The Pretend Bride's Unexpected Path To True Love

Thalia's POV:

I joined Scarlet Angels, a luxury escort agency, a few months ago. Before that, I worked as a secretary, but that job barely paid for groceries.

I could not cover the growing stack of bills. Paying for college tuition and my brother, Maxwell Perkins's boarding school felt impossible.

I wanted to afford everything. I wished I could pay someone to look after him so I could come home to him each night. Losing our parents hurt, but the pain seemed even sharper for him.

I scrubbed away layers of makeup until only tired, pale skin showed in the mirror. Hot water ran down my back. People claimed escort money came easy, but I found it to be the hardest money I ever earned. Turning down the job never felt like an option. Debt buried me, and my little brother needed me to take care of him. After our parents died, all we had left was sadness, longing, and a mountain of bills. Keeping up with debt as a secretary felt hopeless. I nearly gave up on my studies altogether.

A friend from college helped me by introducing me to the owner of Scarlet Angels, where she worked.

At first, I did not want to go through with it. The idea clashed with everything I believed in. Things changed when child protection services threatened to intervene. I realized I could lose custody of Maxwell, since I left him alone while I worked. We were barely scraping by.

That month, my friend paid a few of my bills and told me that I would not always have to sleep with clients. If a client expected more than I was comfortable with, I could say no and walk away.

We were given the freedom to choose who we wanted to meet and could turn down any proposal.

That was how I began working at Scarlet Angels, though the job was never easy. Still, I started making enough money. I paid for my college tuition and Maxwell's boarding school, which was well-known and expensive.

I could not say I was truly happy, but I was inching closer to my goals. Now, I was paying the price for a three-month suspension after getting involved with one of the employees at Scarlet Angels. I had broken one of Liza Schmidt's rules. She owned the agency. The worst part was that I never even cared for the guy. He made a big scene, telling Liza that he was quitting because of me, when the truth was, he had taken a job in New York. While I was out of work, my small savings disappeared as I tried to cover all the bills that kept piling up.

Working on my own turned out to be even harder.

The phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Thalia. I should have ignored you for a few more months. But let's say fortune smiled on you. So, don't let me down."

Kari Martin, one of my