The Game Begins
The first time Aria Blake saw Jace Walker, he was kissing another woman.
It wasn't just any kiss—it was the kind that made people stop and stare, one that screamed passion and danger. But Aria didn't flinch. She only watched from across the room, her fingers tight around her wine glass, lips pressed into a calm, unreadable line.
Jace was a game. She knew it the moment she read his name on the guest list. Jace Walker—the billionaire's heir with a reputation so colorful it could drown a rainbow. A walking headline. A collector of hearts. A liar. A man who broke girls just to see if they'd shatter quietly.
And now, he would be hers.
Not in the way all the others had been. Not in love. Not in lust. But in ruin.
She wore revenge like perfume that night. It clung to her skin, sweet and poisonous. She had planned this for months. Every fake smile. Every innocent question. Every whisper into the right ears. Jace didn't know it yet, but his perfect world was about to burn.
Because Aria hadn't come for his money. She hadn't come for fame.
She came for him.
She wanted to make him fall. Fall deep. Hard. Stupid. She wanted him to love her—no, need her. She wanted him to think she was the one thing he could never live without.
And when he finally did, when he begged her to stay, she'd smile… and walk away.
That was the plan.
But what she didn't know—what no one knew—was that Jace Walker wasn't the only one wearing a mask. He wasn't just a playboy. Not just a billionaire. Jace had secrets too—ones that had been buried so deep, even he couldn't always tell the truth from the lie.
He had built walls so high, even love couldn't climb them. And Aria? She would be the only one to try.
In a world of fake smiles, broken promises, and hidden scars, two hearts would crash together like fire and gasoline. One seeking revenge. The other hiding regret. And somewhere in the ashes, something real might begin to grow.
But in this game of hearts, love isn't always the prize.
Sometimes, it's the cost.