The next five days were a blur of strategic appearances and calculated intimacy.
Alexander's PR team had orchestrated what they called a "charm offensive"—a carefully planned series of public moments designed to paint the Sterling marriage as a genuine love story. Breakfast at a trendy café where paparazzi just happened to be waiting. A walk through Central Park holding hands. Alexander picking Emma up from work with flowers, the moment captured by a dozen camera phones.
Every touch was real. Every smile was genuine. And somehow, that made it worse.
Because Emma couldn't tell anymore where the performance ended and reality began.
They'd fallen into a new routine since that night in his bed. Alexander still left for work early, but now he kissed her goodbye—soft, lingering kisses that made her toes curl. They had dinner together most nights, talking about everything and nothing. And every night, Emma fell asleep in his arms, listening to his heartbeat steady beneath her ear.
