"That's right." Alicia's palms slicked with sweat as she sank her teeth into her lower lip. "Jared, I know Michael hired you to pose as him."
A subtle curve tugged at Jared's mouth while his steady eyes lingered on her face. "And when did you put that together?"
"Yesterday." Her brows knit tightly, unease sharpening her voice. "Then who are you really, and what do you want from me?"
At her question, Jared let out a low, amused laugh.
Casually, he shifted his weight and leaned back against the wall, an indolent smile hovering at the corners of his lips. "Me? I'm just a nobody scraping by."
Fixing him with an unblinking stare, Alicia retorted, "That's a lie."
Everything about him—the way he carried himself, the quiet pressure in his presence—screamed authority far beyond anything her investigation had uncovered.
Yet with Jared refusing to reveal a single truth, she found herself backed into a corner, with no move left to play.
Drawing in a steady breath, Alicia buried the odd flutter in her chest and pushed a proposal forward. "I don't know why you stepped in for me back there, but whatever Michael offered you, I'll pay twice as much. All I need is for you to just keep acting like my husband and do what I say."
A sharp glint crossed his eyes as Jared advanced without warning.
With his height casting her into shadow, his predatory stare pinned her in place, sending a jolt of unease racing through her pulse.
Instinctively, Alicia lifted a hand between them, trying to carve out space.
But Jared caught her wrist, his fingertips grazing her skin in a way that felt far too deliberate to be accidental.
"Alright, I'll play along." A low, magnetic laugh rolled from his chest as he tilted his head. "So what am I today—your husband, or your employee?"
Relief finally slipped from Alicia's chest in a quiet breath.
Yanking her hand free, she fixed him with a cool, distant look. "Keep this in mind! Except when we're putting on a show for others, we keep our distance."
A wry glint flickered across Jared's face as his brow arched, his careless smile carrying the air of someone humoring a sharp-clawed kitten that posed no real danger.
Somewhere along the way, it became painfully clear that she truly no longer remembered him.
By the following day, a routine examination cleared Jared to leave, and the doctor signed off on his discharge.
Once they returned home, Alicia gestured toward the bare floor, her expression unyielding as she laid down her rule. "From now on, that's where you're sleeping."
Casually slipping his hands into his pockets, Jared remained loose and unbothered as he looked at her. "And if Michael shows up without warning?"
A faint curve tugged at his lips as he pressed the point. "Wouldn't it look strange if he realized we weren't sharing a bed?"
Heat flared behind her eyes as Alicia shot him a fierce look, then sliced an invisible boundary straight down the mattress with her hand. "You take that side," she warned coldly. "And don't cross this line."
Before Jared could answer, a sudden ringtone cut through the room.
Noticing her good friend's name on the screen, Alicia knit her eyebrows. She stepped away from Jared and accepted the call.
"Hey, Alicia—did something happen? Why are those investment firms cutting ties with Gill Group out of nowhere?" Renee Mills' anxious voice crackled through the phone, thick with concern.
Alicia replied coolly, her tone steady over the phone, "It's complicated. Let's get a drink tonight—you choose the place."
"Serendipity, then. I'll swing by and pick you up."
Once the call ended, Alicia pivoted toward the walk-in closet.
Before she could take a step, a steady, heated grip closed around her wrist.
She hadn't noticed Jared trailing her, his tall frame leaning in, his proximity instantly oppressive.
One brow arched as a playful curve touched his mouth. "Do you want me to come with you, sweetie?"
That single word brushed her ears like a feather, playful and deliberately provocative.
"You don't have to." Frowning, Alicia yanked her hand free, her face turning glacial. "Don't forget—I'm just your employer, nothing beyond that."
After that, she seized her cane and walked off without another glance.
Amusement flashed briefly through Jared's eyes as his phone buzzed insistently in his palm.
After he checked the caller ID, his expression darkened, and he answered. "What do you want?"
A teasing laugh drifted through the line. "Is that how you speak to your aunt now, you little menace? I've booked a room at Serendipity tonight—get over here."