"Lauren, what are you doing here?" Caius asked, his voice low and sharp with confusion.
Lauren didn’t answer him directly. Instead, she turned to Heather, eyes narrowing. "What is *she* doing here, Caius?"
"This has nothing to do with you," he said, stepping slightly forward. "Why are you here, and why are you siding with him?"
Lauren crossed her arms and scoffed. "I heard this inheritance means Heather gets everything. Do you really think I’m going to sit back and watch her become more powerful than me?" Her gaze flicked to Heather. "I will do whatever it takes to stop her."
Heather said nothing, but she didn’t need to. The whole room already knew she was Miss H—wealthy, powerful, and respected—but Lauren had always refused to acknowledge it.
"So that’s it?" Caius asked. "You’re just going to join forces with Adonis now?"
Lauren stepped forward. "Why shouldn’t I? I’ve been asking you to marry me for years. We could’ve moved past all of this. You would’ve inherited my father’s business, and we could’ve controlled my share—and Heather’s—in everything. But no. You chose *her*."
Heather’s eyes moved between them, unsure what to say. She wasn’t expecting this kind of personal fallout.
Lauren’s voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes. "Don’t act like you care about me anymore. You stopped loving me the moment *she* left."
Adonis stepped closer, placing a comforting hand on Lauren’s back. "Let’s just go inside," he said softly. "We’ll let the council decide."
Lauren gave Heather one last cold glance before walking in beside Adonis. Just before the door closed behind them, Lauren threw back a sarcastic, "Good luck to both of you."
The click of the door shutting echoed down the hallway. Caius stood still, his jaw tight. Then the pen he was holding snapped clean in half.
Heather looked at him. "What are you going to do?"
He turned to her. "*Me*? This isn’t just my problem anymore. We’re in this together."
Heather crossed her arms. "Alright. So what’s the plan now?"
Caius ran a hand through his hair, rubbing his forehead before letting out a frustrated breath. "Give me a second. I’m thinking."
"This isn’t the time to ’think.’ The longer we’re out here, the more it looks like they’re right."
"So what—you want us to go in there with no plan? Just walk in and hope for the best?"
Heather sighed deeply. "Hear me out. What if... I just come clean? I tell them the truth—that we’re not married."
Caius let out a short, humorless laugh.
Her brow furrowed. "Why are you laughing? I’m not finished."
He raised a hand, waving slightly. "Go on."
Heather frowned at his reaction, but pressed forward. "I tell the truth, admit everything, and then *you* get rid of any evidence you have against me. Destroy it all. That way, I don’t go to jail, and we all move on."
Caius just stared at her in silence for a long moment. Then he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I could list a hundred reasons why that plan is completely unworkable."
"I’m not trying to insult you, Heather," he said calmly, "but even if you admit we’re not married, it doesn’t erase what’s already happened. You came here today, signed in under the claim that you are my wife. That alone is enough to get you charged with impersonation and attempted inheritance fraud. Howard wasn’t bluffing."
Heather looked away, her chest tightening. "So we’re screwed."
"Well, unless *you* have a better plan..."
"I don’t. That’s why I asked for a moment to think."
"Do you usually take seven years to think?"
"I would’ve had a solution by now if you hadn’t interrupted my thought process with your ’confession strategy.’"
"Oh, so now it’s my fault you don’t have any ideas?"
"You’re blaming me for all this?"
"Yes. You dragged me into this, so you’re going to drag me out of it. I’m not going to prison while *you* get to go broke and rebuild your life. I have responsibilities, in case you forgot."
There was a pause. Then Caius asked softly, "What’s his name?"
Heather’s eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know that now?"
"You’re deflecting. We don’t have time to talk about my son’s name. We need a plan."
Before he could say anything else, the door swung open and one of Caius’s sisters—Lily—stepped out. "What’s taking you both so long? The council’s starting to get impatient. Mom told me to check on you."
Heather looked between Lily and Caius, but said nothing.
"We’ll be back inside soon," Caius said.
"Soon?" Lily raised an eyebrow and stepped closer. "Also—who is that woman Adonis brought in with him? She’s been acting like she owns the place. I can’t even look at her without wanting to slap her."
Neither Caius nor Heather responded.
Lily’s face twisted with concern. "What’s going on?"
"Go back inside, Lily," Caius said.
"I’m not leaving until I know you’re okay."
Lily stared at them both for another second, clearly reluctant, but she eventually turned and went back inside.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Heather shot Caius a look. "You sure your brain can create a miracle in two minutes?"
"I already have a plan."
She blinked, surprised. "Really?"
Caius met her gaze. "Be my wife."
I’ve been rewriting, the might not align with this one, don’t panic, my work is still in process. I’ve been rewriting, the might not align with this one, don’t panic, my work is still in process. I’ve been rewriting, the might not align with this one, don’t panic, my work is still in process. I’ve been rewriting, the might not align with this one, don’t panic, my work is still in process. I’ve been rewriting, the might not align with this one, don’t panic, my work is still in process. I’ve been rewriting, the might not align with this one, don’t panic, my work is still in process.