Chapter 5

"She is my wife."

The words hit the air like a physical shockwave.

Liam and Janiyah Alford froze instantly, their eyes bulging.

Kassie's head snapped up. She stared at Jarrod's sharp jawline, her heart doing a violent flip in her chest. She opened her mouth to deny it, but Jarrod's fingers dug sharply into the soft flesh of her waist, a silent, painful command to keep her mouth shut.

Liam was the first to recover. He let out a loud, forced bark of laughter.

"Your wife?" Liam pointed a shaking finger at Kassie. "Her? She can't even afford her rent! You expect me to believe a guy wearing a Tom Ford suit married a charity case?"

Janiyah Alford crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing with vicious jealousy. "She obviously hired him, Liam. He's an actor. Or an escort. She probably maxed out her credit cards just to make you jealous."

Jarrod stared at them. The temperature in his eyes dropped to absolute zero.

He turned his head slightly, dipping his face down until his nose brushed against Kassie's hair. His lips hovered mere millimeters from her ear.

"Darling," Jarrod murmured, his voice dripping with dark, sensual amusement. "It seems they don't believe how deeply in love we are."

Kassie shivered violently. The heat of his breath against her sensitive skin sent a jolt of electricity straight down her spine. Her cheeks flushed a deep, furious crimson.

Jarrod lifted his head and looked dead at Liam.

"She ran the Brooklyn Marathon three years ago," Jarrod stated, his voice smooth and deadly, "finishing in exactly four hours and seventeen minutes, despite a hairline fracture in her left ankle."

Kassie gasped out loud. Her whole body went rigid, as if she had been struck by lightning.

That was a heavily buried piece of her medical history, something she had never told anyone, let alone her ex. Only someone with access to the most terrifyingly deep background checks would ever know that.

Liam's face went completely slack. The arrogant sneer melted off his face, replaced by pure, unadulterated shock.

Janiyah Alford's face turned an ugly shade of green. The jealousy burning in her eyes was now mixed with disbelief.

"Her favorite college elective wasn't Art History, like she told you to spare your fragile intellect," Jarrod continued, his tone conversational but utterly ruthless. "It was Ancient Greek History. And she despises the cheap Italian roast coffee you used to buy."

Every single detail was a sledgehammer smashing directly into Liam's fragile ego.

Liam's face turned pale, then red, then pale again. The realization hit him hard-this man knew Kassie on a fundamental, obsessively detailed level that Liam hadn't even bothered to scratch in years of dating.

Kassie was dying of embarrassment. Her face was burning so hot she felt dizzy. She knew she couldn't break the illusion now. She had no choice. She turned her face and buried it directly into the solid wall of Jarrod's chest, hiding her burning cheeks against his silk tie.

To Liam and Janiyah Alford, the gesture looked like pure, submissive devotion.

Janiyah Alford ground her teeth together. She glared at Kassie's cheap clothes, refusing to accept defeat. "So what if you sleep together?" she spat. "He's still just a gigolo. A real rich man wouldn't let his wife dress like a homeless person."

Liam grabbed onto that lifeline. His arrogance flared back up. "Exactly. You're nothing. I'm representing my firm tomorrow to buy the entire building this cafe is in. I'll have the security guards throw both of you out on the street!"

Jarrod didn't get angry. Instead, a look of pure, terrifying pity crossed his face.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a custom, encrypted black smartphone. He pressed a single button on the speed dial and lifted the phone to his ear.