Staring out over the city, the shimmering lights seemed almost like a reflection of the disarray in my own mind. How could a single evening turn everything upside down? It felt like the world's most convoluted rom-com had decided to have its premiere in the theater of my life.

“I mean, come on, Em,” I said to myself, smudging the window pane with a fingertip, “Marry Adrian Blackstone? A fake marriage proposal in exchange for financial freedom? It's like a page ripped from one of ...