Chapter five

The day of the "wedding" dawned bright and suffocatingly formal. My apartment buzzed with activity – stylists fussing over my hair, makeup artists transforming my face into a porcelain mask, and a flustered intern wrestling with the impossibly long train of my white dress.

"It's like wearing a meringue!" I grumbled, feeling every bit out of place in the lavish, rented gown that whispered of privilege and distance.

"Just a few more minutes, Miss Moore," chirped the head stylist, her smile strained as she adjusted the bodice. "And you'll be the most stunning bride New York has ever seen!"

Stunning wasn't exactly how I felt. I felt like a character in a play I hadn't auditioned for – a play with stakes far higher than a bad review.

A knock on the door sent a nervous jolt through me. "Come in," I called, bracing myself.

It was Ethan, looking every bit the billionaire in a sharp tuxedo that seemed to mold itself to his broad frame. He didn't smile, but his eyes held a flicker of something that warmed me despite the formality of the situation.

"Ready to face the music?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied, trying to inject a lightness that wasn't entirely there.

He studied me for a moment, a hesitant smile gracing his lips. "You look…different. Beautiful."

The compliment, unexpectedly genuine, sent a blush creeping up my neck.

"Thank you," I mumbled, feeling strangely self-conscious under his gaze.

A glint of amusement flickered in his eyes. "Don't worry, Olivia. Remember, we're just playing a part."

His words were a reminder, a grounding force in the whirlwind of emotions. This wasn't a real wedding; it was a carefully orchestrated performance.

A limousine, sleek and black, whisked us away to a private chapel overlooking Central Park. The air crackled with paparazzi outside, their flashes a constant bombardment as we emerged from the car.

Inside the chapel, everything was white and gold, an opulent display of wealth that seemed to mock the supposed sanctity of the occasion. My hand, encased in a silk glove several times too big, trembled in Ethan's.

The ceremony was a blur of vows repeated in a monotone voice, the officiant's words drowned out by the frantic beating of my heart. Saying "I do" felt like stepping onto a tightrope stretched over a vast chasm.

After a chaste kiss that felt more awkward than romantic, we emerged to the throng of paparazzi. Cameras flashed relentlessly, capturing our carefully constructed smiles.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of champagne toasts, awkward conversations with Ethan's distant relatives, and countless posed photographs. I felt like a trophy wife on display, an object meant to impress rather than connect.

The evening ended at a lavish penthouse overlooking the city. Ethan, finally shedding the formality of the day, loosened his tie, a gesture that mirrored the loosening of the tension between us.

As the guests trickled out, leaving behind an empty shell of a celebration, he turned to me, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Kingsley," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You survived your first day as a billionaire's wife."

"Barely," I replied, a sigh escaping my lips. "This isn't exactly how I pictured my wedding day."

He chuckled, a warm sound that sent a shiver down my spine. "Neither was mine on the top of my list."

We stood there for a moment, a shared understanding passing between us. This marriage may have been a sham, but the connection sparked during our dinners and late-night conversations lingered.

"So," he began, his voice low, "what would your ideal wedding day look like?"

I paused, surprising myself with the words that flew out of my mouth. "Flour-dusted hands, the smell of fresh bread in the air, and maybe a string quartet playing some offbeat jazz."

He laughed, a genuine, full-bodied laugh that filled the room. "That's certainly…unique."

"Unique might as well be my middle name," I joked, the tension easing a little.

"Well, Mrs. Kingsley," he said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, "perhaps we can sneak in a bit of flour and jazz between all these charity galas and social gatherings."

His words sent a thrill down my spine, a promise of something more than just pretense.

The night stretched before us, filled with uncertainty and a hint of unexpected possibility. In the heart of a glittering world built on wealth and appearances, a genuine connection had begun to bloom.

We spent the next few weeks navigating the treacherous waters of New York high society. Ethan, it turned out, was a seasoned performer in this play of wealth and privilege. He moved with an effortless grace that belied his earlier irritation about the whole charade.

For me, it was a constant learning experience. I fumbled through interviews, struggled to remember the names of socialites who all looked alike in their designer dresses, and yearned for the comforting scent of warm ovens and rising dough.

Yet, amidst the social swirl, there were pockets of stolen moments. Late nights discussing books over steaming mugs of tea in his penthouse kitchen, a quick, illicit kiss snatched under the guise of adjusting a collar during a photo op.

One afternoon, during a particularly tedious charity luncheon, I felt my phone vibrate under the table. A text from Ethan:"Thinking about the way your flour-dusted hands knead dough. Wishing I was tasting the results instead of these macarons."

A blush crept up my neck, the playful message a welcome distraction from the drone of a socialite discussing her latest botox procedure.

That weekend, Ethan surprised me. He whisked me away to a secluded cabin nestled in the Catskills. No stylists, no cameras, just snow-covered mountains and a crackling fire in the hearth.

For two blissful days, we shed the facade of the Kingsleys. We baked bread in a wood-fired oven, the aroma a sweet symphony to my senses. We talked about our dreams, our fears, our lives before the contract.

As we sat by the fire that last night, flames casting flickering shadows on the walls, Ethan brushed a stray curl from my face. "Olivia," he murmured, his voice husky, "this was…real."

His words echoed my own feelings. This stolen weekend, free from the constraints of pretense, had revealed a connection deeper than the contract had ever intended.

We didn't need words to articulate the question hanging in the air. This marriage of convenience, this elaborate game, was starting to feel… inconveniently real.

Returning to New York, the glittering world we'd left behind felt even more artificial. As Ethan held the door to my apartment open, a new, unspoken question hung between us: could a marriage built on pretense blossom into something real?