Chapter 12 – The Trip
322 Words
Two days later, Amara found herself in the passenger seat of Leon’s sleek black car, watching the city shrink in the rearview mirror. The “weekend trip” he had proposed had gone from an idea to a reality faster than she could second-guess it.
They were headed to a coastal resort, the kind of place where people didn’t just come for the view — they came to be seen.
> “So, what’s the official story?” she asked, leaning back in the seat.
Leon glanced at her briefly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “That you’re mine.”
Her cheeks heated. “And what’s the unofficial story?”
> “That you’re mine,” he said again, this time softer, in a way that made her look away.
When they arrived, the resort staff greeted them like royalty, all smiles and champagne flutes. Cameras flashed from a discreet distance, just as Leon had planned. He rested a hand lightly on her lower back — casual enough for an audience, but firm enough to make her heart trip over itself.
Dinner was at a candlelit table by the ocean. Between the sound of the waves and the warmth of his gaze, it was easy to forget they were performing for anyone but themselves.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number lit up the screen:
“Does he know the truth about you?”
Her chest tightened. She quickly locked the phone and slipped it into her bag before Leon noticed, but the damage was done. The fragile illusion of their evening shattered.
He noticed anyway. “Everything okay?”
> “Fine,” she lied, forcing a smile.
But her mind was already racing. Someone was watching them, and whoever it was, they knew something she had never told Leon — something that could break them apart before they ever had the chance to be real.
- Writer
