FROM PRETENCE TO FOREVER

Chapter Two: The Contact

Three days later, Mina sat inside one of the most expensive hotel lounges she had ever seen. Everything smelled of polished wood, expensive perfume, and money she would never normally come close to touching.

Evelyn sat across from her in a sharp cream-colored suit, calmly flipping through a leather folder. Adrian stood near the window with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the city below.

He looked detached from the entire room, as though he wished he could disappear through the glass. Mina shifted uncomfortably in her chair and glanced at the thick contract lying in front of her.

“Tell me now if I’m about to accidentally sell my soul to Hollywood.” Evelyn barely smiled as she pushed the papers closer to Mina. “Three months,” she said smoothly. “Public appearances, interviews, photographs, and social media content.”

“Vacations too,” Mina muttered while reading another page. “Fake vacations. That’s terrifying.” “It’s branding,” Evelyn corrected. “People love romance when it’s aesthetically pleasing.”

Mina looked horrified. “That sentence alone should probably be illegal somewhere.” Evelyn crossed one leg over the other. “You’d be surprised what becomes normal in this industry.”

“Honestly, I’m already surprised, and I’ve only been here fifteen minutes.” Adrian still hadn’t turned around, which somehow made the room even more uncomfortable. Mina glanced at him again before finally asking the question weighing on her mind. “You hate this, don’t you?” she asked quietly.

He gave a dry laugh without looking back. “I hate all of it.” “The cameras?” “The cameras, the rumors, the pretending, and the people pretending they know me.” “That sounds exhausting.”

This time, Adrian finally turned toward her, and his eyes looked more tired than cold. “It is exhausting,” he admitted. “But disappearing would only make the rumors worse.” “What rumors exactly?” Mina asked carefully.

Evelyn answered before he could. “The internet thinks Adrian is unstable, arrogant, and impossible to date.” “And the solution is hiring a stranger to fake-love him in public?” Mina asked.

Evelyn nodded once. “Exactly.” “That is the most Hollywood thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” Evelyn slid another paper toward her and tapped one manicured finger against the number printed on it. “You’ll receive two hundred thousand dollars for the three months.”

Mina blinked hard. “I’m sorry... how much?” “Half upfront. The rest after the contract ends successfully.” Mina nearly dropped the pen in her hand. “That’s not money. That’s a hostage negotiation.”

Adrian finally walked over and sat across from her. “You need the money.” “And you need a girlfriend,” Mina shot back immediately. “Temporary girlfriend,” Adrian corrected calmly.

“That somehow sounds even worse.”

A faint smirk touched the corner of his mouth for the first time since she had met him. “You can insult me whenever necessary,” he said. “Audiences like chemistry.” “Oh good,” Mina replied. “Because insulting you feels very natural already.”

Evelyn sighed as though two children were making her job impossible. “Can we at least pretend to behave professionally?” she asked.

Mina looked back down at the contract while silence settled over the table once again.

The number on the page could pay her mother’s hospital bills for an entire year. It could keep the café from throwing her out over late rent.

It could finally allow her to breathe without panic clawing at her every night. Still, something about the arrangement felt dangerous in ways money could not explain.

She looked up slowly. “What happens if one of us wants out early?” Adrian answered softly. “Then we survive the headlines afterward.”

The answer hit harder than she expected, mostly because he sounded serious. Not dramatic. Not theatrical. Just painfully honest in a tired sort of way.

Mina studied his face carefully, noticing how exhausted his eyes truly looked up close. He no longer looked arrogant. He looked cornered.

“You really don’t trust any of this, do you?” she asked quietly. “No,” Adrian admitted immediately. “But I need it.”

And somehow, that honesty convinced her more than any sales pitch could have. Mina picked up the pen again and signed the final page with shaky fingers. Evelyn collected the contract immediately, almost as if she feared Mina might change her mind.

“Perfect,” she said. “Your first appearance is Friday night at a charity gala.” Mina nearly choked. “This Friday?” “Yes.” “That’s in two days!”

“Welcome to celebrity life,” Adrian said dryly. Two nights later, Mina stood in a luxury dressing room wearing a gown she could barely walk in. Three stylists moved around her like frantic birds, fixing her hair, makeup, and jewelry.

“I genuinely cannot breathe in this dress,” Mina complained while gripping the chair beside her. “That means it fits correctly,” one stylist replied without sympathy.“That is deeply disturbing information.” Another stylist adjusted the straps. “Suck in your stomach a little more.”

“If I suck in any more, I’m going to meet God tonight.”

Outside the dressing room, Adrian waited in a black suit that looked unfairly perfect on him. He glanced up the moment Mina stepped out, and suddenly he stopped moving completely.

For a second, even the hallway fell strangely quiet between them. Mina noticed immediately and folded her arms awkwardly.

“What?” “Nothing,” he answered too quickly. “You’re staring.” “You clean up nicely.” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You sound surprised.” “I am surprised.” “Well, you’re not exactly hard to look at either,” she muttered before thinking better of it.

Adrian’s eyebrows lifted slightly, amused by her sudden embarrassment. “Was that a compliment?” he asked. “Don’t get used to it.” “That’s disappointing. I was starting to enjoy this arrangement.”

The second they stepped onto the red carpet, flashes exploded around them nonstop. “Adrian! Over here!” “Mina, look this way!” “Are you officially together?”

Mina froze for half a second beneath the screaming cameras and endless shouting. Adrian leaned closer beside her and spoke quietly near her ear.

“Smile,” he murmured. “And try not to look like you’re planning an escape route.” “I might actually faint,” Mina whispered back through a tight smile. “If you do,” Adrian replied calmly, “at least faint elegantly.”

She burst into genuine laughter before she could stop herself. The cameras instantly erupted even louder, capturing every second of it. Inside the ballroom later, Mina finally exhaled and immediately grabbed a glass of water.

“How do you survive this every day?” she asked honestly. Adrian looked around the crowded room before answering in a low voice. “Eventually, you stop feeling human.”