His Public Wife

A man in a suit walks a woman in a gray dress down a bright tower hallway, his hand flat on her back.

He walked me in with his hand flat on my back, warm through the gray cloth.

Barrett

Head up. You don't owe anyone an explanation.

Lacey

What if they ask what I do?

Barrett

Tell them the truth. Loud.

His Public Wife

Chapter 5 of 16

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Synopsis

Lacey Quinn trusted her fiancé with her recipes and her future. At his company's Founders' Table dinner, Gavin raises a glass and says, "You were just my practice wife, Lacey. Smile for the real one." Then he announces his engagement to the chairman's daughter. The room laughs. Lacey wants to disappear. Then Barrett Vaughn, the billionaire who owns the company, stands up and calls Lacey his wife. He offers her a deal: one year of marriage in public, a safe place to live, and the money to start her own business. She gets protection. He gets the wife his family trust demands. No feelings. No messy questions. But Barrett's care feels more dangerous than Gavin's cruelty ever did. He notices what she needs before she asks. He watches her across every room. Lacey starts to wonder if safety is just another word for control. The more Barrett protects her, the more she needs to prove she can stand alone—and the more she needs him to let her. Because a safe marriage might cost her more than a cruel one ever did.