Fake vows with my ex husband's rival

Pressure point

Pressure Points

The café where Chanel, Madeline's best friend had asked her to meet was quieter than Madeline expected.

Soft music drifted through the air, blending with the low hum of conversations and the occasional clink of porcelain against glass. It should have felt calming, but it didn’t.

Every glance from across the room felt heavier than it should.

Madeline felt like every whisper sounded like it was about her.

She wrapped her fingers tighter around her cup, though her coffee had long gone untouched.

“I swear,” she muttered under her breath, to Chanel. “if one more person looks at me like I committed a crime…”

“You didn’t,” Chanel cut in sharply. “You got divorced because the fool cheated. End of story.”

Madeline let out a small, humorless laugh, her gaze flickering across the room in haste. “Tell that to them.”

Across the café, two women, whom Madeline thought their attires looked weird leaned slightly toward each other, whispering behind their poorly concealed smiles. One of them flicked a glance at Madeline, then quickly looked away when their eyes almost met.

Madeline’s stomach tightened.

“They think I moved on too fast,” she said quietly. “That I planned this. That I—”

“That you?” Chanel snapped. “Upgraded? Oh well no offence but you did.”

Madeline shot her a look.

“Chanel.”

“What?” she shrugged. “I’m being honest. Your ex-husband embarrassed you publicly. You’re allowed to move on publicly too.”

“It doesn’t feel like moving on,” Madeline admitted, her voice softer now. “It feels like… like I’ve stepped into something I don’t understand.”

Chanel leaned forward slightly, her expression shifting. “Is this about him?”

Madeline hesitated.

Then sighed. “He gave me rules.”

Chanel blinked once, then twice.

“I’m sorry—rules?” She asked, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

Madeline nodded, frustration bubbling up.

“Yes. Rules. Like I’m part of some contract I didn’t fully read. Be seen together. Don’t contradict him. Wear the ring. Follow his lead.” She let out a sharp breath. “He didn’t even ask Chanel—he just…I don't know, just decided.”

Chanel stared at her for a second.

Then leaned back slowly.

“…Okay,” she said. “That’s a little intense.”

“A little?” Madeline scoffed. “He talks like everything is already planned. Like I’m just supposed to fall in line.”

“And are you?” Chanel asked.

Madeline opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

Because she didn’t have an answer.

Before Chanel could push further, a voice cut in from the side.

“Some people don’t mind being led… if the man is worth it.”

Both women turned.

A stranger stood near their table, a polite smile on her lips that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Madeline stiffened.

“I’m sorry?” she said, her tone already cooling.

The woman tilted her head slightly.

“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it,” she said smoothly. “It’s just… not everyone gets to marry into that level of power. You’re quite lucky.”

Chanel’s expression darkened instantly.

“Excuse me?” she snapped. “No we have all seen the fact that you don't mind your business, do you mind shoving along?”

The woman shrugged lightly.

“Well… considering how quickly everything happened,” she added, her gaze flicking over Madeline, “one has to wonder how genuine it is.”

That seemed to do it for Chanel.

Chanel pushed her chair back slightly.

“Or,” she said coldly, “we could wonder why you’re comfortable inserting yourself into a conversation that has nothing to do with you.”

The woman’s smile tightened. “I was only complimenting her.”

“That wasn’t a compliment,” Chanel shot back. “That was shade wrapped in an ugly smelling perfume.”

Madeline reached out, lightly touching Chanel’s arm.

“It’s fine,” she said quietly.

But it wasn’t.

Not really.

The woman gave one last look before walking away, clearly uninterested in continuing the exchange.

Chanel turned back to Madeline.

“You see?” she said. “This is exactly why you don’t shrink. People like that thrive on it.”

Madeline forced a small smile. “I’m not shrinking.”

Chanel raised a brow. “Then stop looking like you want to disappear.”

Madeline exhaled slowly, her gaze dropping to her cup again. “I didn’t think it would be like this.”

“Like what?”. Chanel asked.

“Like I’d have to keep proving something,” Madeline murmured. “To people who don’t even matter.”

Before Chanel could respond, Madeline could have sworn the atmosphere shifted.

It was subtle at first.

A change in energy.

A quiet ripple through the room. People straining their already bad eye sight for just a glimpse of the character that walked into the space.

Madeline didn’t need to turn to know why.

But she did anyway. She seemed to have felt him.

And there he was. The big bad wolf.

Colin.

He didn’t rush.

Didn’t hesitate.

He just strutted in like the entire place belonged to him.

Two men lingered near the entrance behind him. Watching. Waiting.

Madeline’s breath caught slightly.

Chanel followed her gaze.

“Oh,” she murmured. “So that’s him.”

Colin’s eyes swept across the room once.

Then landed on Madeline.

For a second, just a second, Madeline felt everything else fade.

Collin didn’t smile.

Didn’t acknowledge her in any obvious way.

Then. He kept walking.

Past her.

Past their table.

As if she wasn’t even there.

Madeline blinked. “What—” she started.

Chanel frowned. “Wait… is he not coming here?”

Collin continued to move through the café like a passing storm, his presence lingering even as he reached the exit.

And then, just like that—

He was gone.

Madeline stared after him, something unsettled twisting in her chest.

“What was that?” Chanel asked.

Madeline shook her head slowly. “Hell if I know.”

But Madeline felt it wasn't accidental.

Not even close.

“I have to go.” Chanel was suddenly on her feet.

This had Madeline looking up. “What?”

Chanel was already grabbing her bag.

“Emergency. It's Lucy—don’t ask, it’s a whole thing. I’ll call you.”

“Chanel—”

But she was already gone.

Madeline has always known Chanel didn't play with her cat Lucy. And just like that. She was left alone.

Madeline sat there for a moment longer, the silence around her suddenly louder than before.

Then—

“Your wedding is going to be beautiful.”

Madeline looked up.

Another stranger.

Another smile.

Another tone that didn’t sit right.

“…Thank you?” she said cautiously.

The woman tilted her head.

“It must be nice,” she continued, “to find someone willing to overlook… complications.”

Madeline froze.

There it was.

That edge.

That subtle cruelty wrapped in politeness.

“Excuse you??”

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

A few heads turned.

The woman only smiled wider.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand,” she said lightly. “I’m sure he knows exactly what he’s getting into.”

Madeline pushed her chair back.

She wasn’t going to do this.

Without another word, she grabbed her bag and walked out.

The air outside hit her like a slap.

Her steps were quick, almost uneven as she headed toward where she thought her car would be—

Then stopped.

Her car.

At Max’s house.

She closed her eyes briefly.

Of course.

Of course Max has a hand in her bad days.

“Great,” she muttered under her breath. “Just great.”

She rubbed her temple, already mentally planning to send for it—

When suddenly—

A hand gripped her arm.

Before she could react, she was pulled—fast—into the backseat of a car.

The door shut.

Locked.

Madeline’s breath came out sharp.

“What the hell—”

Colin.

Of course it was him.

He sat across from her, calm as ever.

As if dragging her into a car in broad daylight was completely normal.

Madeline stared at him.

And suddenly Madeline felt something in her snap.

“Is this a joke to you?” her voice cracked slightly. “Is all of this just some kind of game?”

Colin didn’t answer immediately.

That only made it worse.

Her chest tightened, emotions rising too fast to control.

“Do you have any idea what I just went through in there?” she demanded, her eyes burning now. “The looks, the whispers—people talking like I’m some kind of opportunist—like I’m the one who did something wrong—”

She swallowed hard, blinking rapidly as tears gathered despite her effort to hold them back.

“Is it always going to be this way?” she asked, quieter now, but more raw. “Am I going to keep getting treated like this… because of Max? Because of his lies?”

The words hung between them.

For the first time since her abrupt kidnap, Colin moved.

He leaned slightly forward, his gaze fixed on her.

“You’re asking the wrong question,” he said calmly.

Madeline let out a soft, disbelieving laugh.

“Oh, am I?”

“Yes.” His voice didn’t rise.

“If you’re going to stand next to me,” he continued, “then you don’t ask whether people will talk.”

His eyes held hers—steady, unwavering.

“You decide whether it matters.”

Madeline stared at him, breath uneven.

“That’s easy for you to say,” she whispered.

“Because it's easy, people don't talk to me anyhow unless they don't love their heads on their neck” he agreed. “Because I don’t also allow it to matter.”

Silence.

Something about the way he said it—so certain, so absolute—sent a strange, unsettling calm through her.

And at the same time…

Something warmer.

More dangerous.

“You saw them,” she said. “In the café.”

“I did.”

“And you just walked away.”

A pause.

Then—

“I needed to see how you would handle it.”

Madeline’s eyes widened.

“You were testing me?”

“I was observing you. But not to worry I'll make sure it never happens again”

“That’s not better!”

“No,” he said calmly. She stared at him, emotions clashing violently inside her.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“And yet,” he said quietly, “you’re still here.” He concluded, lifting her chin to meet her eyes.

Madeline felt her breath hitch for the second time that week.

For a second, neither of them moved.

The air in the car felt different now.

Charged.

Madeline became suddenly aware of how close he was.

His presence seemed to press into the space around her.

Colin’s gaze dropped briefly—to her lips—then back to her eyes.

And this time—

She noticed.

Really noticed. He really is a devilishly good looking man.

A soft sound broke the moment.

A notification.

Colin’s phone.

He didn’t move at first.

Neither did she.

Then, slowly, his hand reached into his pocket. He pulled it out. Unlocked the screen.

Unknown Number:

Good. You got the girl.

Time for second phase of the plan.

We can’t have her running before we’re done.