Evelyn continues, unbothered. “Your lives have reached a point where your privacy and security are no longer functional. You need help. Not in six months. Not after another incident. Now.”
Incident.
Lila inhales sharply. The sound is small, but it cuts through the room.
Evelyn turns slightly toward her. “Your last performance footage spread faster than projected. Fan turnout has doubled in some locations. Security incidents are increasing.”
She lifts a hand before Lila can react. “Nothing criminal,” she adds smoothly. “But boundaries are eroding. Fans slipping past barricades. Access attempts in private corridors. Behavior is escalating.”
Lila’s jaw tightens. Her hands curl together in her lap.
I don’t look at her directly, but I register every shift. Every tell.
This isn’t news to her. It’s confirmation.
“And you,” Evelyn says, turning back to me, “are navigating a narrative that is not of your making.”
That’s one way to put it.
“The league is watching,” she continues. “Sponsors are watching. Silence alone isn’t enough to stabilize perception. You need a partner. Consistency. A visible counterweight to speculation.”
I let out a slow breath. “So we’re… mutually beneficial distractions.”
Evelyn smiles faintly. “More or less.”
I glance at Lila despite myself.
She’s staring at the table now. At the water glass. Anywhere but at either of us.
She looks tired. Not bored. Not dismissive.
Just worn down in a way that feels uncomfortably familiar.
Evelyn folds her hands again. “You both have challenges that can be mitigated by a unified front. Having a boyfriend, girlfriend, or fiancé can only get you so far.”
Lila’s head snaps up.
Her eyes flash behind the sunglasses. Alarm. Resistance. I feel it too. The tightening in my chest.
Evelyn leans forward like she’s delivering a conclusion she reached a long time ago.
“Given your circumstances,” she says evenly, “Elite Relationship Solutions recommends the highest level of partnership we offer.”
Lila stiffens so fast I hear the chair shift beneath her.
My pulse kicks hard, instinct flaring. I don’t like where this is going. I don’t like how carefully it’s being laid out.
Evelyn doesn’t rush to soften the blow.
“This level provides unquestioned access,” she continues. “Shared credibility. Immediate stabilization of public narrative. It reduces risk exposure across every category we track.”
Then Evelyn says it.
“We recommend marriage.”
The word hits the room like a dropped weight.
Marriage.
