Chapter 1 - The Impossible Christmas Lie
My ruthless billionaire boss ordered me to walk into his family’s Christmas party pretending to be his girlfriend, knowing everyone there already knew I was only his assistant. But when I demanded to know how he planned to make such an outrageous lie believable, Luca Moretti looked me straight in the eyes and revealed the one thing that could turn a harmless act into something dangerously real.
By four-thirty on the last Friday before Christmas, I’d already spent the day cleaning up disasters for Luca Moretti. A senator’s ruined dinner, a penthouse delivery sent to the wrong address, and a contractor’s mistake that nearly cost him half a million dollars.
None of it rattled him.
Luca was the kind of man who never needed to shout. In Manhattan, people knew him as the ruthless head of Moretti Holdings, but behind closed doors, they whispered about the Moretti name, old loyalties, dangerous favors, and negotiations that ended with powerful men suddenly becoming very cooperative.
Nobody in our office said mafia.
Nobody needed to.
So when Luca’s office door opened and his cold voice carried across the executive floor, every assistant around me went silent.
“Emma. In here.”
I grabbed my legal pad and followed him inside. Luca stood beneath the pale December light, his tie loosened, his jaw tight enough to warn me that whatever was coming had nothing to do with business.
“Is something wrong with tonight’s security?” I asked. “I can have Sienna check the guest list again.”
“It’s not logistics.”
My fingers froze over the page.
That was worse.
“My family’s Christmas party is tonight,” he said.
“I know. Your aunt called twice about the wine, your grandmother’s flowers arrived, and Julian asked again whether you were finally bringing a date.”
“I am.”
I looked up. “All right.”
His eyes settled on mine.
“With you.”
For a second, I honestly thought exhaustion had finally broken something in my brain. “Excuse me?”
“Come home with me tonight,” Luca said calmly. “As my girlfriend.”
I stared at him. “Your fake girlfriend.”
“Yes.”
A nervous laugh almost escaped me, but his expression killed it.
“Why me?”
“My family has decided it’s time for me to choose someone.”
The room suddenly felt colder. “Choose someone for what?”
Luca pushed away from his desk and walked toward me, stopping only a few feet away.
“Marriage.”
My mouth went dry.
“And bringing your assistant somehow fixes that?”
“For tonight.”
I tightened my grip on the legal pad. “Luca, your family knows exactly who I am. They know I work for you. No one is going to believe we’re suddenly in love.”
Something changed in his face then. Not softness. Something more unsettling.
“They will after I tell them what I intend to tell them.”
My heartbeat slammed against my ribs. “And what exactly are you planning to tell them?”
Luca held my gaze for one long, unbearable second.
“That you’re the only woman I would ever choose.”
I forgot how to breathe.
Then he turned away from me as if he had just discussed the weather.
“I need you at the house by seven.”
I remained where I was.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“I have plans.”
He looked over his shoulder.
“With your brother?”
The question caught me off guard.
I hated how much he knew about my personal life.
“My sister is in Queens with her two kids. I was supposed to have dinner with them.”
“Cancel it.”
“No.”
His eyebrow lifted.
It was the same expression he used when million-dollar negotiations stalled.
I straightened.
“You hired me because I can run your schedule, not because I’m available for whatever bizarre family performance you invent.”
Something almost amused flickered in his eyes.
“I hired you because you’re the only person in this company who will tell me when I’m being unreasonable.”
“I’m telling you now.”
“I know.”
“And?”
“You’re still coming.”
“Why?”
Silence.
Then Luca walked to the window.
Outside, snow had begun to fall over Manhattan.
“My grandmother has advanced cancer.”
My anger disappeared.
He continued without turning around.
“She was diagnosed last spring. She has refused most treatments. Tonight’s party may be her last Christmas.”
I swallowed.
“I’m sorry.”
“She has one request.”
“What?”
“She wants all the family there. My cousins. My uncle. My mother. My younger brother. Everyone.”
“That still doesn’t explain me.”
“It does when you understand what my family is.”
I waited.
Luca’s voice hardened.
“They believe a man with my position should already be engaged. My grandmother thinks I’m hiding behind work because I’m afraid of commitment.”
“Are you?”
He turned.
“No.”
Something about the answer made my stomach tighten.
“My uncle has already started discussing mergers with families who expect marriage alliances,” he said. “My brother thinks I should accept one of them.”
“And you don’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
He looked at me for a long moment.
“Because every woman they introduce sees the Moretti name before she sees me.”
The words were unexpectedly honest.
“And you think I don’t?”
“You spend every day working for me.”
“That’s different.”
“Exactly.”
I stared at him.
“So this is because your family thinks you’re incapable of having a real relationship?”
“It’s because my family uses affection as leverage.”
“And pretending to date your assistant is supposed to stop that?”
“For tonight.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
His expression remained calm.
“What would change your mind?”
“Nothing.”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
I blinked.
“Absolutely not.”
“Fifty.”
“I’m offended.”
One corner of his mouth moved.
“Good.”
“You can’t buy me.”
“I know.”
“Then stop offering.”
He nodded.
“You’re right.”
I thought the conversation was over.
It wasn’t.
Luca came closer.
“I’ll give you one reason.”
“What?”
“If you come tonight, my grandmother will stop believing that I’ve given up on having a life.”
I folded my arms.
“You could bring a friend.”
“She knows every woman in my social circle.”
“A stranger.”
“My grandmother can read a person in thirty seconds.”
“Then I’m doomed.”
He almost smiled.
“Probably.”
I should have walked out.
Instead, I asked the question that had been sitting in the back of my mind since he called me into the office.
“What happens if your family asks how we met?”
“You say we met through work.”
“They know I’m your assistant.”
“Yes.”
“They’ll think it’s ridiculous.”
“They already know I’m impossible.”
I sighed.
“This is going to be a disaster.”
“Most likely.”
“Fine.”
His expression changed.
“You’ll come?”
“Yes.”
He nodded once.
“Thank you.”
I grabbed my coat.
“Don’t thank me yet.”
At seven fifteen, a black SUV collected me outside my apartment.
I had spent an hour choosing clothes, and then another twenty minutes convincing myself that I had made the wrong choice.
I wore a dark green dress my sister had given me two Christmases ago.
Simple.
Elegant.
Not remotely billionaire-family appropriate.
The driver opened the door.
“You look lovely, Ms. Carter.”
“Thank you.”
The Moretti estate was outside the city, behind iron gates and a long private driveway lined with bare trees.
The house looked less like a home and more like a fortress built for royalty.
Luca was waiting at the entrance.
He wore a black suit.
No tie.
The kind of clothing that looked effortless only because it cost more than my entire apartment.
His eyes traveled over me once.
Then stopped.
“You’re staring.”
“I’m evaluating.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It is.”
He stepped aside.
“Ready?”
“No.”
“Good.”
We entered.
The first person I met was Luca’s grandmother.
She was smaller than I expected.
White hair.
Sharp eyes.
Elegant black dress.
She looked at me for three seconds.
Then smiled.
“So you’re Emma.”
My heart jumped.
Luca had told me his grandmother was named Isabella Moretti.
She held out her hand.
“Come here.”
I stepped forward.
She took my hand and looked at Luca.
“You chose well.”
I nearly choked.
Luca’s hand settled lightly against my lower back.
I stiffened.
“Grandmother,” he said.
“Don’t Grandmother me. I’ve been waiting four years.”
A tall man approached.
Julian Moretti.
Luca’s younger brother.
He looked at me.
Then at Luca.
Then back at me.
“You’re serious?”
Luca nodded.
Julian laughed.
“Oh, this I have to see.”
The rest of the family arrived quickly.
His mother.
His aunt.
Three cousins.
An uncle named Victor.
Every smile looked polite.
Every question felt like an inspection.
“How long have you been together?”
“About—”
“Seven months,” Luca answered.
I looked at him.
Seven?
He squeezed my hand.
“Seven months.”
His cousin Olivia smiled.
“Really? We never heard anything.”
“We kept it private,” I said.
Luca looked at me.
“That was my decision.”
Olivia’s smile tightened.
“Of course.”
Dinner began.
I sat beside Luca.
His hand rested near mine beneath the table.
Every few minutes, someone asked another question.
Where had we gone on vacation?
What did I like about him?
Did I know his habits?
What did we fight about?
At one point, Julian smirked.
“Do you two ever sleep?”
I nearly dropped my fork.
Luca looked completely unbothered.
“Julian.”
“What? I’m curious.”
Isabella laughed.
The tension eased.
Then Uncle Victor spoke.
“So, Emma. Your family must be pleased.”
“Pleased?”
“With the engagement.”
I nearly choked.
“We’re not engaged.”
Victor looked at Luca.
“Yet.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
I felt it.
Then Isabella coughed.
Everyone stopped.
Luca immediately stood.
“Grandmother?”
She smiled.
“I’m fine.”
But her face had gone pale.
The room fell silent.
A nurse appeared.
Isabella looked at Luca.
“I want Emma.”
He guided me closer.
Her hand closed around mine.
“You remind me of someone.”
“Who?”
“Myself.”
I smiled nervously.
She leaned toward me.
“There is one thing you need to know about this family.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“Trust no one who smiles too easily.”
Then she looked toward Victor.
My stomach dropped.
Later, Luca walked me upstairs.
“You okay?”
“Your family is terrifying.”
“That’s fair.”
“Your grandmother scared me.”
“She scares everyone.”
“She said I remind her of herself.”
“She likes you.”
“That may be the most frightening part.”
We stopped outside a guest room.
I turned to him.
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”
“You can.”
“Good.”
He nodded.
Then I noticed the expression in his eyes.
“What?”
He hesitated.
“My grandmother asked me to stay with you tonight.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“She believes the family is about to fracture.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“It is.”
He looked toward the hallway.
Then back at me.
“Emma, there’s something I didn’t tell you.”
“What?”
“My uncle knows I’m pretending.”
My heartbeat stopped.
“How?”
“He saw us leave the office together.”
“And?”
“He doesn’t care about the lie.”
“What does he care about?”
Luca’s face turned cold.
“He cares about what you might accidentally discover.”
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
At two in the morning, I heard voices downstairs.
One belonged to Victor.
The other belonged to Luca.
I quietly opened my door.
Then I heard my own name.
“Emma Carter knows nothing,” Victor said.
Luca’s voice was deadly.
“Then leave her out of this.”
“She already isn’t.”
A pause.
Victor lowered his voice.
“If she finds the letter, the family loses everything.”
I stopped breathing.
“What letter?” Luca asked.
Victor laughed softly.
“The one your father hid before he died.”
I stepped backward.
The floorboard creaked.
Silence.
Then Luca said:
“Emma?”
I ran back into the room.
My hand went to my mouth.
A letter.
My name.
Luca’s dead father.
May you like
And a family secret I had never known existed.
Whatever this fake relationship had been supposed to be, it had just become something far more dangerous.
