“There,” she said. “You’re officially in the wild.”
I groaned and buried my face in a pillow. “I already hate this.”
She curled back into the throw. “You’ll thank me when you meet someone wonderful.”
“When he turns out to be a serial killer, I’m haunting you.”
Her reply dissolved into a yawn. “Worth it.”
Something in her eased after that. Not fixed—just loosening. A spark edging back into place, joke by joke, threat by threat.
Eventually, stillness settled over the apartment, drifting into sleep along with her. I stayed where I was, the room dim and quiet, watching the faint glow of her phone spill across the coffee table.
My reflection wavered there—blurred, anonymous.
Already asking to be erased.
Chapter 4
***
Barely two hours after I’d wrestled Candace into the guest bedroom, the alarm carved through the dark. My eyes burned with every blink. I pressed my palms to them until stars burst behind the black.
The lock screen flared to life—overnight emails, calendar pings, investor prep. Noise I expected.
But at the very top was something else.
CoreConnect.
A groan slipped out. “Oh, for the love of God.”
The app opened in a wash of light. Sleek serif font. Grayscale palette. A faint pulse behind the words:Smart matchmaking for the exceptional people.
My brows edged up.
Not “Find your forever.” Not “Love awaits.”Exceptional people.
Typical Candace.
I could practically hear her voice, smug and bright. “See? It’s classy. You’ll thank me when you marry a venture capitalist.”
I scrolled through the profile she’d built, braced for damage. Career. Hobbies. A quote she’d lifted from one of my old interviews, answered with unnerving certainty.
“Success is built, not inherited.”
The photo loaded last.
A blurred black-and-white side shot. Hair pinned back. Gaze angled down. Mysterious. Intentional. Curated into something softer, quieter, more desirable than I ever felt.
I buried my face in a pillow.
The phone buzzed again.
CoreConnect: You have 3 new matches.
“Already?” The word came out rough with sleep. “God help me.”
The first profile opened—only to satisfy curiosity, I told myself.
