Chapter 10

Asher hadn’t hesitated. He hadn’t even looked back.

Sarah’s fingers curled into fists, her perfectly manicured nails biting into the soft flesh of her palm. A part of her wanted to march after them, to make Asher see reason, to demand he explain himself. But that wouldn’t do.

No, Sarah Langford didn’t beg.

She didn’t chase.

She destroyed.

So she stood there, her expression carefully composed, her breathing steady despite the anger curling hot in her stomach. Let them leave together. Let Vera think she had won.

This wasn’t over.

Because in the end, it wouldn’t matter if Asher was momentarily fascinated by her. Fascination wasn’t enough.

The Donovan family would never allow Vera to stay.

And when the time came, Sarah would be the one left standing beside Asher, just as she had always planned.

Vera, however, would be nothing more than a temporary distraction.

A mistake.

A regret.

And Sarah would make damn sure of it.

The sleek black car waited out front, engine humming softly against the stillness of the night. Asher moved ahead of her, opening the door himself instead of waiting for the driver. Ever the gentleman, even when he didn’t need to be.

Vera hesitated for just a moment, then slid in without a word. The scent of leather and Asher’s subtle cologne filled the air, wrapping around her like a cloud she didn’t want to acknowledge.

The door shut with a quiet thud, and within seconds, the driver pulled into the stream of luxury vehicles leaving the event.

Asher sat beside her, his profile sharp against the passing streetlights, one arm draped casually over the back of the seat, the other resting near her.

He turned slightly, his gaze drifting over her face. She stared straight ahead, her hands folded tightly in her lap, champagne stained dress still damp in spots, a faint chill clinging to her skin.

“You looked good tonight,” he said finally, his voice a low murmur in the quiet.

She blinked, slowly turning to him. “Is that supposed to make up for what happened?”

Asher smirked, but there was no real amusement in it. “I’m just trying to talk, Vera. We’re in the same car, might as well make it bearable.”

“I’m sure you’re used to silence by now.” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, but her emotions were tangled, twisted, frayed at the edges. She didn’t know where to tuck them.

His jaw flexed slightly, but he didn’t respond right away. Instead, he studied her, his gaze lingering for a second longer than it should have. “I don’t like how Sarah approached you,” he said eventually. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”

Vera gave a short, humorless laugh. “You have a lot of plans, Asher. I’m just the one acting them out.”

“You’re not just...” he stopped himself. Then exhaled. “I don’t want you to think I brought you into this to hurt you.”

“Then what did you bring me into it?”

He looked away, out the window. His fingers tapped once against the door before falling still. “You were supposed to be a stand in. But… I don’t think you would be anymore.”

Vera’s breath hitched. She glanced down, trying to ignore the strange flutter in her chest. Don’t go there, she reminded herself. It’s not real. It can’t be real.

But her mind was already drifting, far from the luxury car, far from Asher’s carefully chosen words. Back to another face.

Lucas.

The way he had looked at her tonight when he thought no one was watching. That subtle ache in his expression, the way he’d clenched his jaw when Asher touched her waist.

It was all there. Still. Despite everything.

Despite Camilla.

Despite what he’d chosen.

And it made her feel… torn. Confused. Angry.

Vera leaned her head against the cool glass of the window, blinking away the thoughts. “You don’t have to pretend to care, Asher,” she said softly, more to herself than to him. “This arrangement is what it is.”

“I’m not pretending,” he said without hesitation.

But she didn’t reply. Her silence stretched between them like a growing fault line.

Asher studied her again, the edge of his thumb brushing absently across his lower lip. He didn’t like the faraway look in her eyes. He’d seen it before, the night he’d first met her. That fire, that fierce glare she had thrown at him after he bumped into her in a downtown gallery years ago. She’d demanded an apology like it was owed to her by birthright. He hadn’t forgotten it since.

She was fire and steel and silk, all at once. He had no idea why he remembered that moment, or why it lived so clearly in his memory. But it did. And he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head since.

The car slowed as they approached her apartment. Asher leaned forward to speak to the driver, but Vera was already reaching for the door handle.

“Thank you for the ride,” she said quietly.

Asher opened his mouth to say something, anything, but she was already stepping out, her heels clicking against the pavement, her head held high despite the chaos she carried inside.

He watched her disappear through the entrance, the glass doors closing behind her with a soft hiss.

The car remained idle for a moment before the driver finally pulled away.

Asher leaned back in his seat, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.

She was a storm.

And he was already standing too close.