The CEO's Temporary Bride

Chapter 5

Riley’s apartment was its usual mix of chaos and charm. Sleek, designer furniture was scattered with the evidence of her daily life: unopened packages stacked by the wall, a lone stiletto abandoned under the coffee table, and a throw draped across the couch like an afterthought. I walked in, uninvited as always, dropped my bag on her floor and face planted onto her fancy pillows.

“Kill me now,” I groaned into the throw pillow.

Riley’s voice floated from the kitchen. “Kill you? Never. You’re my primary source of entertainment.”

I lifted my head just enough to glare at her. “Great. Glad my misery serves a purpose.”

She appeared with a steaming mug of tea in one hand, the picture of unbothered luxury, and perched on the armrest near my head. “Rough day?”

“Try rough life.” I rolled over, lying on my back. “You have no idea what I’ve been through today.”

She smirked and sipped her tea. “I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.”

“Oh! I’m telling you,” I said sitting up and throwing my arms in the air. “First, your genius blind date idea? Total disaster. Second, Eric invited me to lunch just to introduce me to his fiancée—who, by the way, is wearing the exact ring I told him to buy. And third, work was absolute chaos because everyone’s freaking out about the new CEO.”

Riley nearly choked on her tea. “Wait, Eric’s engaged? To who?”

“To Historia,” I spat the name like poison. “She’s gorgeous, perfect, sweet, and everything I’m not. Oh! and did I mention she’s wearing the ring I picked out for her? Isn’t that fun?”

Riley’s smirk vanished, replaced by something softer. “Yikes. That’s… brutal. I’m sorry, Harper.”

“Don’t be,” I said, trying to laugh it off. “It’s not like I didn’t see it coming. But still… it stings.”

Riley nodded thoughtfully. “Fair. Okay, So, onto the blind date. That one had to be funny.”

I groaned and covered my face with my hands at the memory. “Oh, it was. For him, not me.”

“What did you do?” she asked, leaning forward her curiosity barely concealed .

“What didn’t I do?” I threw my hands up. “I followed your instructions to the letter. Femme fatale, over-the-top chaos, the whole nine yards. I was loud, obnoxious, flirty—basically the worst date ever. You’d think that would scare him off, right?”

“And?”

“And he gave me his number!” I exploded, throwing myself back against the couch. “Like, what the hell? He just sat there, calm as a rock, and then handed me his number like I hadn’t just spent an hour being an absolute menace.”

Riley burst into laughter, nearly spilling her tea. “That’s amazing. I think I’m in love with this guy already.”

“It’s not funny!” I snapped. “He’s supposed to be your problem, not mine. And now, instead of forgetting the whole thing, I’m stuck thinking about his stupid, unreadable face.” She wiped a tear from her eye, grinning like a cat. “Admit it. You’re curious.”

“Curious about never seeing him again, maybe,” I muttered, folding my arms.

“Relax.” She waved me off. “He’s probably already forgotten about you. You, my dear, have nothing to worry about.”

I sunk into the couch further, sighing in defeat. “I wish I could think that. But between Eric, work and my rent situation, I’m barely afloat.”

Riley’s smirk faded, replaced by genuine concern. “okay, so What’s bothering you the most? Eric? Work? Rent?”

“All of it,” I admitted. “But mostly rent.

You’re helping me out this month but after that…” I let the sentence hang and shrugged helplessly.

“You’ll figure it out,” she said firmly. “You always do.”

“I don’t know if I will this time,” I said, laughing bitterly.

Riley set her mug down and looked at me seriously. “Harper, you’re scrappy. You’ve had worse to deal with, haven't you?”

I didn’t reply, just lay there staring at the ceiling.

“You’re like a cockroach” she continued, her lips slightly forming a grin. “Indestructible.”

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said, rolling my eyes.'

She nudged my shoulder with hers. “I’m serious. You’re going to be fine.”

“Fine,” I muttered. “Sure. I’ll just add it to my vision board: ‘Be a cockroach.’”

Riley laughed. “Hey, it works.”

We spent the next hour talking about everything and nothing. She told me about her latest clash with her dad—something involving a loud argument about a fundraiser—and I shared a mortifying story about tripping over a mop bucket at work. For a little while, it felt like everything else—my debts, Eric, the rent—faded into the background.

Then my phone buzzed.

At first, I ignored it, too caught up in Riley’s exaggerated impression of her dad yelling about "family responsibility." But it buzzed again. And again.

“Are you going to get that, or should I?” Riley asked with raised eyebrows.

“Sure,” grabbing my phone from the coffee table, My thumb hovered over the screen as I read the notification.

Unknown Number: “We’ll be seeing each other again soon. Looking forward to it.”

My heart stopped.

“Riley,” I whispered, holding up the phone. “I think it’s him.”

“Who?” she asked. leaning over.

I could hardly make out her voice. My heart was pounding so hard my brain buzzed with it, and there I was running through every possibility I could think of in that first split second. It couldn’t be him. It just couldn’t.

Riley’s lips quirked into a small, amused smile as she took the phone from my loose grip. “Huh. Well, isn’t this interesting?” she said, scanning the message again. “That boy really knows how to keep things mysterious, doesn’t he? ‘Looking forward to it.’ Very smooth. I like it.”

I blinked at her. too stunned to respond.

But then the smile fell off her face and she just looked at me for a moment like all of sudden something had occurred to her. “This is him, as in him, oh my god harper! What exactly did you do on that date?”

“I… I don’t know.” I stammered. My hands felt clammy, my thoughts spiraling.

“Unbelievable.” She ran a hand through her hair, her frustration palpable. “I told you to scare him off, Harper. Not turn him into your personal stalker!”

I sank further into the couch, staring at the screen. My stomach twisted with a mix of fear and something I didn’t want to name.

“Riley,” I whispered again, my voice barely audible. “I think we messed up.”