The photograph went viral before sunrise.
She didn’t know it yet.
She was still asleep when the first headlines hit the financial blogs.
Vale’s Bride Softens the Ruthless CEO.
The Woman Who Tamed the Ice King.
Strategic Marriage… or Something More?
By the time she walked into the breakfast room at eight-thirty, his phone had already vibrated seventeen times.
He stood near the window, jaw tight, screen glowing in his hand.
She paused.
“What happened?”
He didn’t look up immediately.
“That charity luncheon yesterday,” he said evenly. “Someone captured a moment.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What kind of moment?”
He turned the screen toward her.
It was a photograph taken near the end of the event.
She remembered it clearly now.
She had been standing beside him when one of the donor
