Just for Tonight

Chapter. Six

Marietta froze, her breath catching in her throat as Delson collapsed in the front of her. She appeared round, half of of-awaiting someone to leap out and yell, "Surprise!" But it emerge as only her and Delson in the grand corridor, his face dwindled as he clutched his chest, gasping for air.

"Delson! Are you ok.?" Marietta knelt beside him, her coronary coronary heart racing. She wasn’t looking ahead to her first assembly to contain this shape of scene.

He appeared up at her, eyes extensive, as even though in disbelief. "It… it’s you."

“Me?” Marietta blinked, absolutely careworn. How must he possibly recognize her?

Delson sooner or later steadied his respiratory, setting a hand on the ground as he pushed himself to sit up. He nonetheless seemed shaken however managed to regain his composure. "I'm sorry. You just appearance… acquainted. Very acquainted."

Marietta provided her hand to help him up, and he time-honored it, his eyes in no way leaving hers. There became some thing about his stare, some factor extreme, like he became searching for to remedy a puzzle that most effective he must see.

"Thank you," he said, eventually standing. "I didn’t advise to startle you. It’s been an extended day."

Marietta gave him a small, uncertain smile. "No hassle. I… I can skip in case you’re now not feeling well."

"No," Delson fast responded, his tone more impregnable than earlier than. "I advocate… please live. It’s handiest for this night, proper?" His voice softened. "That’s why you are here?"

Marietta nodded. She favored to be anywhere however right right here, but her brother’s light face saved flashing in her thoughts. She reminded herself: this modified into only for this night time. She just needed to play her thing and stroll away with the cash they so desperately desired.

Delson took a deep breath, running his palms via his hair as he regained control. "Let’s head interior. There’s someone I’d such as you to fulfill, and then we’ll cross over what you’ll want to do."

Marietta accompanied him via the expansive hallways of the mansion, noting the ornate decor and high-priced chandeliers that solid a heat glow over the polished flooring. Every step made her sense more like an intruder, a person who didn’t belong on this international of wealth and luxury. She swallowed down her nerves, reminding herself that this have become truly temporary.

Finally, they reached a huge room wherein an older female with gray-streaked hair and sort eyes sat ready, a mild smile spreading in the course of her face as she looked up.

"Delson, costly! And… oh my, who’s this lovable more youthful girl?"

Delson smiled, his in advance tension easing. "This is Marietta. Marietta, that is my Aunt Lydia. She raised me."

Marietta controlled a well mannered smile, feeling her nerves intensify under the girl’s scrutinizing gaze. “It’s super to fulfill you, Mrs. Delson.”

“Oh, please, name me Aunt Lydia.” She reached out, taking Marietta’s palms in her private. "You have this sort of kind face, highly-priced. And you’re lovely." She checked out Delson, her eyes twinkling. "You’ve eventually introduced a person respectable home."

Delson chuckled, a touch of pink coloring his cheeks. "Aunt Lydia, it’s only for this night, endure in mind?"

Aunt Lydia’s face fell slightly, but she quick masked it with a smile. "Of route, of route. Well, Marietta, welcome. I desire you revel in yourself this nighttime. It’s been a while while you keep in mind that I’ve seen Delson smile like this."

Marietta’s cheeks warmed below Delson’s lingering gaze. There end up a few factor about his eyes that made her experience visible in a way she hadn’t felt in a long term. But she reminded herself—this end up simplest a technique. She have become right right here to assist him, and then she’d circulate lower back to her actual life.

As the evening wore on, Delson guided Marietta thru the event, introducing her to diverse guests and sharing some scripted statistics to make their "dating" look doable. She tried her exceptional to play along, giggling at his jokes, leaning in when he spoke, and hoping she appeared the element.

But because the night time improved, she determined herself enjoyable. Delson’s humor become sharp, his conversations interesting, and however his earlier nervousness, he become quite easygoing. Every time he checked out her, Marietta ought to revel in her heartbeat quicken.

"So, Marietta," Delson said, his voice low as they moved aside to get a few air at the terrace. "How did you turn out to be agreeing to this little scheme of mine?"

Marietta hesitated, glancing on the starry sky. She wasn’t sure how lots to show, but a few issue approximately Delson’s gaze felt comforting. "Let’s in reality say I desired the money. My brother… he’s unwell, and scientific payments aren’t cheap."

**Delson’s expression softened. "I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t propose to tug you into all this."

She shook her head, giving him a reassuring smile. "It’s adequate. I preferred to help. And to be sincere, you’re now not as terrible as I notion you’d be." She chuckled, feeling herself relax greater in his presence.

Delson chuckled too, rubbing the lower back of his neck. "I’ll take that as a compliment. But if it allows, I needed you here for a reason too."

"Why? Why go through all this trouble just for a faux fiancée?"

He sighed, his gaze drifting to the city lighting underneath. "Let’s in reality say there are human beings in my existence who assume matters of me. They need me to loosen up, and I…" He trailed off, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "I don’t trust in love anymore."

Marietta felt a pang in her chest. She had her private doubts about love, mainly with the entirety she’d gone thru. But Delson’s phrases seemed deeper, like he carried a hidden pain he didn’t display to the area.

They stood in comfortable silence, the cool night time time air washing over them. For a moment, it felt like the worldwide had faded away, leaving truely the two of them on that terrace.

"Thank you, Marietta," Delson subsequently whispered, his voice slightly audible. "For tonight."

Her coronary coronary heart fluttered at his terms. She wanted to say a few aspect, to invite him approximately the unhappiness in his eyes, however she held lower lower back. This wasn’t her existence, and this wasn’t her place. She reminded herself that this night modified into transient.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by Aunt Lydia’s voice from the doorway. "There you two are! The guests are starting to ask questions. Come returned inner!"

Delson straightened, giving Marietta a small smile. "Ready to go lower back in?"

She nodded, and together they walked returned into the grand hall, falling into the roles they had been predicted to play. But as they mingled with the site visitors, Marietta couldn’t shake the sensation that a few issue had modified. The connection she felt with Delson changed into sudden, and she or he puzzled if he felt it too.

Hours later, the occasion eventually started out to wind down. Marietta become exhausted, but as she stood with Delson, she felt a extremely good experience of success. Despite the entirety, the evening had long long gone higher than she should have imagined.

"Thank you yet again, Marietta," Delson said as they stood near the mansion’s exit. "You had been… amazing tonight."

Marietta smiled, a combination of remedy and unhappiness settling over her. "I’m satisfied I may additionally need to help. And… thank you. For the whole lot."

"Well, until you've got got another fake fiancée procedure lined up, I think that is goodbye."

Delson chuckled, although his smile didn’t reach his eyes. "I assume you’re proper."

With a final nod, Marietta grew to grow to be and walked in the direction of the prepared vehicle, her coronary heart feeling heavier with each step. She had completed what she came to do. Her circle of relatives wanted her, and she couldn’t allow herself wander away in this world that wasn’t hers.

As the automobile pulled away from the Delson mansion, Marietta seemed out the window, feeling a peculiar aggregate of comfort and remorse. This have become imagined to be genuinely one night time—a single manner. Yet she couldn’t shake the sensation that a part of her modified into nevertheless once more there, on that terrace, status beside Delson below the starlit sky.

Maybe she’d see him another time, or possibly she wouldn’t. But this

night, she had completed what she had to do. And for now, that grow to be enough.