Bought For a Lie

CHAPTER 5

Guidelines and Limitations

Fina's POV

When his ex entered the apartment, tall and immaculate in a designer outfit that hugged his curves, Michael didn't bat an eye. Like a warning shot, her shoes clicked on the marble. Only a silk robe and the heat of our tangled night kept me warm as I stood behind him.

I ought to have left the room. However, I remained.

She stopped and looked at me from head to toe before turning to look at him as if I were a houseplant. "You used this in lieu of me?"

Michael's mouth tightened. "You're not here to discuss her."

"Yeah, but it's difficult not to." Her grin was cold. "You liked strays all the time."

I didn't want to acknowledge how much that hurt.

Michael moved to the side. "Claire, stop the drama. The press is the topic of this gathering. Regarding the merger.

With a flick of her wrist, she poured herself a drink and strolled up to the bar. "Then have your tiny actress follow the script."

actress. I took a deep breath.

There was stillness between us when Claire eventually departed. I folded my arms. "Is that your former partner?"

Michael avoided looking at me. I need you in part because of her. She is trusted by the board. Instead, I need people to trust you.

"So, you really needed a fiancée for that reason?"

Slowly and exhaustedly, he nodded. "Yes."

I detested the way that reality weighed heavily on my chest. However, he grabbed my hand and threaded his fingers in mine before I could say anything more.

"Fina," he continued in a softer tone. "Let's establish some guidelines."

regulations. To keep things simple, the false type. secure.

Unless in public, avoid touching.

Refrain from sharing a bed.

Don't kiss unless it's only for show.

No falling in love.

I accepted each one of them.

However, we were already breaking the first by dusk.

At supper, it began with his hand brushing across my bare knee and being there for too long. Reminding him of the list we established over wine and the unstated tension, I should have backed off. However, I didn't.

Later, I was gasping for air as I stood in front of his bedroom door. I wasn't sure whether he had opened it because he knew I was there or if I had knocked.

He moved out of the way.

I entered.

Without saying a word, he shut the door behind me and then slowly and warmly traced his fingertips down my arm. Breathing was difficult due to the confined air. The gap crackled like a hurricane, even though we were just a few inches away.

I said, "Avoid touching unless in public."

Michael's eyes became gloomy. "Rules have never appealed to me."

Before I could respond, his lips slammed into mine. The kiss was rough and unpolished, like if we had been craving it. His palm traced the contour of my flesh, leaving fire behind as my robe fell off my shoulder. With every article of clothing we removed, our fictitious limits vanished as he carried me to the bed with ease.

Solid and demanding, his body crushed against me. My hands moved over his back and chest, discovering the contour of this guy I should never have desired. I arched into him shamelessly as he trailed fire with his lips as he kissed down my neck.

It wasn't supple. It was not a slow one. It was relentless and ferocious.

And when we were finally still, covered in perspiration and sheets, I was no longer able to distinguish which portion was a lie.

He gave me a long look before planting a kiss on my shoulder. "The regulations will be reset tomorrow."

However, we were both aware that it was too late.

We didn't discuss what had transpired the next morning. I busied myself in the enormous kitchen, acting as if cooking would somehow ease the tension, while he departed early for a meeting. But like smoke, I kept thinking about his hands, his lips, and his voice.

My phone started buzzing when I was chopping strawberries.

The screen flickered a message from an unidentified number.

**Is he aware that you are also lying?

—C**

I let the knife fall.

Who was C?

What was the apparent lie I was telling?

I gazed at the message as my fingers remained still on the screen.

**Is he aware that you are also lying? —C**

Quiet yet loud enough to cut through the haze of the previous evening, the words stared back at me. The air seemed thin as I attempted to breathe. Quickly, my mind raced: who sent it? Furthermore, what exactly were they discussing?

I had nothing to conceal. Correct?

Unless...

My chest constricted. I had given Michael some white falsehoods about how I got into so much debt, about the actual figures of the bakery, and about how I had managed to have the lease extended. They weren't very big. Nothing harmful. Not at all like *he* had done.

They were falsehoods, however.

And obviously someone was aware.

The words stuck in my head even after I erased the message. I felt cold. Claire. She had to be the one. The only one who stood to benefit by stirring the pot was her. I recalled her arrogant expression, her flawless red lips forming a grin as if she were privy to all of my secrets.

I had to speak with Michael. Before someone else whispers poison in his ear, clear the air.

He got home that evening, and I found him out on the balcony with the golden skyline behind him. With one hand in his pocket and the other clutching a tumbler of scotch, he seemed worn out. When I went outside, his jaw tensed.

"Long day?" Gently, I inquired.

He avoided looking at me. "That's something you might say."

With my pulse racing, I took a step closer. "I received a message. from a person going by the name of C.

He turned now. "What was said?"

I paused. "They say you were unaware that I was also lying."

The edge of his glass paused at his lips as he blinked slowly. "Are you?"

The question broke my heart.

I shook my head since I hadn't *meant* to lie, regardless of how sloppy my truth was. "Not in their intended sense. I just didn't tell you all of it. Concerning the bakery. The lease.

There was something in his eyes that I couldn't identify. "What else?"

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. Since this was never supposed to be genuine, I was unsure of how to tell him that I had begun to fall love him, which may have been the worst deception of all.

He put down the glass after taking a cautious drink.

He continued, "Fina, I need you to be honest with me." "You can't surprise me if I'm going to fight for you."

"Warrior for me?" I muttered.

His fingers touched my face as he took a step closer. "I don't pretend that what transpired between us last night is real."

Leaning into his touch, I did. "I don't either."

The air between us heated like an ember ready to fire as we stood there, breathing in unison.

Then his phone began to buzz. He gave it a quick look and muttered a curse.

"What?" With a knot of fear in my gut, I inquired.

He held out the screen to me.

a picture of me conversing with a guy I hadn't seen in years outside the bakery two weeks ago. My former partner.

And below it: **Your tidy little baker is a waste. Are you curious about what she requested me to do? —C**

My eyes met Michael's.

"Fina," he remarked in a flat voice. "What brings you together with the guy who attempted to destroy me?”