Ava never expected to see Sebastian again at a matchmaking dinner organized by their families.
Everyone knew they had grown up inseparably close, but few were aware of their brief, absurd, and secret past relationship.
At the dinner, they both tacitly agreed to keep up appearances.
Ava even deliberately called him "Sebby" at every opportunity, purely to irritate him.
But what Ava hadn't anticipated was running into Sebastian again the very next day.
The man stood before her in an impeccably tailored designer suit, radiating refined elegance and quiet authority as he deliberately blocked her path. "We need to talk."
Ava's expression remained cold. "About what?"
Sebastian: "A marriage of convenience. With me."
-
After their wedding, they lived separate lives under the same roof, each taking what they needed, like cordial strangers who merely happened to share the same living space.
Until one day, when Ava was brought home drunk by another man—
Sebastian, who typically maintained perfect emotional control, stood there with a hangover remedy in hand, his face clouded with unmistakable displeasure. "Who brought you home?"
With a slightly intoxicated smile, Ava tilted her head to look at him. "Does a marriage of convenience require me to report my private life to you, S-e-b-b-y?"
The man narrowed his eyes dangerously, his voice dropping low. "Test me and find out whether I'll choose to be your brother or your husband."