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But as I looked at him, in his custom tuxedo and fucking boutonnière, I burned with so much envy I almost choked on it.

I wanted to rip that boutonnière off his lapel.

I wanted to demand he tell me why he insisted on going through with this sham of a wedding.

I wanted to march upstairs, grab Ayana, and claim her so thoroughly in front of every damn person in the building, there’d be no doubt left in anyone’s mind that she was mine.Onlymine.

A small part of me had been tempted to take her up on her offer of an affair. God knew I craved her enough that I’d take any piece of her I could get.

However, the larger part of me had won out. Not because of morals or my friendship with Jordan, but because I was too fucking selfish to share.

When I said I wanted her, I wantedallof her. Every smile, every tear, every sigh and moan. She consumed me, body and soul, and I refused to settle for anything less in return.

“Jesus. Not this again.” Jordan’s incredulous laugh shook with a hint of nerves. “Who says I don’t love her?”

“Do you?”

He stared at me. A minute ticked by, and it was in that moment that I saw the pieces fall into place for him.

I knew him well, but he knew me too. Sometimes, I forgot that.

He finally understood. Why I was invested in his feelings for Ayana, why I chose to talk about this topic today of all days…It crystallized into a glint in his eyes.

“Vuk.” He painted my name with half horror, half realization.

I jerked my head away and stared out the window again. The seething jealousy inside me reached a full boil. If I kept looking at him, I was going to do something I’d regret.

Jordan came up beside me and looked out at the bustling streets below. A line of cabs crawled past the hotel like an army of yellow ants. “How long?”

I didn’t bother denying what he now knew. We’d reached a point where lies served no further purpose. “Long enough.”

From the moment I heard her laugh on that damn TV program years ago, I’d been a goner. She’d been a new model at the time, but there was something about the way she talked and carried herself that sank its claws into me and refused to let go.

She’d radiated authenticity, and she had the type of smile that made me want to smile too—and I fucking hated smiling.

I thought my reaction had been a fluke. I was still growing Markovic Holdings, and I’d had neither the time nor desire to obsess over a woman I didn’t know.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about her, so I purposely attended the same event as her one night to prove she couldn’t be that captivating in person. Anyone could manufacture a goddess onscreen; selling that lie in real life was harder.

I’d been right. She hadn’t been the same; she’d been better. Brighter, lovelier,realer. I hadn’t approached her, but I’d watched and listened.

After that night, I’d tracked all her appearances and consumed all her interviews. Every new detail I uncovered, from her college study abroad pictures in Ireland to her strange love of knitting, drew me deeper under her thrall. Even after her rise to fame, she maintained that same authenticity.

She was a splash of color in my world of gray, and before I knew it, I was ensnared. There was no way out.

Then Jordan told me about their engagement, and I’d been slowly dying since.

“You never said anything.” His voice was quiet. “We were engaged for a year and a half, and you didn’t say a damn thing. Now you’re telling me to cancel an hour before my wedding?” A twinge of anger mingled with his disbelief.

I faced him. I’d betrayed him in more ways than one, but he hadn’t been honest with me either. “I didn’t tell you because I thought your feelings for her were real. Are they?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, itfuckingdoes!” My calm snapped. Frustration boiled up inside me, thirsting for a release. “Tell me the truth. No more lies.Whyare you marrying her?”

Jordan’s eyes flashed. He opened his mouth as if to argue, but then his shoulders slumped, and he seemed to deflate before my eyes.

A long silence passed before he spoke again. “You know my grandmother’s sick. What you don’t know is that she put a condition in her will. If I don’t marry by the end of next year, I’ll forfeit my inheritance. All of it.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s not just the money, Vuk. It’s also the company. My family legacy. She’ll give it all away unless I marry.”