She Was Humiliated Live on Camera by Her Influencer Twin Sister, Until the City’s Feared Underground King Stepped In and Claimed Her Before Millions

Delaney stared at Salvatore Vance, convinced she was dreaming.

“You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?”

“I don’t play pretend, Delaney,” Salvatore said, his expression completely serious. “If we do this, the world will believe it because we will make it undeniable.”

“Why me?” Delaney asked, her voice cracking slightly. “Look at me, Salvatore. Daphne is the model. Daphne is the one people look at. I have spent my entire twenties dealing with a metabolic condition that makes me fight for every single pound. I am not the kind of woman billionaires take to red-carpet galas.”

Salvatore took a step toward her.

The distance between them vanished.

He reached out, his warm fingers lightly touching the side of her chin, tilting her face upward so she had no choice but to look into his eyes.

There was no hesitation in his gaze.

“Your sister is a mirror,” Salvatore said softly. “Shallow, fragile, and showing only what other people want to see. You have substance. You have courage. The moment you stood up to Abbott last night, knowing you were being broadcasted, you showed more backbone than anyone in that restaurant.”

Delaney felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch.

Her skin tingled where his fingers rested.

“The world has been conditioned to look at illusions, Delaney. We are going to show them reality. And you are going to look breathtaking doing it.”

Delaney’s heart raced.

No man had ever spoken to her like this.

No one had ever looked at her curves and seen elegance instead of a flaw.

“What’s the catch?” she asked, trying to keep her defenses up.

Salvatore smiled—a rare, faint smile that softened the harsh edges of his handsome face.

“The catch is that you have to stop hiding. When you walk into that gala with me, thousands of cameras will be on you. Daphne will try to tear you down. The press will dig into your life. You cannot look down. You cannot apologize for taking up space.”

Delaney thought about all the years she had spent wearing oversized black cardigans.

She thought about eating lunch in bathroom stalls in college because she was afraid of people judging her tray.

She thought about Daphne’s laughter ringing in her ears: “Told you she’d fall for it.”

The fear was still there.

But underneath it, a new fire was ignited.

Delaney looked up into Salvatore’s storm-gray eyes and stood up straight.

“When do we start?” she asked.