Caden's POV
I watch from my bedroom window as her beat-up Honda pulls into my circular driveway at exactly six AM.
She's early. Of course she is. Lennox was always early to everything—dates, classes, even heartbreak. She left me three days before our two-year anniversary. Couldn't even wait for the actual date to destroy me.
My housekeeper, Mrs. Chen, hurries out to greet her. I told her to be polite but distant. Professional. This isn't a girlfriend moving in. This is a business arrangement.
Through the glass, I watch Lennox step out of her car. She's wearing the same clothes from yesterday—jeans with a hole in the knee, an oversized gray sweater that's seen better days. Her dark hair is pulled into a messy bun, and even from three floors up, I can see the exhaustion on her face.
She opens her trunk and pulls out one small suitcase.
One.
Everything she owns in the world fits in one suitcase.
Something twists in my chest. I ignore it.
Mrs. Chen reaches for the suitcase, but Lennox shakes her head, carrying it herself. Stubborn. Always so stubborn about accepting help. That hasn't changed.
I force myself to turn away from the window before she looks up and sees me watching like some obsessed stalker. I have a company to run. Emails to answer. A merger to close.
Lennox Gray moving into my house is just another business transaction.
So why can't I stop my hands from shaking?
An hour later, I'm in my home office responding to emails when Mrs. Chen knocks softly.
"Mr. Rivers? Miss Gray is settled in the guest room. Should I prepare breakfast for two?"
"Yes," I say without looking up from my laptop. "But I'll eat in here. She can eat in the kitchen."
Mrs. Chen hesitates. "Sir, if you don't mind me saying—"
"I do mind," I interrupt coldly. "That will be all."
She leaves quietly. I immediately hate myself for being rude to her. Mrs. Chen has worked for me for five years. She's kind, efficient, and doesn't deserve my bad mood.
But if I go down to breakfast and sit across from Lennox like we're a real couple, I'll break. I'll ask her all the questions that have haunted me for ten years. I'll beg for answers that will probably destroy me worse than her leaving did.
Better to keep my distance. Stick to the contract. Six weeks and she's gone forever.
My phone buzzes. A text from Victoria:
"I know she's moving in with you today. This is a mistake, Caden. I'm the one who loves you. Not her. She'll leave again. They always do."
I delete it without responding.
Victoria has been calling and texting non-stop since yesterday's scene in the town square. I've ignored every message. Our arrangement is over. She just doesn't know it yet.
The merger with her father's company is still happening—he called this morning to confirm. Turns out, he's more interested in profits than family drama. Victoria's tantrum yesterday embarrassed him publicly. He's cutting her out of the business negotiations entirely.
Which means I don't need Victoria anymore.
Which means I should end this fake relationship with Lennox right now. Pay for Marion's surgery like I planned anyway, send Lennox away, and go back to my perfectly controlled life.
Instead, I texted my assistant this morning: "Clear my calendar for the next six weeks. Personal matter."
I'm an idiot.
At eight AM, my stomach growls loud enough to echo in the quiet office. I've been avoiding the kitchen, but I can't hide in here forever.
I head downstairs, planning to grab coffee and retreat back to safety.
But when I walk into the kitchen, I freeze.
Lennox stands at the stove, her back to me, flipping pancakes. The smell hits me like a physical blow—vanilla and cinnamon. My favorite. The same breakfast she used to make me every Sunday morning when we were together.
She's humming softly. Some song I don't recognize. Her hips sway slightly to the rhythm.
For one second, I forget the last ten years. I forget the pain and anger and betrayal. I'm eighteen again, walking into my dad's tiny kitchen to find my girlfriend making breakfast in one of my oversized T-shirts, dancing like no one's watching.
Then reality crashes back.
"What are you doing?" My voice comes out harsher than I intended.
Lennox jumps, spinning around. The spatula in her hand drips batter onto the floor. "I—I'm sorry. I just thought—Mrs. Chen said you hadn't eaten, and I remembered you used to like—" She stops, her face going red. "I'm sorry. I'll clean this up."
She's apologizing for making me breakfast.
She's apologizing for remembering what I like.
The anger that's been my constant companion for ten years roars to life.
"Don't," I snap. "Don't do this. Don't pretend you care. Don't make me food like we're some happy couple. This isn't real, Lennox. You're here because you need money, and I need a prop for six weeks. That's it."
Her face goes pale. "I know. I just wanted to—"
"To what? Make yourself feel better about using me?" I walk closer, watching her flinch. Good. Let her hurt like I hurt. "You think making pancakes erases ten years? You think acting like the girl I loved makes this easier?"
"No," she whispers. "I'm sorry. I won't—I'll stay out of your way."
"See that you do." I grab a coffee mug from the cabinet, pour from the pot she made, and turn to leave.
But at the doorway, I make the mistake of looking back.
Lennox stands at the stove, shoulders hunched, staring at the pancakes burning in the pan. A single tear slides down her cheek.
She doesn't wipe it away.
She just stands there, breaking silently, and I want to go to her. I want to wrap my arms around her and tell her it's okay, we're okay, we can fix this.
Instead, I walk away.
Because that's what she taught me how to do.
At noon, my assistant Derek arrives with the schedule and Lennox's dress for tonight.
"The charity gala starts at seven," Derek says, laying everything on my desk. "The mayor will be there, plus half the town council. Press will be present. This is your first official public appearance with Miss Gray since the announcement."
"I know." I glance at the garment bag containing the designer dress I had Derek pick up this morning. Red. Lennox looks beautiful in red. "Is the car arranged?"
"Yes, sir. And the photographer for your social media accounts."
"Good." I check my watch. "Where is she now?"
"In her room, I believe. Mrs. Chen said she hasn't come out since breakfast."
Because I destroyed her. Again.
I should feel satisfied. This is what I wanted—to make her suffer the way she made me suffer.
So why do I feel like I'm the one being destroyed?
"Have Mrs. Chen bring the dress to her room," I tell Derek. "Tell Lennox she has four hours to make herself presentable. I need her looking like someone worth my time tonight."
Derek's eyebrows rise slightly. He's worked for me long enough to know when I'm being cruel on purpose. "Sir, if you don't mind me saying—"
"I do mind," I cut him off. "Just deliver the message."
After Derek leaves, I sit at my desk and stare at the city I built. My kingdom. My empire. Everything I created to prove I didn't need Lennox Gray.
And yet here I am, torturing both of us because I can't let her go.
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number:
"Enjoying your reunion? Don't get too comfortable. Lennox has secrets she hasn't told you. Secrets that will destroy everything you've built. Want to know what your precious ex has been hiding? Meet me tonight. Alone. Or I'll tell the whole town the truth about her 'breakdown' in New York. —M"
Marcus.
Her ex-fiancé is in Willowbrook.
And he's threatening to expose something Lennox has been hiding.
I stare at the message, my blood running cold.
What secrets could Lennox possibly have that would destroy me?
And why do I have the sinking feeling that everything—the contract, the arrangement, even her desperation—is about to explode in ways I never saw coming?