Page 120 of Terms of Exposure

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"Do you remember..." I hesitated, the words catching. "A while back, I mentioned I'd been talking to someone. A guy."

Jennifer angled her head. "The one I had to drag out of you?"

A weak laugh escaped me. "That's the one." My eyes closed as I took in what might be my last breath, and released it in one cool stream. "It was Damien Holt."

Her face went slack.

"I'm in a relationship with him," I continued before I could lose my nerve. "I have been for quite a while."

"How long?" she asked.

I offered an apologetic smile. "Since before the merger was finalized."

"No," she breathed, eyes widening. "Is that why—"

"Part of it," I admitted. "But things get more complicated than that."

"More complicated." Jennifer's voice was flat. Dangerous. "Explain."

So I did.

Everything.

The dating app. Read.

Months of messages before I ever knew his real name.

The merger—carefully set in motion,

not to trap me,

but because he'd already fallen

for a woman he had never met.

The dinner. The reveal.

The betrayal. The silence.

And then… us.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Finding our way back.

Jennifer didn't interrupt. Her expression shifted—shock, anger, disbelief, even a flash of grudging respect.

"That's..." She shook her head. "That's insane, Emma. You know that, right? The whole thing is absolutely insane."

"I know."

"A fake dating profile. Months of catfishing. And then he justhappenedto acquire your company?" She laughed—sharp and incredulous. "If you pitched this as a movie, I'd say it was too unbelievable."

"And yet."

"And yet." She studied me, her gaze turning clinical. Calculating. "That explains the relationship. It doesn't explain the audit."

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