Lior woke to sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows that belonged in a magazine, not in her life. For a disorienting moment, she forgot where she was. The silk sheets, the view of Central Park, the silence where there should have been Maya's alarm clock. It it all felt like an elaborate dream.
Then she saw the gold ring on her finger and reality crashed back.
Mrs. Lucien Pembroke.
She sat up, running her hands through her hair as she tried to process her new reality. Twenty-four hours ago, she'd been sharing a cramped apartment with Maya, worrying about making rent. Now she was sitting in a penthouse that probably cost more per month than most people made in a year.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Maya: "Where the hell are you? Your bed wasn't slept in and you're not answering my calls."
Lior stared at the message, her stomach twisting with guilt. She'd sent vague replies about work stuff, but Maya wasn't stupid. Her best friend could smell a lie from three states away.
She typed back: "Sorry, had to stay at a work thing overnight. Tell you more later."
The response came immediately: "Work thing? Since when do coffee shops have overnight work things? Call me."
Lior set the phone aside without responding. She couldn't call Maya. Not yet. Not until she figured out how to explain that she'd married a billionaire for money without sounding like she'd completely lost her mind.
The apartment felt enormous around her as she padded to the kitchen in her pajamas. Mrs. Chen had stocked the refrigerator with enough gourmet food to feed a small army. Everything was organic, expensive, and completely foreign to someone who'd lived on ramen and coffee for the past two years.
She made toast with bread that probably cost more than her usual weekly grocery budget and tried not to think about how surreal her life had become.
Her phone rang. Her mother's number.
"Hi, Mom," she answered, forcing brightness into her voice.
"Good morning, sweetheart. How did your exam go yesterday?"
Lior closed her eyes. Yesterday felt like a lifetime ago. "It went well. How are you feeling?"
"Much better today. The new treatment seems to be helping. Dr. Morrison is optimistic about the surgery scheduling."
The surgery. The eighty thousand dollars. The reason she was sitting in a billionaire's penthouse wearing his ring.
"That's wonderful, Mom. I'm so glad to hear it."
"You sound tired, honey. Are you taking care of yourself? You work too hard."
If only her mother knew. "I'm fine, Mom. Just busy with school stuff."
"Well, don't forget to eat properly. And get some rest. I worry about you burning yourself out."
Lior's throat tightened. Her mother was facing cancer surgery while worrying about her daughter's wellbeing. The guilt was overwhelming.
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, sweetheart. I'll talk to you tonight."
After hanging up, Lior sat in the silent kitchen and tried not to cry. Everything in her life had changed overnight, but she couldn't share it with the two people who mattered most to her.
Across the city, Lucien Pembroke was having his morning coffee while reviewing quarterly reports that would have made most CEOs weep with envy. His office occupied the entire top floor of the Pembroke building, with windows offering a commanding view of the financial district he dominated.
"The Chen representatives want to move the dinner meeting to Friday," Marcus said, entering without knocking as was his habit. "They're flying in a day early."
"Fine." Lucien didn't look up from the merger documents spread across his desk. "What's the status on the medical bills?"
"Transferred this morning. St. Mary's Hospital will receive payment for Elena Atheria's surgery within the hour."
Lucien nodded curtly. One problem solved. The marriage certificate was filed, the financial arrangements were in place, and his new wife was safely installed in the apartment. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
So why did he keep thinking about the way she'd looked standing alone on the steps of City Hall last night? Small and overwhelmed, clutching that folder like a lifeline.
"Sir?" Marcus's voice cut through his thoughts. "The board meeting is in ten minutes."
"Right." Lucien closed the merger file and straightened his tie. Business as usual. That's all this was.
But as he walked toward the boardroom, he found himself wondering if she'd figured out how to work the coffee machine in the penthouse kitchen.
Two blocks away from the medical school, Maya Collins was having a crisis of faith in her best friend's honesty. She'd known Lior since freshman year, and she'd never known her to lie about anything important. But the vague texts and mysterious overnight absence didn't add up.
Lior was the most responsible person Maya knew. She worked double shifts, studied until her eyes bled, and called her mother every single day without fail. She didn't disappear overnight for mysterious "work things."
Maya pulled out her laptop and did what any concerned best friend would do in the digital age: she started investigating.
A quick search of Lior's social media showed nothing unusual. No new posts, no check-ins at fancy hotels or mysterious locations. But that almost made it more suspicious. Lior always posted pictures of her coffee shop customers' ridiculous orders.
Maya tried calling the coffee shop.
"Grind Coffee, this is Jake."
"Hi, this is Maya. I'm Lior's roommate. Is she working today?"
"Lior? No, she called in yesterday saying she had some family emergency. Is everything okay?"
Family emergency. That was news to Maya.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks."
Maya hung up and stared at her phone. Lior hadn't mentioned any family emergency. Her mother was in the hospital, but that wasn't new. So what was going on?
At St. Mary's Hospital, Elena Atheria was having the best morning she'd experienced in months. The pain medication was working, the nausea had subsided, and Dr. Morrison had just given her the most incredible news.
"The payment came through this morning," he said, reviewing her chart with a smile. "We can schedule your surgery for next week."
Elena blinked in confusion. "Payment? I don't understand. The insurance only covers partial..."
"Someone made a payment covering the full amount of your treatment costs. The surgery, the follow-up care, everything."
"That's impossible. Who would..."
Elena's heart stopped. Lior. Her daughter had somehow found a way to pay for the surgery. But how? Where would a medical student get eighty thousand dollars?
"Dr. Morrison, who made the payment?"
"I'm sorry, I can't disclose that information. But I can tell you that your treatment is fully covered, and we can proceed immediately."
Elena nodded numbly, but her mind was racing. She knew her daughter. Lior was capable of many things, but she wasn't capable of finding that kind of money through legal means. Not unless...
Elena reached for her phone with trembling hands. She needed to talk to Lior. Right now.
But when she called, the phone went straight to voicemail.
In the penthouse apartment, Lior was standing in the shower under water pressure that felt like a massage, trying to figure out how to explain her new life to the people who mattered most. The lies were already piling up, and she'd only been married for twelve hours.
Her phone was buzzing in the bedroom - another call from her mother, two more texts from Maya, and a voice message from someone at the coffee shop asking if she was coming in today.
The water was hot and perfect, the bathroom was larger than her old bedroom, and she was living a life that should have felt like a fairy tale.
Instead, she felt like she was drowning.
When she finally turned off the shower, she could hear her phone ringing again. Maya's ringtone.
Lior wrapped herself in a towel that and stared at the phone. She could keep lying, keep making excuses, keep pretending that nothing had changed.
Or she could figure out how to tell her best friend that she'd married a stranger for money.
Neither option felt remotely acceptable.
The phone stopped ringing, then immediately started again. Maya wasn't giving up.
Lior closed her eyes and tried to imagine explaining this situation to anyone. "Hi, so I married a billionaire I insulted at a coffee shop because my mom needs cancer surgery and he needs a wife for some business deal. Also, I'm living in a penthouse now and pretending to be someone I'm not."
Yeah, that would go over well.
The phone rang a third time.
This time, Lior answered.
"Before you say anything," she said quickly, "I can explain."
"Oh, this should be good," Maya's voice was sharp. "Because right now I'm thinking everything from witness protection to you joining some weird cult. So please, explain why my roommate vanished and some stranger is answering her phone."
Lior sat on the edge of the massive bed and tried to find words that wouldn't make her sound completely insane.
"I got a job," she said finally.
"A job? Lior, what kind of job makes you disappear overnight and lie about family emergencies? Are you stripping? Because honestly, at this point I'd prefer that to whatever shady stuff you're obviously hiding."
"It's not shady. It's just... complicated."
"Girl, uncomplicate it. Right now."
"I can't. Not yet. But Maya, I need you to trust me. I'm okay, I'm safe, and I swear I'll explain everything soon."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
"Lior," Maya's voice softened, the anger replaced by worry. "Babe, are you in some kind of trouble? Because you know I've got your back no matter what crazy thing you've done. But you're scaring me right now."
Lior's throat tightened. "I'm not in trouble. I promise. I just need a few days to figure some things out."
"Where are you staying? And don't you dare say 'somewhere safe' because that's not a real answer."
"It's the only answer I can give you right now."
"Lior Atheria, I've known you for four years. You don't just disappear. You don't lie to me. And you definitely don't sound this weird and secretive. So either you tell me what's going on, or I'm calling your mom and asking her what this family emergency is."
"Don't call my mom!"
"Then start talking!"
"Maya, please. Twenty-four hours. Give me twenty-four hours and I'll tell you everything."
Another silence, longer this time.
"Fine," Maya said finally, but her voice was still worried. "Twenty-four hours. But Lior? If you don't call me back with the truth, I'm not just calling your mom. I'm calling the police, campus security, and probably the FBI. Best friend privileges only stretch so far."
The line went dead.
Lior stared at the phone, knowing she'd just bought herself a day to figure out how to explain the unexplainable.
In his office, Lucien was wrapping up a conference call with Tokyo when his assistant knocked.
"Mr. Pembroke? Your mother is here to see you."
Lucien suppressed a groan. Elizabeth Pembroke didn't make unscheduled visits unless she wanted something or had heard gossip that required immediate damage control.
"Send her in."
Elizabeth swept into his office like she owned it, which, technically, she partially did. She was still on the board of directors, still held significant shares in the company, and still acted like Lucien was twelve years old instead of thirty-two.
"Lucien, darling." She settled into the chair across from his desk without being invited. "I just had the most interesting conversation with Victoria Blackwell."
Here it comes.
"Did you?"
"She mentioned that you've been seen around the city with some young woman. Someone... unsuitable."
Lucien's jaw tightened. He should have known Victoria would waste no time spreading gossip.
"My personal life is my concern, Elizabeth."
"Not when it affects the family business, it isn't. This merger is too important to jeopardize over some mid-life crisis infatuation."
"I'm thirty-two. Hardly mid-life."
"Don't be glib. You know what I mean." Elizabeth leaned forward, her expression serious. "The Chen family values stability and tradition. If you're involved with some inappropriate woman..."
"Define inappropriate."
"Oh, don't pretend you don't know exactly what I mean. Someone from outside our social circle. Someone who doesn't understand the responsibilities that come with the Pembroke name."
Lucien stood and walked to his windows, looking out at the city below. His city. The empire three generations of Pembrokes had built.
"What if I told you I was getting married?"
The silence behind him was deafening.
"Married?" Elizabeth's voice was carefully controlled. "To whom?"
"Someone who understands exactly what the Pembroke name means."
"Lucien, if this is some scheme to appease the Chen family, I hope you've thought it through carefully. A fake marriage would be..."
"Who said anything about fake?"
He turned to face his mother, whose perfectly composed expression had cracked slightly.
"You're serious."
"Completely."
"Then I suppose I'll need to meet her."
Lucien smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "I'm sure you will. Soon."
After Elizabeth left, Lucien sat alone in his office and realized he'd just committed to introducing his contract wife to his family much sooner than planned.
He picked up his phone and scrolled to Lior's number. They needed to talk.
But first, they needed to figure out how to convince everyone that their business arrangement was real.