Chapter 8 - The Thirty-Day BrideNow their fake marriage had a deadline, an enemy, and a death clause.
Isa didn't sleep that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the clause.
If Isa Burn dies before the thirty days are complete, control of the estate transfers immediately.
She had become a ticking clock.
Declan noticed.
"You're afraid."
"Yes."
He didn't pretend otherwise.
"So am I."
They announced their engagement publicly three days later.
The media exploded.
Photos of Declan and Isa outside the courthouse spread across every financial site in New York.
Headlines appeared within minutes.
BILLIONAIRE CEO ENGAGED TO UNKNOWN STRATEGIST
WHO IS ISA BURN?
DECLAN VALE'S SURPRISE BRIDE
At work, everyone stared.
Maya nearly dropped her coffee.
"You are engaged to your billionaire boss."
"Technically."
"That word doesn't belong anywhere near this sentence."
Isa smiled weakly.
"I'm still trying to process it."
The wedding was scheduled for twenty-nine days later.
A quiet ceremony.
No press.
No business announcement.
At least that was the plan.
Because three days into the engagement, someone leaked private photographs of Isa and Declan in his penthouse.
The city exploded.
Isa became a target.
Reporters followed her.
People photographed her leaving work.
An anonymous account posted her mother's address.
Then came the message.
YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID YES.
She blocked the number.
A second appeared.
THIRTY DAYS IS LONGER THAN YOU THINK.
Declan's security doubled.
Isa moved into a guest suite in the penthouse.
They tried to maintain distance.
They failed.
They ate breakfast together.
Argued over music.
Watched terrible movies.
He learned she hated olives.
She learned he couldn't cook rice without burning it.
Slowly, the fake marriage became dangerously real.
One night, Isa found him in the kitchen at midnight.
"Can't sleep?"
"No."
"Thinking about Victor?"
"Thinking about you."
She stopped.
He stepped closer.
"This is exactly what we said we wouldn't do."
"I know."
"You agreed."
"I know."
"Then stop."
"I've been trying."
She stared into his eyes.
"And?"
"I've never been very good at losing."
She kissed him first.
The next morning she regretted nothing.
Until she found a red envelope on her desk.
Inside was a photograph.
Her and Declan.
Sleeping.
Taken through the bedroom window.
Below it, a note.
ONE WEEK DOWN. TWENTY-TWO TO GO.
She ran to Declan.
He read it.
His face became cold.
"This wasn't taken from outside."
"What?"
He pointed toward the window.
"The angle is wrong."
He walked into the bedroom.
Checked the cameras.
Then froze.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone disabled the hallway camera for eleven minutes."
"When?"
"Last night."
Isa whispered:
"While we were sleeping."
May you like
Declan looked at her.
"We have a mole."
Related Stories
