Chapter 15
I forced a smile.
It was tight, a little wobbly, but enough to pass. Enough to pretend I hadn’t just walked into the last person I ever expected to see at my high school
reunion.
Karl.
And somehow, he made it look effortless, black shirt, top button undone, sleeves rolled back, jaw sharp enough to cut glass. He walked in like the room belonged to him.
Gasps filled the air before I could even speak.
“Oh my God, is that Karl Lever?”
“Wait, the Karl Lever!”
Heads turned. My old classmates stared like they were witnessing a live movie scene.
Layla’s smile faltered. She opened her mouth to say something, but one of the girls next to her squealed and grabbed my arm instead.
“Ellen That’s your husband?!”
And just like that, the entire room shifted. People who hadn’t spoken to me since graduation were suddenly smiling, crowding around us.
“He’s even hotter in real life. I didn’t believe the articles, but wow.”
“Is it true? You two are really married?”
1 blinked, trying not to let the disbelief show on my face. Karl slipped his hand around my waist so smoothly it felt natural. He pulled me just a little closer, his palm warm against my lower back.
Then he looked down at me with this look, soft, amused, like I was the only person in the room.
“You didn’t tell them?” he asked, his voice a warm murmur.
“Tell us what?” someone gasped,
He looked back at the crowd, smiling. That she’s the reason I stopped believing love was a distraction.”
The room went dead silent.
One of the girls audibly sighed.
“That’s… that’s literally the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Kari chuckled lowly, then brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “She’s stubborn, brilliant, absolutely impossible to argue with but I’d cancel a dozen meetings just to see her smile.
Someone shrieked in the back. Another whispered, “I think I’m going to cry
“How did you even make it here?” one of the guys finally asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Dubai or somewhere insane?”
Karl’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “I had work, still do but when my Ellen asks, I show up.”
Layla’s jaw clenched, her arms crossed over lier chest.
Karl leaned in, just slightly, and lowered his voice near my ear but still loud enough for the others to hear, “I came because you asked, love.” The word made my stomachs twist, but not in a bad way. I was burning red hot by now, they must have thought it was because I was flattered but was only because I was shocked by what was happening right now.
He pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to my forehead, not rushed, not just for show. A kiss t burst into hushed chaos.
I have to leave now,” he said, still chose, but I’ll send a driver for you”
that somehow made my skin heat up and the entire room
I barely nodded, still half in shock, and watched as he turned and walked out, his hand sliding off my
waist lau
Last.
Chapter 15
Every pair of eyes in the room turned to me.
One girl finally breathed out, “I need to find a billionaire.”
Another nodded
fast. “You won.
Ellen. You seriously won life.”
I smiled through my teeth, grabbed his wrist gently, and pulled him toward one of the side hallways, away from the flashing lights and gawking classmates. The moment we were out of sight. I turned to him.
“What are you doing here?” 1 whispered, still trying to make sense of it
Karl didn’t look rushed. He adjusted the cuff of 1
of his s
sleeve, eyes scanning me slowly like I was a detail he already memorized
“I did my part,” he said calmly, voice low but firm. “You wanted a fantasy, you got it. All eyes are on you now.”
“That doesn’t answer the question,” I said, frowning,
He stepped just a little closer, close enough to feel the heat of him, not quite touching. “I’ll need a favor from you soon. Consider this an early deposit
My brows knit. “What kind of favor?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t warm. “That depends on how well you keep up your end of the act.”
Before I could press him, he leaned in slightly, his lips near my temple not touching this time, just hovering.
“Don’t look so surprised.” he murmured, “we both knew this wasn’t free.”
Then, without another word, he stepped back and walked away, leaving me standing there with my pulse racing and my thoughts in knots.
1 stood there for a moment after Karl disappeared into the hallway, still feeling the echo of his voice in my ear. The weight of all those eyes hadn’t quite lifted, but I forced another smile and turned back toward the crowd.
Before I could reach them, a waiter in a crisp black vest stopped just a few steps in front of me. He held a tray of champagne flutes, perfectly chilled, line droplets of condensation sliding down the glass
“Miss Harrison,” he said with a polite nod, “this was set aside for you.”
My brows lifted slightly. “For me?”
He nodded once more and extended the tray toward me, hand steady. I glanced around. The girls were still gathered near the center, whispering and giggling, still buzzing about Karl. Everyone had a drink in their hand. I took the glass without thinking much of it.
“Thanks,” I said softly, lifting it halfway before taking a small sip:
The bubbles tickled the roof of my mouth, Cold. Crisp. Maybe a little stronger than I expected, but it helped. It steadied me. I hadn’t realized how tense I was until that moment, until the tightness in my chest loosened just a little.
I looked back at the waiter to thank him again, but he was already walking away.
I took another sip, slower this time, and let the sound of laughter and clinking glasses fade into the background. The glass felt good in something to focus on Something to do.
my hand,
The lights overhead felt a little brighter than they had before, but I shrugged it off. The room was crowded, the air warn. I probably just needed some water. Or maybe something to eat.
I placed the half–full glass on the edge of a nearby table and smoothed my
my dress with one hand, txing my posture before I rejoined the group.
I walked back into the room, trying to act like everything was normal, but the stares hit me harder than before. Everyone was still looking at me, some whispering behind their glasses, others smiling too widely like I had just become the most interesting thing they’d ever seen.
“Oh my God, Ellen: he is so hot someone breathed near me.
“Can I just touch your arm? Maybe some of that luck will rub off,” another joked.
I laughed softly, then took a small step b have answers to
back. “I just need to use the bathroom,” I said, excusing myself before they could ask more questions I didn’t
The hallway felt cooler than the ballroom, quieter. I headed toward the sign that read restrooms, heels tapping on tile
Chapter 15
Then a hand grabbed my
y wrist. What the fur
fuck!
Before I could react, I was yanked hard, my back hitting the wall. I closed my eyes in reaction reopening them with a shocked gasp.
My breath caught
“Darren?” I gasped, stunned to see him standing in front of me, eyes wild.
His hand clamped tighter around my wrist as he leaned in.
“Come with me, he muttered through clenched teeth, already p
pulling me.
I struggled to pull free, heart pounding as the hallway spun around me, “let me go!” I tried but his grip was harder as he pulled me away with him.
