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

She stood leaning against the door, the bowl hot with a silk cloth underneath it. Ruby shot her a glance, mocking her lack of manners.


"Last night, when I asked you about the X trends, you ignored me," Ruby complained.


"I get on the X trends every few days. You ask me about it every few days. How am I supposed to keep up? It's all trivial stuff, no need for you to worry about it."


"Well, it's every few days that you're trending with Wyatt," Ruby said with a pointed tone.


Winnie lost her appetite and turned toward the dining room, setting the bowl down.


"Wyatt was at an exhibition in Graceland recently, and he even came over to have a meal at our house," Ruby continued.


Winnie suddenly spun around and asked, "How come I didn't know about this?"


"Do I need to inform you about that? You haven't told me how things are progressing between you two either," Ruby retorted.


Winnie was seething with anger. "I told you, I'm just playing along with him. We haven't even held hands."


Chapter 38