Rachel was waiting when Nina got home, sprawled on their secondhand couch with a bottle of wine and two glasses already poured.
"Okay, spill." Rachel patted the cushion beside her. "You've been weird for weeks, but today you came home looking like someone who just had a very serious conversation about very serious things."
Nina dropped her bag by the door, eyeing the wine. She had work to do that revision wasn't going to write itself. But Rachel had that look on her face, the one that said she wasn't letting this go.
"It's complicated," Nina started, accepting a glass and sinking onto the couch.
"It's always complicated with you lately." Rachel tucked her legs under her, settling in. "Does this have to do with your mysterious benefactor? The one paying for your fancy dresses and taking you to galas?"
Nina had known this conversation was coming. She'd been dodging Rachel's questions for weeks, giving vague answers about "networking events" and "academic connections." But after this morning after last night lying felt impossible.
"His name is Adrian Voss."
Rachel's eyes widened. "Wait. Adrian Voss? As in Voss Industries? As in the Adrian Voss who was on the cover of Forbes last month?"
"That would be him."
"Holy shit, Nina." Rachel set down her wine glass like she needed both hands free to process this information. "How did you even when did you are you dating him?"
"Sort of. It's complicated."
"You keep saying that. Uncomplicate it."
So Nina did. She told Rachel about the contract, about agreeing to play the role of Adrian's girlfriend in exchange for tuition and a stipend. She left out the darker details Marcus's threats, the full extent of Adrian's business dealings but she told her about the arrangement becoming real, about last night, about this morning's conversation in his office.
Rachel listened without interrupting, her expression cycling through shock, concern, and something that might have been excitement.
"Let me get this straight," Rachel said when Nina finished. "You signed a contract to fake-date a billionaire, but now you're actually dating him? And he's all possessive and wants security following you around? Nina, this sounds like the plot of a romance novel. A potentially problematic romance novel."
"I know how it sounds."
"Do you? Because from here, it sounds like you're in way over your head." Rachel leaned forward. "I'm not judging okay, maybe I'm judging a little but mostly I'm worried. You barely know this guy. What do you really know about him besides the fact that he's rich and apparently good enough in bed to make you glow like that?"
Heat flooded Nina's cheeks. "I'm not glowing."
"You're absolutely glowing. But that's not the point." Rachel's expression turned serious. "The point is that guys like Adrian Voss don't do anything without a reason. What does he get out of this relationship? Besides the obvious."
It was a fair question. One Nina had asked herself more than once. "I don't know. He says he wants me. That it's not just transactional."
"And you believe him?"
"I think so." Nina took a long sip of wine. "He could have anyone, Rachel. Models, actresses, women who actually fit into his world. But he chose me. And this morning, when I told him my work was suffering, he listened. We set boundaries. He's trying to make this work."
"Or he's trying to keep you invested." Rachel held up a hand when Nina started to protest. "I'm playing devil's advocate here. You're my best friend, and I've watched you work your ass off for years to get into this program. I don't want to see you throw it away for some guy, no matter how rich or charming he is."
"I'm not throwing anything away. That's why I set boundaries."
"Good. Keep them." Rachel picked up her wine again. "And for the record? I want to meet him. If he's going to be a significant part of your life, I want to look him in the eye and make sure he knows that if he hurts you, he'll have me to deal with."
Nina laughed despite herself. "You're going to threaten a billionaire?"
"Damn right I am. What's he going to do, sue me? I have nothing." Rachel grinned. "Besides, I want to see if he's really as hot as his Forbes photos suggest."
"He is."
"Of course he is." Rachel shook her head, smiling. "You always did have terrible taste in men. Remember Jake from undergrad?"
"Jake was different."
"Jake was a pretentious philosophy major who quoted Nietzsche during sex. At least your billionaire probably has better pillow talk."
They dissolved into laughter, the tension breaking. But as Nina headed to her room later, laptop in hand and revision waiting, Rachel's questions lingered.
What did Adrian really get out of this relationship?
And more pressingly what happened when he decided he'd gotten enough?
Three days later, Nina was deep in the library stacks, surrounded by journal articles and reference books, when her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
Coffee? There's a shop across from the library. I promise I'm not stalking you—Adrian mentioned you'd be working today.
The message was signed with a simple initial: S.
Sophia.
Nina stared at her phone, trying to decide if this was a terrible idea. Adrian's ex-arrangement. The woman who'd warned her at the gala that she'd regret getting involved. Meeting her alone seemed like asking for trouble.
But curiosity won out.
She found Sophia at a corner table, looking effortlessly elegant in a cream cashmere sweater and designer jeans. Two lattes sat on the table between them.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," Sophia said as Nina slid into the seat across from her.
"I wasn't sure I should." Nina wrapped her hands around the latte. "Why did you want to meet?"
"Because you're making the same mistakes I did." Sophia's directness was startling. "And because despite what you might think, I don't actually want to see you get hurt."
"That's surprisingly decent of you, considering I'm sleeping with your ex."
"Adrian was never mine. Not really." Sophia took a sip of her coffee. "That was the problem. I thought if I played the role well enough, if I was perfect enough, eventually it would become real. But Adrian doesn't work that way. He doesn't do real he does transactions."
"That's not fair. He's trying"
"To make you believe you're different." Sophia's smile was sad. "I'm sure he is, Nina. I'm sure he believes it himself. But Adrian Voss is fundamentally incapable of putting another person before his empire. The moment you become a liability instead of an asset, you're gone."
"Is that what happened to you?"
"I became… inconvenient. Started asking questions about his business dealings. Wanted more than he was willing to give." Sophia set down her cup. "I'm not telling you this to be cruel. I'm telling you because you seem like a genuinely good person, and those are in short supply in Adrian's world. If you're going to stay with him, go in with your eyes open."
Nina studied the other woman, looking for signs of jealousy or manipulation. But all she saw was genuine concern.
"What kind of questions did you ask?"
Sophia glanced around the coffee shop, then leaned in slightly. "About where his money really comes from. About the people he meets with. About Marcus Whitmore and why they hate each other so much." Her voice dropped lower. "Adrian's world isn't just high-stakes business deals and charity galas, Nina. There are shadows in it. Dark ones. And once you see them, you can't unsee them."
"You're trying to scare me."
"I'm trying to prepare you." Sophia stood, gathering her bag. "Adrian has a way of making you feel like you're the center of his universe. Like nothing else matters but you. But that's a lie. His empire comes first. It always does. And when the time comes to choose…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Just be careful. That's all I'm saying."
She left before Nina could respond, disappearing into the afternoon crowds outside.
Nina sat alone with her cooling latte, Sophia's warnings echoing in her mind. She thought about this morning's text from Adrian a simple good luck with your revision and how it had made her smile. About the way he'd held her after she'd talked about her advisor's concerns, promising to give her space to work.
But she also thought about his phone call that first morning, firing someone without hesitation. About Marcus's threats. About all the things Adrian hadn't told her about his business, his past, his enemies.
Maybe Sophia was right. Maybe she was walking into something darker than she understood.
Or maybe Sophia was just bitter about losing something she'd never really had.
Nina pulled out her laptop, determined to focus on her revision. But Sophia's final words kept intruding on her concentration:
When the time comes to choose…
Nina just hoped that when if that time came, Adrian would choose her.
And that she'd choose him back.