Kayla Bryce had always believed there were only two types of mornings in life.
Good ones, where the sun felt warm, coffee tasted like hope, and the world didn't actively try to ruin you.
And bad ones, where you woke up hungover, disoriented, and accidentally married to a billionaire with the emotional range of a refrigerator.
Today was very aggressively the second kind.
Her friends had invaded the suite like they were storming a reality TV set. Jade immediately claimed the couch, kicked off her shoes, and announced, "I live here now." Mia hovered near the minibar like she was about to emotionally bond with a bottle of water. Roxy stood by the windows, staring out at the Strip with the quiet, calculating look of someone mentally estimating the value of everything she could see.
And Tylor Carson, her husband, God help her, stood near the kitchen island, watching the chaos unfold like it was a mildly interesting documentary.
Kayla dropped into an armchair and pressed her fingers against her temples. "This is my life now. This is it. This is how I go."
Jade plopped down beside her. "You're being dramatic."
"I am legally bound to a stranger who owns more windows than I own socks."
Mia raised a hand. "Okay, but he's hot. That softens the trauma."
Kayla shot her a look. "You are not helping."
Tylor cleared his throat. All three friends turned to him at once.
"Yes?" Jade said brightly, like he was a waiter who had just arrived with gossip instead of a menu.
He folded his arms. "I assume you're not here for sightseeing."
Roxy tilted her head. "We're here for emotional support and free coffee."
He gestured toward the kitchen. "Help yourselves."
Jade gasped. "He's generous. Kayla, I like him."
"I don't," Kayla muttered.
Tylor looked at her. "You liked me last night."
"Don't remind me of last night," she snapped.
Mia's eyes lit up. "Oh my God. Tell us everything."
"There is nothing to tell," Kayla said quickly.
Tylor smiled faintly. "That's not true."
Her head whipped toward him. "Do not."
Jade leaned forward. "Oh, now I need to know."
Kayla stood. "We are not doing this."
Tylor didn't move, but there was something in his eyes, amusement, maybe. Or curiosity. "Relax. I'm not here to embarrass you."
"That's a first."
He ignored that. "You should all know, this situation is temporary."
Roxy raised an eyebrow. "Define temporary."
"A few months," he said calmly.
Kayla spun around. "We did not agree on a timeline."
"We didn't agree on anything," he replied. "But if we're doing this, we're doing it properly."
Mia blinked. "Wait. Doing what?"
Kayla crossed her arms. "He wants me to pretend to be his wife."
Jade nearly choked on her coffee. "Pretend?"
"You are my wife," Tylor corrected. "The pretending part is the emotional attachment."
Roxy whistled. "Cold."
Kayla glared. "I told him no."
"And I told her I'd make it worth her while," Tylor said.
Jade clapped. "Oh my God, I love rich people."
Kayla groaned. "Can someone in this room be on my side?"
Mia raised her hand. "I am, but also, what's the offer?"
Tylor's gaze stayed on Kayla. "Financial security. A clean slate. And access to a world you wouldn't get near otherwise."
Her stomach tightened. "I don't want your world."
"You need it," he said simply.
The room went quiet.
Roxy's eyes flicked between them. "Okay, there's clearly backstory we're missing."
Kayla swallowed. "There's nothing."
Tylor tilted his head. "You sure about that?"
She shot him a warning look.
Jade sensed the tension and, like a true agent of chaos, leaned into it. "So. Are you two sleeping in the same bed tonight, or do we need to start a betting pool?"
Kayla choked. "Absolutely not."
Tylor didn't answer right away. He studied Kayla, slow and deliberate, like he was measuring something she didn't want him to see.
"We'll see," he said.
Her face burned. "You are insufferable."
"Yet you married me."
"That was a mistake."
"Most interesting things are."
Mia sighed dreamily. "This is better than Netflix."
They ended up at breakfast because apparently, being in emotional turmoil still required food.
The hotel restaurant was a sleek, glass-walled space overlooking the Strip, full of polished marble tables and people who looked like they woke up looking rich.
Kayla felt like she'd wandered into the wrong movie set.
Tylor walked in like he belonged there. Staff nodded. Someone greeted him by name. A manager rushed over to shake his hand.
Kayla leaned toward Jade. "I hate him."
Jade whispered back. "I love him."
They sat at a table near the window.
Menus appeared. Water glasses filled. Kayla stared at the list of items and prices that made her want to cry.
She closed it and ordered coffee.
Tylor ordered like money didn't exist.
When the server left, Kayla leaned forward. "Okay. Let's talk."
"Good," he said. "I like when you're direct."
"I am not moving into your world."
"You already did," he replied calmly. "You just don't realize it yet."
Roxy folded her arms. "You're being cryptic on purpose."
"Yes."
Kayla rolled her eyes. "Why me?"
He didn't answer immediately.
That bothered her more than anything else he'd said.
"Because you were there," he finally said. "And because you didn't know who I was."
"That's a terrible reason to marry someone."
"It's a rare one."
She stared at him. "So what, I was your charity case?"
"No," he said quietly. "You were my chance."
That made her pause.
Mia frowned. "Chance for what?"
He looked away. "To not be alone at my own table."
The words were soft, almost lost in the noise of the restaurant.
Kayla felt something twist in her chest before she could stop it.
She shook her head. "That's not my problem."
"Maybe not," he said. "But it can be your opportunity."
Jade blinked. "Okay, that got weirdly deep."
The food arrived, breaking the tension.
Kayla picked at her plate, appetite gone.
Her phone buzzed.
A text from an unknown number.
We need to talk.
Her heart stuttered.
She frowned. "What the hell?"
Tylor noticed her expression. "Problem?"
"I don't know," she muttered. "Someone just texted me."
Roxy leaned in. "What does it say?"
Kayla showed her.
Roxy's face tightened. "That's ominous."
Another message popped up.
About last night.
Kayla's pulse spiked.
Jade nearly fell out of her chair. "WHO IS THAT?"
Kayla stood. "I need air."
She walked outside, the heat of Vegas slamming into her like a wall.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She hesitated, then answered. "Hello?"
A voice she didn't recognize said, "You don't remember me, do you?"
Her stomach dropped. "Who is this?"
A pause.
"You shouldn't have married him."
Cold crawled up her spine. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw you," the voice said. "Before the chapel. You were upset. You said you were running."
Her head spun. "Running from what?"
"You tell me," the voice replied. "But you didn't look like someone making a joke."
The call ended.
Kayla stared at her phone, hands shaking.
Tylor stepped outside. "What happened?"
She looked at him. "Someone called me. They said I shouldn't have married you."
His expression hardened instantly. "What did they say exactly?"
She told him.
His jaw clenched. "Did they give a name?"
"No."
He swore under his breath.
That alone scared her more than the call.
"You know something," she said.
"Yes."
"Tell me."
"Not here."
She laughed bitterly. "Of course not."
The rest of the day blurred into a strange mix of chaos and luxury.
Tylor insisted on taking them to lunch at a rooftop restaurant. Jade took selfies with the view. Mia flirted with a bartender. Roxy quietly Googled everything about Carson Global.
Kayla kept glancing at her phone, half-expecting it to ring again.
It didn't.
But the silence felt heavy.
By evening, Tylor led them back to the suite.
"Okay," Jade announced, "we're leaving you two alone now because this is either going to turn into a rom-com or a crime scene."
Mia hugged Kayla. "Text if you need a body hidden."
Roxy squeezed her hand. "Be careful."
The door closed behind them.
Kayla turned to Tylor. "You owe me answers."
He loosened his tie. "You owe me cooperation."
She snorted. "You're unbelievable."
"And you're married to me."
She stared at him. "I don't trust you."
He met her gaze. "Good. Trust makes people stupid."
Her heart thudded. "Then why should I stay?"
"Because you don't remember what you ran from," he said. "And because someone out there knows more about you than you do."
Her breath caught.
He stepped closer, voice low. "Stay with me, Kayla. Let me protect you while you figure it out."
"From what?" she whispered.
"From whatever made you say yes to me in the first place."
She laughed softly, hollow. "You really think you're my hero?"
"No," he said. "I think I'm your shield."
Silence filled the room.
Finally, she said, "What are the rules?"
His mouth curved into a slow smile.
"Now you're talking."
They sat across from each other at the table like they were negotiating a ceasefire.
"No touching," she said.
"Public affection only," he countered.
"No lying."
"I'll try."
She glared. "That's not comforting."
"No falling in love," he added.
She blinked. "Excuse me?"
He held her gaze. "This ends clean. We don't blur lines."
Her chest tightened. "Fine."
They shook on it.
The moment their hands touched, something electric shot through her.
She pulled back quickly.
He noticed.
He always noticed.
"Welcome to my world, Mrs. Carson," he said.
She swallowed. "Don't call me that."
He smiled. "You'll get used to it."
Later that night, Kayla stood on the balcony, staring at the neon glow of Vegas.
She didn't know who had called her.
She didn't know why she had said yes in that chapel.
And she didn't know what she had just signed up for.
But one thing was painfully clear.
This marriage wasn't an accident.
It was a door.
And something on the other side was waiting for her to walk through.