Luna Rivera's designer bags and luxurious clothes were being stuffed into boxes packed into brand-new luggage bought by Aria Stelle, her half-sister.
"Mother, please stop her. You're my mother, not some wicked stepmother!"
Eloise Rivera looked at her with disgust. "Just take your things and leave.
"Please Please, I beg of you, please, you can't just throw me out like this "
"I would go to the moon and back to protect my image. Were you not there?" Eloise's voice was raised at Luna. "At the event meant to mark the peak of your career, you were exposed 99.9% not your father's daughter. Displayed like a movie on a flat screen. You should go."
"But, Mother…" Luna whispered, her chin trembling, her eyes glassy with tears.
"You lost the right to call me the moment the truth came out." Eloise's said intimidatingly
Aria said nothing. She simply helped the staff carry Luna's things out to the gate out of sight, her glare hateful.
Luna could no longer hold back her tears. This woman was her adoptive mother who could not let her cry in the past, was watching fall and did nothing about it. Yet, Luna knew this wasn't the end. Something inside her kept telling her this repeatedly
She grabbed her final bag, her heels clicking across the marble floor of the Rivera estate as she walked out into the sunlit day. Pulling her Giorgio Armani scarf from her handbag, she wrapped it around her head like a soldier preparing for battle.
The cab Aria had ordered was waiting,
She hesitated.
"Aria," she called softly, "please, talk to Mother."
Aria didn't even turn. "You should do better than this. All that luxury, and you weren't even a real Rivera. Move. I have better things to do than waste time on a fake like you."
This defines it all. I am the real daughter of Rivera,and you are fake and an imposter.
"Aria. " Luna tried again.
She climbed into the cab, thoughts flowing wildly. Where do I go now? How long will this last? Am I in a nightmare?
The driver's horn jolted her back to reality.
"Take me to an affordable hotel," she murmured, her black card had been confiscated in the name of 'preserving the Rivera image.'
They pulled up to The Lord's Hotel. It was quite discreet, not glamorous,but the last anyone would think of finding her. She tipped the driver and hauled her luggage inside, chin raised, posture poised.
She could not afford to show weakness.
Booking a room with uncertain plans, she took the lift to the fourth floor where room 967, which she had a lounge, was located. The hallway was dim. She swiped her key card and stepped in.
A soft scent of vanilla and chocolate filled the space. Cozy. Not luxurious, but comforting.
She reached for the phone to call room service, when she froze.
A male figure sat at the far end of the room.
The lights radiate out to full brightness.
Zayn Lancaster.
The cold, immaculate CEO sitting like a cover model with one leg crossed, staring straight at her.
Luna struggled to speak. "What are you doing here?"
His gaze didn't flinch. "Knowledge is power."
That wasn't an answer. Not really. But she could see it in his eyes,this wasn't about lust Or love. It was something else calculation and something she could not really place her hand on exactly.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Of course not," he said smoothly, expression unreadable. "Let's get to the point. I want you to be my contract wife."
Her heart thudded. "You hate my family. Why would you…?"
"Family?" He smiled wickedly. "The same family that threw you out like a stray dog? Called you fake in front of the world? Your adopted mother stripped you of everything. And don't cajole yourself," he added. "I don't find you attractive."
Her heart sank not because she wanted him to, but because the words hurt. He didn't have to be cruel.
"And let's be honest," he said, his voice now softer but similarly sharp"You have nothing now. Just a past filled with glory, and a present that's broken."
He drummed his fingers slowly on the armrest.
"I'll let you decide." He pointed to the direction of the bed. "The contract's right there."
As he rose to leave, every move defined elegance and effortlessness, he turned one last time.
"Be my wife.Play the part. Stay out of my heart and with that he left her with a lot of decisions to make.