Rivals don't schedule meetings.They stage interrogations.
Ethan didn't even make it two steps into the café before he spotted her.
Lena Pierce always looked like she was about to win something. Even now, with her arms crossed and a single eyebrow raised, she carried herself like a general at a war table. Her silver-framed glasses reflected sunlight, her tie was perfectly straight, and her iced coffee sat untouched beside a stack of neatly annotated printouts — one of which had a headline: "Ice Queen Accepts Rooftop Proposal?" with Ethan's face circled in red ink.
He sighed. This was going to be surgical.
She didn't say hello."Sit."
Ethan sat.
She slid the printouts toward him. "You're engaged."
"No—well—technically, yes."
"I want the real answer. Not the ones circulating on school gossip forums."
Ethan gave her a look. "You're reading school gossip forums?"
"I moderate two of them."
"…Of course you do."
Lena leaned in slightly. "Let me be clear. You were the most predictable person in our year. The guy who programmed his own calendar reminders to account for daylight saving time. And now you're suddenly the main character of a scandalous, high-profile engagement to Isabella Wynn."
Ethan opened his mouth.
She cut him off. "And don't say it was a dare. I know it was a dare. What I want to know is—why didn't you shut it down?"
"I tried to shut it down."
"She met your parents."
"They love her."
"She scheduled your startup's funding."
"I didn't ask her to."
"Then why is she doing it?"
Ethan hesitated.
Lena leaned back, unimpressed. "Thought so. You don't even know."
He rubbed his face. "It's like she already had the whole thing mapped out. I blinked, and suddenly she's in my life like she's always been there."
Lena tapped her fingers against her glass. "Isabella Wynn doesn't do things impulsively. If she's clinging to you, it's not romance. It's strategy."
"You think she's using me?"
"She doesn't need to," Lena said sharply. "You're already doing what she wants. The real question is whether you'll keep doing it when she starts tightening the leash."
"…Thanks. That's very comforting."
"You're welcome."
A moment passed.Then Lena tapped the circled photo on the printout. "Look. I don't care who you date."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"I care if you stop being you," she said. "You were obnoxiously rigid, borderline allergic to drama—but at least you had principles."
"I still do."
"Then prove it. When she walks in here—don't let her walk all over you. Push back."
Before he could respond, the café door chimed.
Isabella stepped inside.
Every table turned. The room temperature dropped two degrees.
She was dressed in black and white, effortlessly elegant. Her eyes found Ethan instantly.
Lena stood up slowly. "Showtime."
He thought she'd want gossip.She wanted answers.