Chapter 5 Playing with Fire

In that glittering ballroom, under the weight of a hundred stares, I realized that surviving Liam Blackwood's world wasn't about playing safe. It was about learning how to play with fire without getting burned.

---

For one long, suffocating moment, I couldn't move.

Cassandra's words cut through the air like glass shards, and every pair of eyes in the room seemed to pierce through my skin. I could hear the faint click of cameras phone cameras, discreet but deadly. Gossip traveled faster than light in this world, and I had just been tossed into its center.

I wanted to run. I wanted to disappear. But Liam 's hand pressed lightly against the small of my back, grounding me, reminding me of the role I'd signed up for.

I was his wife now. Pretend or not, I had to act like it.

So I smiled.

A soft, slow smile that I forced to look natural, though my heart thundered in my chest.

"You're right, Cassandra," I said, keeping my voice even. "I am new to this world. But if you think I'm intimidated by ex-girlfriends with too much free time... you'll have to try harder."

The room collectively inhaled.

Cassandra's perfect face flickered, just for a second, before she regained her composure and sipped her champagne. "Cute," she said, though her eyes burned.

I felt Liam 's subtle shift beside me a quiet pride that I'd survived my first public test. His hand slid to my waist as he leaned down and murmured, just for me, "Good girl."

The words sent a shiver down my spine that I refused to acknowledge.

---

For the rest of the gala, I played the role. I smiled for pictures, laughed at jokes I barely heard, and let Liam guide me through the crowd like a shadow with a pulse.

At one point, a producer cornered me. "So, Zoey, tell me how does it feel to be married to the most untouchable man in Hollywood?"

I forced another smile. "I guess even untouchable men need someone to come home to."

Liam's subtle smirk at my response was enough to make my chest warm despite the tension still coiling inside me.

By the end of the night, my cheeks hurt from smiling, my feet ached from the heels, and my brain felt like static.

---

The moment we stepped into the back of the car, I let out a shaky breath.

"I think I survived," I muttered, slumping into the seat.

Liam watched me silently for a moment before saying, "You did more than survive. You fought back."

I turned to him. "I didn't think I had a choice."

"You didn't," he said simply, his voice laced with something like approval. "Cassandra will test you again. And next time, she'll aim sharper. But you didn't fold tonight. That matters."

I studied his profile in the dim glow of the city lights outside. He looked like he belonged to the night powerful, composed, dangerous. And somehow, knowing he was proud of me felt... better than it should.

---

When we reached the penthouse, I kicked off the heels and padded barefoot across the marble floor. Liam loosened his tie, watching me with that unreadable expression.

"You held your own tonight," he said.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"Don't thank me." He leaned against the counter. "Thank yourself. Because out there, no one will."

Something in his tone made my chest tighten. For a moment, I saw the man behind the cameras the one who lived in this glass cage, surrounded by people but completely alone.

I wanted to ask him if he ever regretted it. If he ever wished he could go back to being just a man and not a headline. But the words stuck in my throat.

Instead, I said, "You didn't have to defend me."

"Yes, I did," he said simply, his gaze locking onto mine. "You're my wife. The world needs to believe it, and Cassandra needed to be reminded of it."

The words should've felt cold and transactional. But instead, warmth bloomed where fear had lived hours ago.

---

That night, I struggled to sleep again.

Sometime after midnight, I wandered to the living room and found Liam there, as always, staring out at the city with a glass in his hand.

"You don't sleep much, do you?" I asked.

His reflection in the glass shifted slightly. "Sleep is a luxury. I don't have many of those."

I hesitated, then stepped closer, drawn to the quiet gravity of him. "Why did you really ask me to do this?"

He didn't answer immediately. He swirled the amber liquid in his glass, the ice clinking softly.

"Because I needed someone who wouldn't destroy me," he said finally, his voice so low I almost didn't hear it. "And I thought... maybe you wouldn't."

The honesty in his tone stole my breath. I wanted to ask more, to pull at the edges of his armor, but before I could

A loud chime echoed through the penthouse.

I jumped. liam 's head snapped toward the source.

"Stay here," he said sharply, striding to the massive wall screen that lit up with a security feed.

My stomach dropped. The live footage showed the building's private entrance and a swarm of paparazzi outside, shouting, lights flashing.

But it wasn't the cameras that froze my blood.

It was the woman standing in the middle of the chaos, holding a folder above her head, screaming for attention.

Even through the grainy footage, I could recognize her.

Cassandra.

And in her hands was a contract with my signature our marriage agreement held high like a trophy.

---

My heart stopped as the world tilted. If she leaked that, the entire fake marriage would explode and take me down with it.