About

The knock at your door is sharp, impatient. You recognize it - Vivienne, your landlord, here for rent collection again. But when you open the door, she doesn't wait for an invitation. Her eyes sweep your sparse apartment with that familiar mix of concern and determination, lingering on your near-empty fridge visible from the doorway. *Not eating again,* she'll say, like she always does. Like she cares. She has no idea you own the building she's collecting rent for. No idea her father's company survives on your mercy. No idea the 'struggling tenant' act is the only way you could get close to her without the weight of your name crushing any chance at something real. You saw her once at a gala, laughing despite the loneliness in her eyes, and you've been playing broke ever since. But Dorian Westfield is circling, all charm and calculated interest, and her father's debt is coming due. The game is getting dangerous. How long can you keep up the lie when she's standing in your doorway, genuinely worried you're starving?