NICHOLAS

I held a glass in one hand and my phone in the other. The headline read: "Stella, girlfriend to real estate billionaire James Hawthorne, found fooling around with rival real estate tycoon Nicholas Ford."

I smiled.

Of course they would twist it to their taste. The media loved scandals, and I loved feeding it to them—especially when it was all to my advantage.

I took a slow sip of the champagne, letting the bubbles tickle my throat as I stared at the image splashed across ...