“Honesty was never really your thing,” Nick countered.
She laughed, hiding her annoyance. “I know I hurt you, but I was overwhelmed. You were always working; I felt alone.” “It wasn’t about me, Tiffany. You made a choice and threw away everything we had.” She looked away. “And now you’re with a gardener who doesn’t even understand your world. It’s a joke.” “Don’t talk about her,” Nick snapped.
“Why? You know it’s true. She’s not your equal. She can’t handle your life.” Nick looked at her with something like pity. “It’s funny, Tiffany. For a long time, I thought I needed to prove something to you. But now I see it wasn’t love; it was just my ego. You don’t mean anything to me anymore.” The words stunned her; she hadn’t expected him to be so calm.
“You can’t mean that,” she whispered. “I do. My past with you is dead. My present is with Alice.” Tiffany, realizing she was losing, went for the throat. “What if the press finds out about your contract? How will the great Nick Sullivan look when everyone knows he bought a wife?” Nick stood up, his gaze icy. “If you think that scares me, you’ve forgotten who I am. You have no power here.”
He left cash on the table and walked out without looking back. Tiffany sat there alone, realizing she had finally lost him. Back at the house, Nick found Alice in the garden. She saw his face immediately. “What happened?” she asked. “Tiffany tried to blackmail us, but it doesn’t matter.” Alice crossed her arms. “She won’t stop.” “She’ll have to. You’re under my protection now, and that’s final.”
Alice was moved by his words, feeling something real behind them. That night, Nick realized his life had changed forever. The past had lost its grip, and a future with Alice was starting to look like the only thing that mattered. For the first time, he wanted to build something for love, not for revenge.
The quiet of the house was shattered by a frantic call from Nick’s PR head. He answered, his face turning grim. “How did it leak? Find the source and kill the story!” he barked. Alice watched him, her heart sinking. “What is it?” she asked. Nick looked at her and sighed. “Someone leaked our marriage contract online. It’s all over the tabloids.”
Alice felt the air leave her lungs. Her phone started buzzing with notifications: “Billionaire’s Sham Marriage,” “The Paid Bride,” “Sullivan’s Contract Revealed.” The details were twisted to make her look like a gold-digger. “Was it her?” Alice asked quietly. “Everything points to Tiffany,” Nick said. “But I’ll fix it. My lawyers are on it.”
“Fix it?” Alice cried. “You think you can just erase this? You used me from the start, and now I’m a laughingstock.” Nick tried to step toward her, but she backed away. “I wanted to protect you!” he said. “No, you wanted to protect your pride, and you didn’t care what happened to mine.” She went to her room and started packing a bag.
“Where are you going?”
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