Alex's POV
"Honestly? We got tired of hiding. It was starting to feel... dishonest." Vivienne responded.
I turned and looked at her, startled by how natural she sounded. She didn't sound a single bit like she was lying.
"That makes sense." Frank nodded. "A relationship like this must be hard to keep private."
"It is." I said quietly. "Especially when the world expects you to be a headline before you're a person."
"Well, I'd say this headline is a pleasant one." Gina said cheerfully. "You two are great together."
"That's all her doing." Vivienne said with a smirk, nodding toward Stephanie lurking behind the camera now, pretending as if Stephanie was her makeup artist. "If you saw me before makeup, you'd think Alex was dating out of pity."
"I did see you before makeup." I said jokingly, turning to her. "And you looked beautiful."
She then cracked a small involuntarily smile in a way that I knew it wasn't for the camera- she blushed a little when I said that.
"Ah, there's the spark." Frank said, the moment he noticed the smile too.
"You say that like we're in a toothpaste commercial." Vivienne said playfully to Frank, rolling her eyes.
"Could be." I said under my breath. "Your smile's got potential." I teasingly added.
"Behave..." She dragged, nudging my leg with her heel and I couldn't help but laugh.
The next few questions were lighter- favorite vacations, shared hobbies (we had none), how we spent our weekends (we improvised wildly).
At some point, Gina asked:
"What do you admire most about each other?"
I expected Vivienne to dodge, not sure if Stephanie had prepared her enough but she didn't.
She looked at me, pretending to consider before she finally spoke.
"Hmm...He doesn't panic." She responded. "Ever. Even when the world's burning, he stays calm. I hate it and admire it at the same time."
"That's... surprisingly kind." I said, caught off guard by her response. "You're sure you're talking about me?"
"Don't make me take it back." She warned playfully and that made the reporters laugh again.
"And you, Alex?"
"She's real." I said with zero hesitation.
"You sure that's not code for difficult?" Vivienne asked, squinting her eyes.
"Not this time." I said, as I reached for the cup on a table beside me and poured myself a drink.
I could notice something softened in her expression, just for a second- long enough that Frank's camera caught it before she looked away, pretending to fix her hair.
When the cameras finally shut off, I exhaled, realizing only then how tightly I'd been holding my composure.
Frank stood and shook our hands.
"That was amazing. Thank you very much."
"People are going to love this." Gina nodded, beaming. "You're funny and grounded. It's refreshing."
"Grounded." Vivienne repeated, smiling politely. "That's one way to put it."
As the reporters packed up, she leaned back against the couch, finally letting the mask slip.
"I feel like I just ran a marathon." She said.
"You did great." I said coldly, while taking a sip of my drink.
"Don't patronize me." She shot back and then remained silent for a short while before speaking again.
"You really think people will buy this?" She asked, looking at me.
"They already have." I said. "By tomorrow morning, the whole of New York will be calling us 'relationship goals.'"
I wondered what my girlfriend would say once she saw the news.
Well, sh*t.
Stephanie and Manfred escorted the reporters out as they waved us goodbye and after a little while, she came back to us.
"That was great!" Stephanie said as she came back to us. "Everything is going according to plan."
"Define 'great.'" I said as I set my glass down, exhaling. "Because if pretending to be madly in love on camera qualifies, then I guess we deserve an Oscar."
"What exactly is the plan, by the way?" Vivienne finally asked.
"Well, to make all these believable, step one was the interview, which we just nailed, by the way." Stephanie said as she turned toward me with a wink. "You actually looked like you like her."
"I'm gifted." I muttered.
"Charming." Vivienne said as she shot me a look
"Step two," Stephanie continued, ignoring us both, "is your first public date - something casual and romantic in a more 'exposed' area. And step three is dinner with Mr. Kyle next week."
At that, I caught the faint nervous twitch in Vivienne's expression as her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her dress.
"Don't overthink it." I said flatly. "All you have to do is shut up, smile, and do whatever Stephanie tells you. And follow my lead. It's not like we need you to continue anyway."
"Excuse me?" Vivienne froze, eyes narrowing.
"You heard me." I said, leaning back. "This isn't complicated. You don't have to act like a partner. Just-"
"-be your obedient little prop?" she cut in sharply and I was surprised by her bite.
"Getting sensitive now, are we?" I asked sarcastically.
"You might be used to talking to people like they work for you, but newsflash, I'm not one of them. I'm here because I agreed to a contract, not because I enjoy your ego."
"Ooh, okay," Stephanie muttered as her brows shot up, clearly enjoying this.
"You done?" I smirked, unwilling to give her the satisfaction.
"No." Vivienne said, folding her arms. "If this is supposed to be a fake marriage, maybe try not acting like a dictator."
"Duly noted." I said, picking up my glass. "Next time, I'll try not to confuse you for someone who listens."
Her eyes flashed, and for a second, I thought she might actually throw something at me. Instead, she just exhaled sharply and muttered something under her breath that sounded like 'unbelievable'.
Stephanie then coughed into her hand, failing miserably to hide her grin.
"Well," she said lightly, "I think the chemistry's working. Keep this up and people won't even think you're fake."
"Fantastic." I said dryly, finishing my drink. "If we're done measuring tempers, I've got a call to take."
And before Vivienne could fire back again, I turned and walked off toward the hallway, her words still echoing somewhere between irritation and intrigue.
