Chapter 533:

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Her performance of absolute helplessness stroked his battered ego. Here was someone who needed him, who saw him as a savior.

He hesitated, then reached down and pulled her to her feet.

Finn pulled Cheyanne onto the sofa, his movements stiff and reluctant, but he didn’t push her away. He handed her a silk throw pillow, a clumsy gesture of comfort.

“Stop crying,” he said, his voice rough with a mixture of pity and lingering disgust.

Cheyanne buried her face in the pillow, shoulders shaking with perfectly timed sobs. She looked up at him, eyes red and swollen, a portrait of tragic beauty. “I don’t care what they write about me,” she whispered hoarsely. “I only care about you, Finn. I’m so afraid my past will ruin you.”

The selfless sentiment, so perfectly calculated, landed exactly as intended. It shifted the focus from her deception to his potential victimhood.

Finn let out a long, weary sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “My mother has already called. She is furious. She has demanded again that I break off the engagement.”

The words hit Cheyanne like a physical blow. A tremor ran through her, a flash of genuine terror she couldn’t fully mask, before she buried her face in the pillow again, her sobs redoubling.

“I know,” she choked out, pushing herself away from him as if she were unclean. “I knew this would happen. I don’t deserve you. I’ll just go. Let them destroy me.”

She made a move to stand, her body swaying as if about to faint. Masterful theater.

Finn’s hand shot out, grabbing her arm, a reflex.

𝖳𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗀𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌.𝖼𝗈𝗆

“Where would you go?” he grumbled. “The entire city’s press corps is probably camped outside the building.”

That was all the invitation she needed. She collapsed against him, her sobs muffled against his chest. “I have nowhere to go. Katharine and Baker threw me out. They said I was a disgrace.”

Finn had no way of knowing it was a lie, she had spoken to her mother just an hour ago. All he saw was a tragic, homeless orphan, a victim of cruel fate.

His resolve crumbled. All his life, he had been the one needing protection, living in the shadow of his uncle and under his mother’s thumb. Now, for the first time, someone was completely, utterly dependent on him. The feeling was a powerful narcotic.

He awkwardly patted her back. “Alright. Stop crying. It’s going to be okay. I won’t let them do this to you. We’ll figure something out.”

The promise, wrung from him through guilt and pity, was all she needed. She slowly quieted, pulling back just enough to look up at him, her eyes shining with what looked like pure adoration.

“Really, Finn? You’re not disgusted with me?”

He looked away. “Everyone has a past,” he mumbled, the words hollow even to his own ears. “Just no more secrets. From now on.”

“I swear,” she said with a convert’s fervor.

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