glued to the terminal, feigning innocence as his shadow fell over the desk. He leaned in past my shoulder, tapping his finger against the top header where the green line sat. "Don't play dumb. That stock was dead in the water two weeks ago." I offered a small shrug, keeping my face completely neutral. "And?" He let out a dry laugh, backing up half a step while shaking his head. "And you quietly bought it, and now the chart is practically vertical."

I finally turned around. He was standing there shaking his head, looking like he couldn't decide whether to congratulate me or ask if I'd completely lost my mind.

"What?" I asked.

Jayden just shook his head and pulled the spare chair over. He ran a hand through his messy bedhead before dropping into the seat.

"You have magical hands with money," he said.

I snorted. "What does that even mean?"

"You know what I mean." He gave me a look. "It's suspicious, Vina. Seriously. Every trade you touch somehow ends up making money."

I laughed. "Maybe I'm just good at it."

"That's exactly what makes it suspicious."

He pulled the chair beside mine and dropped into it, running a hand through his messy hair. The annoying thing about living with a famous actor? Even half-asleep in a stretched-out T-shirt, Jayden still looked ridiculously good. It wasn't fair. He didn't even have to try.

He leaned closer to the monitor. "Do you have any idea how many investors would kill to have your instincts?"

"I don't have instincts," I said, giving him my most innocent smile.

He stared at me. "Stop making that face."

"What face?"

"That one."

I tried not to laugh. "I'm naturally innocent."

Jayden snorted. "Vina, you're a billionaire."

"Shh." I immediately put a finger to my lips.

He looked around the room. "Oh, right. Sorry. Wouldn't want the walls finding out."

I kicked him under the desk.

He grabbed his leg, glaring at me. "Violence? Really? Okay! Okay! Miss Secret Billionaire."

I rolled my eyes. "Much better."

He leaned back in his chair, still rubbing his shin, while I turned my attention back to the screen like nothing had happened.

Most mornings were pretty much the same. Jayden and I would sit in the kitchen in sweatpants and whatever old shirt we'd grabbed that morning, laptops open in front of us, talking about millions of dollars like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Sometimes, I had to remind myself how ridiculous that sounded.

We had a successful investment firm, but there was nothing about our mornings that looked particularly professional. Just the two of us at the kitchen table, usually with coffee somewhere between us.

And somehow, we'd managed to keep it that way.

Most of our clients had no idea who was actually behind the company. Neither did the people who trusted us with their portfolios.

Now and then, a financial reporter would try to dig into the firm, but they'd never found anything useful.

As far as they knew, we were just another investment company.

Jayden knew the whole story, obviously. He'd been there from the beginning, and he'd promised he'd never tell anyone. I'd known him long enough to know when he was serious. So, I trusted him.

Our trading business had gotten a lot bigger than we'd ever expected. These days, we were handling money for people whose faces I usually only saw on magazine covers or at some fancy event.

It still felt a little crazy sometimes.

Jayden handled most of the clients. His fame made people comfortable with him, and he was good at keeping them happy. I preferred staying behind the scenes, where I could focus on the numbers without having to deal with cameras or people asking questions.

It worked for us. Really well, actually.

At least it did until Jayden decided to bring up the one thing I'd been trying very hard not to think about.

Jayden swiveled his chair around to face me. "You know, normal people have hobbies."

"I have hobbies."

He raised an eyebrow. "Keeping tabs on Ander doesn't count."

My fingers stopped moving over the keys. I turned my head slowly, giving him a flat look. "Don't."

"Oh, touched a nerve," Jayden said, his grin widening as I reached out and slammed my laptop shut. "Look at you! You're blushing."

"I am not blushing." I pushed back from the desk and stood up. "I'm going to my room."

He got up and followed me toward the kitchen counter.

"Work? Or Ander?"

"Work," I said.

He looked at me.

I sighed. "Fine. His new interview came out yesterday."

Jayden immediately grinned. "I knew it."

I turned around and pointed at him. "You are so annoying."

"And yet, you still live with me."

He leaned against the kitchen island, looking way too pleased with himself.

I rolled my eyes. "Unfortunately."

I walked toward the kitchen, trying to ignore the smile creeping across my face while Jayden followed like an irritating shadow.

"You know what I don't understand?" he asked, leaning against the counter as I opened the fridge. "You've met hundreds of celebrities through our firm. Why him?"

"Because he's Ander," I said, grabbing a water bottle and shutting the door.

Jayden stared at me. "That is the dumbest answer I've ever heard."

"It's a perfectly valid answer to me."

"Vina, you've been obsessed with this man for years," he said, folding his arms. When I denied it, he started ticking off his fingers.

"You have three of his albums framed on your wall."

"That's decoration."

"You know his birthday."

"Fans know birthdays."

"You know his favorite coffee brand."

I paused, my hand tightening around the water bottle. "That's market research."

Jayden let out a laugh so loud I came very close to throwing the bottle straight at his head. Before I could, my phone buzzed on the counter.

I picked it up, opened the notification, and immediately stopped breathing.

Stepping closer, Jayden’s teasing tone vanished. "Vina? What is it? What happened?"

I silently lifted the screen toward him. I watched his eyes track across the text before his mouth curved into a knowing smile.

"Look at that. They're coming here."

"Ander is coming," I corrected, my brain entirely refusing to process the news. "He's going to be in the country. Right here."

"Yes, I figured that's how international tours work."

"Jayden!" I gripped his arm, my composure officially disintegrating. "Ander is going to be in the exact same city as us!"

Jayden burst out laughing as I shoved him away and started pacing around the kitchen.

"Oh my God," I muttered. "I need tickets."

"Vina, you could literally buy the whole stadium."

"I just want good seats!"

"You could probably buy the stage too."

I stopped and looked at him.

He immediately held up his hands. "Okay. Okay. Good seats."

I pointed at him. "Exactly."

"I'll make a call."

"Thank you."

Jayden shook his head, still laughing. "You're ridiculous."

I grabbed my phone and started refreshing the fan page like that was somehow going to make the tickets appear faster.

Jayden watched me for a few seconds.

"You know you're a billionaire, right?" he said. "And you're sitting here refreshing a fan page over a boy band."

I looked up at him. "Just let me have this."

He smiled. "I'm letting you."

I went back to my phone, trying to hide my smile.

That's Jayden, though. He could annoy me for hours, but whenever I actually cared about something, he was always there. He didn't even have to say much.

He walked over and lightly tapped my forehead with his knuckle.

"Go enjoy yourself, V."

I smiled. "Thanks, J."

"You're welcome."

For about three seconds, everything was peaceful.

Then he ruined it.

"I'm still not wearing one of those matching fan shirts."

I laughed. "Oh, you definitely are."

"Absolutely not."

"Best friend privilege."

"That's not a thing."

"It is now."

He started walking back toward the living room. "If you make me wear a shirt that says 'Ander, marry me,' I'm breaking our lease."

"Fine."

I looked back at my phone, pretending to think about it.

Then I glanced over my shoulder.

"Yours will say 'Ander, marry Vina.'"

Jayden stopped.

Slowly, he turned around.

"VINA!"

I took off toward the hallway, laughing so hard my stomach hurt while Jayden chased me through the living room, yelling something about getting revenge.

For a few minutes, I completely forgot about the trades, the money, and all the things we had to keep secret. It was just me and Jayden being stupid in our apartment like we always were.

Somewhere out there, Ander was probably going about his day without knowing I existed.

And here I was, already thinking about tickets, outfits, and how close I could possibly get to the stage.