The morning after the gala, the city woke not to the glamour of Aurora’s return, but to the sting of scandal.

Headlines blazed across every glossy magazine and online outlet:

“Runaway Heiress or Ruthless Seductress?”

“Aurora Veyra: From Abandoned Bride to Adrian Kane’s New Prize.”

Aurora sat in the glass-walled conference room of Kane Enterprises, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee she hadn’t touched. Her face was plastered across the tablet in front of her ...