His Contract Star: The CEO's Fake Lover ✨

Chapter 12 – The Woman Before

Nathan caught between them → protecting Cezy, but the world framing it as “two women fighting over a tycoon.”

The days following the tabloid storm bled into one another, each morning beginning with a new headline that sliced Cezy’s fragile confidence thinner and thinner. Her face was everywhere—on glossy covers, in vicious blog posts, across endless gossip panels that treated her life as cheap entertainment.

And woven through them all was the same name.

Veronica Steele.

Nathan’s former fiancée.

Cezy had tried not to look, not to read, but avoidance was impossible. Every time she stepped out, microphones were shoved in her face. Each time she reached rehearsal, whispers followed her: That’s her. The replacement. The girl who stole what wasn’t hers.

What hurt most wasn’t the cruelty—it was the doubt.

Because what if they were right?

---

That night, Cezy found herself alone in the Cross penthouse. Nathan had been consumed with work, late meetings and boardroom battles, leaving her with only silence for company. She sat curled on the sofa, scrolling through an article until the words blurred.

“Veronica Steele, heiress to the Steele luxury brand, breaks silence on Nathan Cross’s new companion. ‘She’s just a phase,’ Veronica stated coolly at a charity luncheon yesterday. ‘Nathan will always come back to me. He knows where he belongs.’”

Cezy dropped the phone as though it had burned her.

Belongs.

The word lingered, poisonous.

She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against her knees. Somewhere in this vast, glittering apartment, Nathan was probably unaware of the latest headline—or worse, indifferent.

What if I’m nothing more than a placeholder in his story? A contract he can shred when it’s convenient?

The thought hollowed her out.

---

Mira, meanwhile, was glowing with satisfaction. She strolled into an exclusive rooftop bar, where Veronica Steele sat at the center of a gilded circle of admirers. Veronica’s beauty was undeniable—sleek raven hair, eyes sharp as onyx, lips painted in a cruel smile. She was every inch the perfect match for a tycoon.

Mira slid gracefully into the seat beside her.

“Veronica.”

“Ah,” Veronica purred, glancing over. “The stepsister. Come to celebrate our mutual… irritation?”

Mira smirked, lifting her glass. “I came to propose an alignment. We both know Cezy Celina isn’t built for this world. You want Nathan back. I want Cezy gone. Why not help each other?”

Veronica’s laugh was low, dangerous. “Oh, sweetheart. You don’t need to convince me. I already have plans for that little wannabe.”

Their glasses clinked, sealing an unholy alliance.

---

The following week, Nathan insisted Cezy accompany him to a charity gala—one he couldn’t avoid, given his position. Cezy had resisted at first, terrified of facing the horde of cameras again, but Nathan had been unyielding.

“They’ll eat you alive if you hide,” he told her firmly in the car. “Show them you’re not afraid. I’ll be there.”

She had wanted to believe him. And so she wore the gown his assistant had chosen: a shimmering sapphire dress that draped like water across her frame. Nathan’s hand rested at the small of her back as they entered the ballroom, a steady anchor.

Flashes exploded instantly. Voices shouted. But Cezy lifted her chin, her hand clasped around Nathan’s arm, and forced herself to walk as though the noise didn’t exist.

Inside, chandeliers sparkled like constellations. Wealthy elites mingled, sipping champagne. Cezy tried to breathe, tried to hold her smile.

Then the crowd shifted, and the air thickened.

Because Veronica Steele had arrived.

---

She was radiant in a silver gown, her every movement commanding attention. Conversations stilled, eyes followed. And then her gaze locked on Nathan—and by extension, Cezy.

A hush fell, as though everyone sensed what was about to unfold.

Veronica’s smile was sweet poison as she approached.

“Well, Nathan,” she drawled, her voice carrying enough for half the room to hear. “It’s been far too long. And I see you’ve… found yourself a project.”

Cezy stiffened, heat rushing to her cheeks. She opened her mouth, but no sound emerged.

Nathan’s arm tightened protectively around her waist. “Veronica. Always dramatic. Cezy is not a project.”

“Oh?” Veronica tilted her head, eyes glinting. “Then what is she? A serious partner? Or just a shiny toy to distract from your broken engagement with me?”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Phones lifted discreetly, recording.

Cezy’s throat constricted. The humiliation was suffocating—yet worse than that was the way the room watched, expectant, waiting to see if she would break.

“Don’t,” Nathan warned quietly, his voice low to Veronica.

But Veronica leaned closer, her words like daggers meant only for Cezy: “Enjoy it while it lasts, darling. Men like Nathan don’t keep strays forever.”

Something inside Cezy snapped.

---

Her entire life, she had swallowed insults. Poverty had taught her silence. Rejection had taught her endurance. But tonight—under the glare of chandeliers, before a hundred judging eyes—she realized she could not endure anymore.

She stepped forward, out of Nathan’s grasp, her voice steady though her heart thundered.

“Do you know what’s funny, Miss Steele?” Cezy said, loud enough for the crowd. “Everyone here seems to think I’m the intruder. But you’re the one who doesn’t understand—you’re the past. I’m the present. And Nathan…” She glanced at him briefly, the words daring. “…Nathan doesn’t look back.”

The ballroom stilled, the silence electric. Veronica’s lips parted in shock, then curled into fury.

Nathan’s gaze snapped to Cezy, surprise flickering across his features—followed by something darker, more dangerous. Pride.

---

Mira, standing at the edge of the room, gritted her teeth. She hadn’t expected Cezy to fight back. The girl was supposed to crumble, not stand tall. But Mira’s lips twisted again, because this wasn’t the end. Oh no—this was only the first battle.

Veronica’s laughter broke the silence, sharp as glass. “Well. You have claws after all. Let’s see how long you last when the world turns them against you.”

With a swish of silver fabric, she vanished back into the crowd.

The ballroom buzzed with whispers, phones already buzzing with breaking news updates. But Cezy stood frozen, her pulse pounding in her ears.

Nathan moved to her side, his hand closing around hers firmly. “Cezy,” he said softly, his voice taut with emotion. “That was…” He hesitated, blue eyes searching hers. “…brave.”

Her lips trembled. “It was reckless. I probably ruined everything.”

“No.” He leaned closer, his words a vow. “You showed them you’re not someone they can break. And I—” He stopped, the rest swallowed by the weight between them.

But Cezy heard the unsaid words anyway, and her heart fluttered wildly.

For the first time, she felt something shift. She was no longer just Nathan’s contract star. She was becoming something more—something even Veronica Steele couldn’t erase.

Yet as the night wore on, Cezy knew this was far from over. Because Veronica—and Mira—wouldn’t rest until they tore her apart.

And the war for Nathan Cross had only just begun.