The world was watching. Again.
Screens across the city blared the same image — Caleb Zhao standing at a podium, eyes red with fury, voice dripping with righteous indignation.
"My brother coerced Avery Lin into marriage. He's using her for the Zhao family's gain. This isn't love—it's manipulation."
Avery stared at the live feed from Adrian's office, her expression unreadable. Her phone buzzed nonstop — journalists, friends, old enemies, all circling like sharks.
She muted every one of them.
Adrian stood beside her, his reflection sharp against the glass wall. "He's desperate," he said quietly. "He knows he's losing."
Avery's lips curved. "Desperation can still be dangerous."
He glanced at her, assessing. "You sound almost impressed."
"I'm not. I just know what people are capable of when their pride's at stake."
He turned fully toward her, hands in his pockets. "Then you also know what to do."
Her eyes flicked to the monitor again. Caleb was holding up a photo — the one from the courthouse steps, Adrian's arm around her waist. Her pulse quickened, not from fear but from the familiar rush of battle.
She turned back to Adrian. "We respond. Publicly."
He arched a brow. "You want to make a statement?"
"I want to end his."
A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. "Mrs. Zhao, you really do know how to make a man proud."
Avery rolled her eyes. "Don't push your luck."
Two hours later, the Zhao Corporation press room was full.
Reporters filled every inch of space, cameras trained on the small stage set against the company's insignia. The air hummed with tension and anticipation.
Adrian entered first — tall, composed, exuding authority that silenced the crowd instantly. Avery followed, dressed in a white fitted suit that made her look like the calm center of a storm.
They stood side by side, every inch the picture of unity.
"Mr. Zhao!" someone shouted. "Is it true your brother claims you forced this marriage?"
Adrian didn't flinch. "My brother has made many claims in his life. Not all of them intelligent."
A ripple of nervous laughter spread.
Avery stepped forward, her voice steady. "If anyone was coerced in the past, it was me. Into an engagement built on lies."
Gasps filled the room. Adrian turned his head slightly, watching her—not with surprise, but with something like admiration.
"My engagement with Caleb Zhao ended because I discovered things about him that no woman should have to tolerate," she continued, her tone cool but cutting. "And when Adrian offered me a partnership built on respect, I accepted. I was not forced. I was freed."
The words hit like a spark to gasoline. Flashbulbs exploded.
Adrian's hand brushed hers briefly under the podium—an unspoken signal of approval, or maybe gratitude.
He stepped forward, finishing what she started. "This is not a scandal. It's a beginning. I advise the public, and my brother, to remember one thing—when you play with power, make sure you understand who holds it."
And with that, he took Avery's hand openly. Cameras went wild.
They walked off the stage together, hand in hand, leaving chaos in their wake.
Back in the limousine, Avery finally exhaled. "That should hold them for now."
Adrian smirked. "Hold them? You just burned Caleb alive on national television."
"Good," she said simply. "He deserved it."
Adrian turned slightly toward her. "You didn't have to bring up the engagement."
"I wanted to."
He studied her for a moment, something thoughtful in his gaze. "It must've been bad."
Avery's fingers tightened on her lap. "Bad enough to remember. But not bad enough to regret. If he hadn't betrayed me, I'd never have learned how to fight."
Adrian nodded slowly. "Then maybe I should thank him."
She shot him a look. "Don't."
For a few seconds, silence filled the car — heavy but strangely comfortable. Outside, the rain had stopped. The city lights gleamed on the wet pavement like scattered jewels.
"You handle the press like a weapon," Adrian said at last. "Do you always plan your words that carefully?"
Avery's mouth quirked. "Only when someone's listening."
"I'm listening."
Her eyes flicked to him. "Then you should be careful, Mr. Zhao. I don't always say what I mean."
He smiled faintly. "Neither do I."
The air between them shifted — warmer now, heavier. It wasn't quite romantic, not yet, but there was something charged in the silence.
Avery turned away, pretending to study the skyline. But her heart wouldn't slow down.
That evening, Adrian found her on the penthouse balcony, hair loose, the wind tugging strands across her face. She looked softer somehow, stripped of her armor.
"Reporters are calling it the marriage of the century," he said lightly.
She didn't look at him. "They'll move on to another scandal soon enough."
"Maybe." He joined her at the railing. "Or maybe they'll stay until they find out if it's real."
Her brows drew together. "It isn't."
"Isn't it?"
She turned, startled by the edge in his tone. "You know why we did this."
"Yes," he said softly. "But sometimes, people start believing the lies they tell."
For a moment, their eyes locked. The city roared below them, but neither moved.
Then Adrian reached out, almost without thinking, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His touch lingered just a second too long.
Avery froze.
"Don't," she whispered. "Don't blur the lines."
He dropped his hand but didn't step back. "You're assuming there are still lines left."
The words hit deeper than they should have.
Avery turned away, gripping the railing hard. "You don't know me, Adrian."
"Then tell me," he said quietly.
She shook her head. "No one really wants to know me. They just want to use me."
"Maybe I'm not like them."
She gave a small, bitter laugh. "Everyone says that before they prove they are."
He didn't argue. He just stood beside her, silent, letting the wind fill the space between their words.
When she finally spoke again, her voice was low. "Caleb's not done. He'll come after my family next. And when he does, we'll both lose if we're not united."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "Then we stay united. No matter what."
Avery looked up at him then, really looked — the sharp lines, the shadows under his eyes, the quiet steadiness she hadn't expected.
For the first time, she wondered what it would cost her to trust him.
"Alright," she said softly. "Then let's end this war together."
Hours later, long after she'd gone to her room, Adrian stood alone by the window, scrolling through the latest reports.
Public opinion was shifting fast. Avery's poise, her defiance—it fascinated people. Investors were calming down. The storm was turning in their favor.
But something else was shifting too.
He couldn't get her voice out of his head. The steel beneath the calm. The sadness in her laugh.
He set the phone down, exhaling. This had started as strategy.Now, he wasn't so sure.
His phone buzzed. An unknown number.
He answered. "Zhao."
The voice on the other end was low, familiar, venomous.
"You think she's yours now? You think she'll forgive what you did?"
Adrian froze.
Caleb.
"What are you talking about?"
"Ask her about the fire, brother. Ask her who really betrayed her."
The line went dead.
Adrian stood in the darkness, his reflection fractured in the glass. For the first time, uncertainty flickered across his perfect composure.
Because if what Caleb implied was true…
Then everything between him and Avery was built on another lie.