I was basically working as a professional girlfriend for two brothers at the same time. For the older one, Julian, it was all about seduction. I’m talking lace bodysuits, a fluffy little bunny tail—the whole nine yards. For the younger one, Caleb, it was the complete opposite. He wanted the good-girl act. For him, it was crisp white blouses and stockings, the picture of innocence. I was good at my job, really good. So good that I kept the two worlds completely separate. No one had a clue. Until one day, I got sloppy. A paparazzi photographer got a lucky shot. The next morning, this headline was all over the gossip blogs: "NYC's Thorne Brothers Sharing a Girlfriend?" And when a furious Caleb came storming over, I was sitting right on his older brother’s lap, playing the part of a kitten who wanted cream. * 1 All the other girls in my line of work felt sorry for me. They knew me as Caleb Thorne’s girl, the one he kept in a gilded cage but never touched. “Sadie’s such a knockout,” they’d whisper over brunch. “Why is she with a guy as cold as Caleb Thorne?” “I heard he’s saving himself for his one great unrequited love. That’s why he never sleeps with Sadie.” “Poor girl. So young and basically living like a nun. How does she stand it?” Listening to them, I’d grab a napkin and dab at my dry eyes, playing along. It was true, Caleb never laid a finger on me. He paid me ten grand a month just to have dinner with him, go for drives along the coast, and make small talk. Honestly, it was the easiest money I’d ever made. But because I had so much free time, I did something a little…unethical for our profession. I picked up a second client. I kept it a secret, of course. I couldn’t let the other girls know I was breaking the rules. Right now, my friend Maya was hugging me, full of sympathy. “Sadie, this can’t be healthy for you. You should find a new guy. What about the older Thorne brother, Julian? He’s worth billions, single, and ridiculously hot. You should go for him.” “No way,” another girl, Chloe, chimed in. “I heard Julian Thorne already has a girl. She’s super mysterious, though. No one’s ever seen her. You don’t want to get caught in that mess.” I took a long sip of my iced tea, saying nothing. My phone buzzed. It was a text from Julian. “Come to the penthouse tonight. Be waiting for me.” I quickly typed back, “Okay.” Yeah, about that mysterious girl Julian was keeping… that was me, too. * 2 Julian was nothing like his brother. He was pure, unrestrained energy, a force of nature who loved to push every boundary. When I got to his penthouse, I slipped off my black trench coat, revealing the little fox costume I had on underneath. I’d even made a pair of fuzzy ears on a headband to complete the look. Julian’s eyes darkened, his breath catching in his throat. He slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, then pulled off his leather belt with one fluid motion and beckoned to me with his finger. “Come here,” he rasped. I obeyed, settling onto his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. “I made the ears myself,” I purred. “Do you like them?” His hand, hot against the fabric of my tiny skirt, tightened. “I love them,” he said, his voice thick. I took my chance, nuzzling against his neck. “I saw a new limited-edition handbag yesterday…” “Hmm, buy it,” Julian murmured, his focus elsewhere. His fingers traced lazy circles on my waist, sending shivers down my spine. As we kissed, he tugged sharply at my fluffy tail, pulling it off. He lifted my chin, his lips brushing against my ear. “Is my little fox a bad girl?” “What?” I asked, blinking up at him, feigning confusion. A slow grin spread across his face as his hand moved to the zipper on my skirt. “I think I need to investigate.” In the heated haze of the moment, with Julian holding me tight, I decided to push my luck. “I want to buy a condo downtown,” I whispered. “I’ll have my assistant send you the listings tomorrow,” he said, his eyes flashing with mock annoyance as he tightened his grip, making me gasp. “You little gold-digger. Stop thinking about money and focus on me.” Honestly, I didn’t want to be like this. Julian was good to me. He showered me with gifts, with affection, with a passion that felt real. I was dangerously close to falling for him. But then I found out the truth about my world. It turns out, I’m living in a book. A trashy, steamy romance novel. The Thorne brothers are the male leads, and their long-lost love is the heroine. I’m just the stand-in, the disposable placeholder they use while she’s away. The book said that when she comes back, the brothers will fight over her, tear the city apart for her. And because she’ll hate me, they’ll turn on me. They’ll lock me away, torment me, and eventually have me committed to a mental hospital where I lose my mind. In the end, the three of them live happily ever after. And me? I die alone on a cold winter night. Knowing all that snapped me right out of any romantic fantasy. My new goal was simple: make as much money as I could, as fast as I could. The heroine wasn't due back for another year. If I hustled, working both jobs, I could save enough to disappear. Back in the penthouse, the mood was heating up again when my phone started buzzing relentlessly. It was like a fire alarm in the middle of a dream. Julian pulled back, annoyed. “Handle it.” I was about to silence it when I saw a string of frantic texts from Maya. “Sadie, you snake! How could you not tell me?” “We’re all out here struggling and you’re pulling double duty? Earning twice as much?” “And I felt SORRY for you! You’re living better than any of us!” I slowly typed a single “?” She replied instantly. “Don’t play dumb. I know you’re Julian Thorne’s girl too.” Julian was right there, shirtless and waiting. I didn’t have time to ask her how she found out. I just begged her, “Please, keep it a secret. I’ll explain everything later.” “Too late, Sadie. Everyone knows.” A cold dread washed over me. My heart started pounding in my throat. The next second, she sent me a link to a gossip blog. The headline was blaring: "NYC's Thorne Brothers Sharing a Girlfriend?" * 3 My hand was shaking as I clicked the link. There were two photos. The first was me and Caleb at a quiet restaurant. He was feeding me a bite of his food, gently wiping my mouth with a napkin, his eyes full of a soft, protective look. The second photo was way more explicit. It was me and Julian, kissing on a rooftop balcony, me dressed as a Playboy bunny. Damn the paparazzi. They’d finally caught me, and my whole world was about to implode. Maya was still texting me. “Do they know? The brothers?” “No,” I typed back, my blood running cold. Maya: “Are you insane?! You need to run. Get out of there NOW.” Maya: “Julian might not have seen it yet, but my guy just told me Caleb already knows.” Just then, a message from Caleb popped up on my screen. It was only four words. “We need to talk.” I flinched like I’d been slapped. Caleb looked gentle, but his anger was terrifying. Over on the bed, Julian was getting impatient. He reached out, pulling me back into his arms. “Are you done? Because it’s my turn now.” He took my hand and guided it down his chest, over his rock-hard abs, and lower. “Sadie,” he whispered, his voice a low growl. “Help me take these off.” But with my life on the line, who had time for foreplay? I pulled my hand back. “Julian, not tonight.” “I just got a call,” I lied, my mind racing. “My sister is sick, she has a high fever. I have to go take care of her.” I scrambled away from him, grabbing my trench coat. “Next time. I promise, we’ll do this next time.” Julian stared at me for a long moment, the fire in his eyes slowly dying out. He sighed, then grabbed his car keys. “I’ll drive you.” “No, you don’t have to—” I started to say, but just then, the doorbell buzzed. Through the intercom, a voice, cold and devoid of any emotion, echoed through the room. “Julian? You home?” It was Caleb. * 4 The second I heard Caleb’s voice, I dove behind the couch like a cornered animal. Julian opened the door. Caleb’s tone was sharp, cutting straight to the point. “Brother. Do you know a woman named Sadie?” “I do,” Julian said, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe with a smug grin. “You can call her your future sister-in-law. Why, you know her too?” A cold, sarcastic smile touched Caleb’s lips. “I do. And you can call her your future sister-in-law.” The silence that followed was so thick I could feel it pressing down on me. My heart was hammering against my ribs. “What the hell are you talking about?” Julian demanded. “You haven’t seen the news?” Caleb said, pulling out his phone and tapping the screen a few times before holding it up for Julian to see. “To put it simply, your girl and my girl… are the same person.” The world stopped. I didn’t hear what they said after that. I was already sneaking toward the service exit at the back of the penthouse. I had to get away from these two psycho brothers. Once I was out, I ran. I just ran, my mind already calculating my next move. The handbag and the condo were gone, obviously, but over the past year, I’d managed to save up a few hundred thousand dollars. It was enough for me and my sisters to live on for a few years. It was a shame, though. I was so close to my goal. As the penthouse grew smaller in the distance and no one seemed to be chasing me, I started to relax. I kicked a stray pebble on the sidewalk out of frustration. “Two rich idiots,” I muttered. “Can’t even keep their own business private, and now I’m the one paying for it.” Just as the words left my mouth, a cold hand closed around the back of my neck, fingers hooking onto my necklace. Caleb was standing in front of me. He advanced, forcing me backward until my back hit a lamppost. His voice was dangerously soft, laced with a chilling amusement. “Tell me, Sadie. Was it fun? Having one brother who’s so easy to fool, and another who’s so easy to please? Playing us both like that?” I tried to bolt in the other direction. But Julian was there, blocking my path. He was wearing just a white dress shirt, a fresh red scratch mark—one I’d made earlier—visible on his neck. He was slowly, deliberately, rolling up his sleeves. His expression was unreadable. “Sadie,” he said, his voice low and steady. “I suggest you start explaining. Right now.” I was trapped. Leaning against the lamppost for support, my palms sweating, I forced myself to look calm. “I was working two jobs. Is that a crime?” I shot back. “When you hired me, neither of you said I couldn’t freelance.” Caleb almost laughed, a humorless, terrifying sound. He reached for my wrist. “Do I really need to spell out the basics of professional ethics for you?” But he never touched me. Julian stepped between us, his jaw tight. He shot me a look so cold it froze me to the spot. I couldn’t meet his eyes, staring instead at our long shadows stretching out under the streetlight. Caleb was about to say something else when his phone rang. In the dead silence of the street, the voice on the other end was perfectly clear. “Caleb, it’s me. I’m back. I just landed at JFK.” “I tried calling Julian, but he didn’t pick up. Can you let him know for me?” Well, what do you know. The leading lady was back a year ahead of schedule. Caleb was so engrossed in the call that I saw my chance. I ducked under his arm and ran. He was too busy talking to catch me. As for the other one, I risked a quick glance over my shoulder. Julian was still standing in the same spot. His head was slightly tilted, his hand slowly tracing the scratch on his neck. The lamplight cast a shadow over his face, making his expression impossible to read. He wasn't going to chase me. Not anymore. His real love was back. Who had time for a substitute? I figured as long as I stayed away from her—Clara—I could probably avoid the tragic ending from the book. It was almost 10 PM when I got back to the children’s home. The younger girls were already asleep. I handed an envelope stuffed with cash to the director, Mama Elena. This was a private home for abandoned girls. Some were sick, some came from families who couldn’t afford them, and some were there simply because they weren’t boys. This home was the only family I’d ever known. Mama Elena was my mother. She was everyone’s mother. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with a serious heart condition that required emergency surgery. The cost was astronomical. I gave her every penny I had, but it wasn’t enough. That’s when Caleb Thorne found me. * 5 He’d just stared at my face for a long time, a polite, unreadable smile on his lips. “Sadie,” he’d said. “You look a lot like a girl I care about.” “I have a business proposition for you. Are you interested?” The deal was simple: I’d be his companion for dinners and social events. In return, he’d pay me ten thousand dollars a month, with a one-year minimum contract. I had no reason to say no. His assistant gave me a dossier on the real girl, Clara. It had everything: her favorite foods, her allergies, her fashion sense, her pet peeves. I was told to memorize it. Be the perfect copy. But I messed up on our very first dinner. He’d ordered a feast. I helped myself to the shrimp scampi four times. With each serving, the look on Caleb’s face grew darker. Finally, he lifted my chin with his fingers, pointing at the shrimp. “Sadie,” he said, his voice gentle but firm. “Your performance is off tonight.” “No matter how much she loves a dish, she would never take more than three helpings.” His voice was light, but his words were heavy. “A poor performance means a pay cut, you know.” He docked me five hundred dollars, just like that. My heart ached. Later, when Mama Elena’s body started rejecting the transplant and she needed expensive anti-rejection drugs, I begged Caleb for an advance. He just smiled that placid, terrifying smile. “Sadie, it’s a bad habit to ask for more than you’re given. *She* would never do that.” He wouldn’t give me the money, and I was desperate. So when Julian Thorne offered me a hundred thousand a month, I said yes without a second thought. With Julian, there were no rules. He never mentioned Clara. And I pretended I didn’t know who she was. Now, holding the thick envelope, Mama Elena tried to give it back. “Sadie, you’ve given this home so much over the years. You paid for my entire surgery. I can’t take any more from you.” I gently pushed it back into her hands. “There are so many other girls to take care of. Please, just keep it. And don’t worry about me, I have my own savings set aside.” I gave her a tight hug. “Besides, Mama Elena… I have to go.” “I’m moving to Los Angeles. I don’t think I’ll be back for a few years.” In New York, the Thorne brothers could ruin me with a single phone call. I needed to be far, far away. I booked a flight for three days later. In that time, neither of the brothers contacted me. But Maya did, full of gossip. “Man, there’s a real difference between us stand-ins and the real thing, huh?” she said over the phone. “Did you see the fireworks over the Hudson last night? It went on for over an hour. Cost millions. I heard Julian Thorne set it up to celebrate Clara’s return.” I suddenly remembered a conversation I’d had with Julian. I was lying exhausted in his arms, and he was toying with a lock of my hair. “Sadie,” he’d asked, his voice rough with sleep, “besides money, is there anything else you like?” I thought for a moment. “Fireworks,” I’d said. “The kind that light up the whole sky.” He hadn’t seemed satisfied with that answer. He buried his face in my neck, and after a long pause, he mumbled, “Okay. Next time, I’ll set off a fireworks show over the Hudson for you.” Right. A man’s promise. The fireworks happened, they just weren’t for me. “Sadie? You listening?” Maya was still talking. “And tonight, Caleb Thorne is throwing this massive welcome-home party for her at The Plaza.” “She gets what she wants, and you get what you need! You’re leaving for LA, so I’m throwing you a going-away party!” Maya texted me an address. I figured it would be nice to see her one last time before I disappeared. So I went. But the moment I walked in, I knew something was wrong. The party was… huge. Way too fancy. Way too many people. And there, in the middle of the glittering ballroom, stood Clara, dressed in a stunning gown of blue, sparkling diamonds. On either side of her, like two sentinels, were Caleb and Julian Thorne. All three of them turned and looked directly at me. I froze, pulling out my phone. A new text from Maya had just come in, a second too late. “OMG WRONG BALLROOM NAME! That’s Caleb’s party for Clara! DON’T GO IN! So embarrassing!” She sent a new location. “Come here instead! All the girls are waiting. Don’t be jealous of her fireworks, I got you sparklers!” I cursed Maya a thousand times in my head. I knew she was a mess, but this was a new level of incompetent. I kept my head down, trying to back out unnoticed, but it was too late. Clara was already walking toward me. She held a glass of champagne, a brilliant, practiced smile on her face. “You must be Sadie,” she said, her voice smooth as silk.
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