A high-society romance where pretense turned into reality.
 
Van, the heir to a top-tier fortune and a regular on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, had been mocked for being perpetually single, with even rumors swirling about his "dysfunction."
 
Winnie, a Hollywood superstar desperate to escape her constant barrage of scandals, encountered this billionaire worth tens of billions. To her surprise, Van presented her with an unexpected proposal:
 
"Pretend to date me for a year. You won't have to do anything else. I'll pay you $100 million after taxes."
 
She planned to laugh it off but couldn't ignore the man's chiseled features—the way his shadowed face was lit up as he casually raised an eyebrow and lit a cigarette in the glow of firelight, his voice steady and laced with danger.
 
She remembered their first meeting in a torrential downpour—the man reclining in a silver Maybach, eyes half-closed, exuding charm yet utterly unattainable. She also remembered later, when everyone had believed him to be unshakable and untouchable, he had appeared alone, worn and weary, at her remote desert film set, quietly asking:
 
"Do you really have to shoot this kiss scene?"
 
Behind this contract lay something far deeper than money—a fixation, a love that had turned real, or perhaps an irresistible force neither of them had recognized.
 
$100 million had set the stage for a high-stakes battle of love and hate that would ultimately unravel.

A Love Confession from Las Vegas

After wrapping up the final scene, Winnie, as the lead actress, officially marked the end of her work on the film. However, the crew still had a few miscellaneous scenes left to reshoot.


David arrived on set just as Winnie had finished removing her makeup. She appeared barefaced, wearing an oversized cream-colored T-shirt paired with comfortable yoga shorts. The injuries on her body hadn't fully healed, particularly her knees, which had just begun to scab. Wearing the crew's form-fitting costumes every day had been torture.


The main cast and extras gathered around her, asking for group photos. Winnie was approachable as always and didn't forget to remind the photographer, "Don't capture my knees."


As the people around her came and went like a flowing stream, at some point, her co-star replaced the group. Her smile seemed forced.


"Mina," David's assistant Nancy whispered in his ear, "she's Director Bramwell's mistress."


Chapter 24