---- Chapter 5 A week later, Liam insisted | attend a charity gala with him. "We need to show a united front," he'd said. "People are starting to talk." He was worried about the brand, about Ross & Kane. He wasn't worried about me. | agreed to go. It was part of my plan. Act normal. Smile for the cameras. Play the part of the devoted fiancée one last time. The ballroom was glittering with chandeliers and fake smiles. | felt like | was moving through a dream. Liam was by my side, his hand possessively on my back, schmoozing with clients and city officials. He was in his element, charming and confident. | needed a break from the noise and the suffocating pretense. | slipped away toward the terrace, telling Liam | needed some fresh air. On my way, | passed a small, private lounge area, the doors slightly ajar. | heard voices from inside. One of them was Liam's. Curiosity got the better of me. | paused in the shadows of the hallway, listening. He was talking to his friend, Mark. "You're playing a dangerous game, man," Mark said, his voice low. "Clara is getting more and more public with this. And Ava's no fool." ---- | heard Liam chuckle, a low, arrogant sound. "Ava? Don't worry about Ava. She's a sweet little thing, but she's predictable. She'd never suspect a thing. She's been wrapped around my finger since we were kids." My blood ran cold. A sweet little thing. That's all | was to him. "But a baby, Liam? Clara is pregnant. You can't just hide that," Mark pressed. "I'm not hiding it," Liam said, his voice smug. "I'm handling it. Look, | need Ava right now. Grandpa George won't sign over the full inheritance until I'm married, and he adores her. He thinks she's the key to the Kane family legacy. Once the papers are signed and the wedding is over, I'll figure out the Clara situation." He called me a "little thing," but he also called me a "key." | was a tool. An object to be used to secure his family fortune. Mark sounded unconvinced. "And what if Ava finds out? This could blow up in your face spectacularly." Liam laughed again, a sound that made my skin crawl. "She won't. She loves me too much. She's like a perfectly designed building, solid and dependable. You know what she told me when | swore | wasn't seeing anyone? She said, 'Okay, | believe you.' It was that easy. Don't worry, my friend. This is one project that won't have any cost overruns. I've got it all under control." ---- | couldn't hear any more. | backed away from the door, my hand over my mouth to stifle a sob. | stumbled down the hallway, my vision blurring with tears. | pushed open the doors to the terrace and gasped for the cold night air. It all made sense now. The pressure from his grandfather, the sudden urgency to set a wedding date, his flawless performance. It was alla lie. A long, elaborate, twenty-year con. He hadn't just cheated on me. He had never loved me. Not really. | was a means to an end. A prop in the play of his life. All the shared dreams, the late nights at the office, the intimate moments... they were all just part of his grand design. A cold, hard fury began to replace the heartbreak. He thought | was a sweet, predictable little thing. He thought he had me under control. He was about to find out how wrong he was. He was about to see what a woman scorned, a woman who was also a brilliant architect, could build. And it wasn't going to be a life with him. It was going to be his ruin.