Maya's POV
My throat felt dry as I gathered my courage to speak.
"I need my family to believe this is genuine. They can't find out I'm doing this because you're paying my debt."
Sebastian's expression remained neutral, though I caught a brief moment of comprehension in his dark eyes.
"You want our arrangement to stay private."
"Completely private. To them, this relationship has to appear authentic." I nervously ran my fingers through my hair. "I know they'll find the timing odd, but we need to sell this. They absolutely cannot discover you're covering our financial problems or that we have any kind of business deal."
Sebastian gave a measured nod.
"I understand. That's reasonable."
"There's something else," I continued, my voice gaining strength. "When you're ready to call this off, you can't just vanish the way Julian did."
I watched his jaw tighten at the mention of my ex's name, a flash of irritation crossing his features.
"Explain what you mean."
