Chapter 8: Under One Roof

Olivia wasn't sure how this had happened.

Scratch that. She knew exactly how this had happened—Ethan had opened his mouth, casually suggested it, and before she could come up with a valid excuse, she had agreed.

Now she was standing in the middle of his impossibly sleek, modern penthouse, a suitcase in one hand and regret clawing at her throat.

"You want us to live together?" she had asked earlier that morning when Ethan had brought up the idea.

He had barely looked up from his coffee. "It's the logical next step."

"Logical?" She had nearly choked on her toast. "For who?"

"For everyone who's watching," he had said, as if that was supposed to make perfect sense. "If we're engaged, people will expect us to be living together."

"But we don't have to," Olivia had argued. "Plenty of engaged couples live separately until the wedding."

Ethan had given her a pointed look. "Plenty of real engaged couples, sure. But we're already under enough scrutiny as it is. Do you really want to give Natalie, my mother, or the press any more reason to doubt us?"

And that had been the moment she lost the argument.

Because, annoyingly, he was right.

Which was why she was standing here now, in Ethan Montgomery's absurdly luxurious apartment, while he leaned against the kitchen counter, looking far too satisfied with himself.

"Make yourself at home," he said, smirking.

Olivia scowled. "Don't look so smug."

"I'm not smug."

"Yes, you are. You're radiating smug."

He chuckled, pushing away from the counter and strolling toward her. "I'll have the guest room set up for you. Or…" He tilted his head, mischief dancing in his eyes. "Would you prefer the master bedroom?"

Olivia snorted. "Not in a million years."

"Suit yourself," he said easily. "Though I should warn you, the guest room is right next to mine. Thin walls."

She rolled her eyes and walked past him, dragging her suitcase toward the hallway. "You wish you could hear me at night."

Ethan laughed, a low, amused sound that followed her all the way to the guest room.

---

Settling In… Sort Of

The guest room was obnoxiously nice.

Soft white bedding, a massive window overlooking the city, and an en-suite bathroom that was probably bigger than her entire apartment.

She sat on the edge of the bed, exhaling slowly.

What am I doing?

Living with Ethan. Pretending to be engaged. Lying to everyone.

This was madness.

But there was no turning back now.

With a sigh, Olivia stood and started unpacking, determined to at least make the space feel somewhat like hers.

She had barely folded her third sweater when she heard a knock on the door.

Ethan leaned against the frame, arms crossed. "Hungry?"

She glanced at the clock. How had it gotten so late?

"A little," she admitted.

"Good." He smirked. "Because I ordered dinner."

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "You ordered dinner?"

"Of course. You think I cook?"

She sighed. "I should have known."

---

Dinner and Unexpected Conversations

To Olivia's mild surprise, dinner was actually… nice.

Ethan had ordered from one of her favorite Italian places, and they sat at his dining table with plates of pasta and glasses of wine.

It almost felt normal.

Almost.

"You do realize we're stuck together now, right?" Olivia said between bites.

Ethan smirked. "Regretting your decision already?"

"I'm just saying, we should set some ground rules."

He raised an eyebrow. "Rules?"

"Yes. Like…" She gestured vaguely. "Boundaries."

Ethan leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Alright. Lay them on me."

She cleared her throat. "First, no walking around shirtless."

He blinked, then grinned. "Why? Distracted already?"

Olivia groaned. "No, I just don't need that level of arrogance in my life."

Ethan chuckled but nodded. "Fine. No unnecessary shirtlessness. What else?"

She considered. "No bringing… dates home."

His smirk faltered slightly. "You think I'd do that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Would you?"

Ethan's jaw tightened. "No."

Something about the seriousness in his voice made her stomach flip, but she ignored it.

"Okay," she said, swallowing. "Good."

They sat in silence for a moment before Ethan spoke again.

"I have a rule," he said.

Olivia arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He leaned back, his expression unreadable. "No lying to each other."

She frowned. "Ethan, our entire relationship is a lie."

"That's different," he said. "I mean about everything else. If we're going to do this, if we're going to convince people, we have to trust each other. That means no lying. About anything."

Olivia hesitated.

She didn't like this.

Didn't like the idea of real honesty slipping into something that was already dangerously complicated.

But she also knew he was right.

"…Fine," she said quietly. "No lying."

Ethan studied her for a moment, then nodded.

"Good," he said.

And just like that, Olivia had a sinking feeling that things were about to get even more complicated.

Because pretending was one thing.

But keeping real emotions out of this?

That was a whole different battle.