CHAPTER FOUR — Seven O’Clock
889 Words
The rest of my day passed in a blurry haze.
I couldn’t focus on anything not my internship orientation, not the HR paperwork, not even my best friend Mia’s twenty missed calls. All I could think about was one thing:
Seven o’clock.
The moment my life would change forever.
By 6:30 p.m., I stood in front of my tiny apartment mirror staring at the catastrophe I called a wardrobe.
“How am I supposed to look like a billionaire’s girlfriend when I can barely look like I have a job?” I muttered.
I tore through clothes jeans, outdated dresses, sweaters my aunt gifted me nothing fit the image of a woman who could walk beside Adrian Black.
In the end, I chose the simplest thing I owned:
A soft black dress that hit mid-thigh, hugged nothing, showed nothing, and was just… safe. I paired it with the only pair of heels I had the ones that didn’t hurt too much.
My heart raced as I checked the time.
6:56 p.m.
Too late to run.
Too early to panic.
A loud, luxurious honk echoed from outside my window.
I froze.
Then slowly moved to look.
A sleek black car long, glossy, intimidating was parked in front of my building. A driver in a suit stood by the open back door, waiting.
Waiting for me.
My breath caught.
This was real.
This was happening.
I was about to walk into the life of a billionaire.
I grabbed my bag, inhaled deeply, and walked outside.
The driver nodded politely.
“Miss Aurora Hayes?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Mr. Black is expecting you.”
He opened the door.
I slid inside.
The Ride
The interior smelled like expensive leather and quiet secrets. Soft lights glowed from the ceiling, and the city outside blurred into streaks of gold and blue.
My knees bounced nervously.
I didn’t know where we were going, what I’d be doing, what I’d have to say or do or pretend.
I only knew one thing:
Adrian Black was dangerous.
Not because he was cruel
But because he was impossible to ignore.
The car finally slowed in front of a building that looked more like a palace than an apartment complex.
Tall. Glass. Private.
Of course.
The driver opened my door.
“This way, Miss.”
My heels clicked against the marble floor as I followed him into a private elevator. My heart felt like it was lodged in my throat.
Was Adrian already inside?
Would I embarrass myself?
Would he change his mind the second he saw me?
The elevator doors opened silently.
And there he stood.
Adrian
He was leaning casually against a marble counter, wearing a dark dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the first two buttons undone.
Effortlessly handsome.
Effortlessly dangerous.
His eyes lifted the moment he saw me.
They didn’t widen.
They didn’t soften.
But they noticed.
Slowly, he pushed off the counter and walked toward me.
“Aurora,” he said.
I swallowed. “Hi.”
His gaze swept over me slowly, intentionally. His expression didn’t change, but something in the air did. It tightened.
“You’re on time,” he said, voice calm.
“I didn’t want to make you mad,” I admitted before thinking.
One corner of his mouth twitched almost a smile, but not quite.
“I don’t get mad,” he said quietly. “I get… inconvenienced.”
I couldn’t tell if that was a warning or a joke.
He gestured toward the enormous living room.
“Tonight is your first test.”
“Test?” I squeaked.
“Yes.” He moved closer. “Tonight, the public gets the first glimpse of us together.”
“Us?” My heartbeat nearly malfunctioned.
“You’re my girlfriend, Aurora.”
He said it with the same tone someone might use to say You’re holding my coat.
“You need to act the part.”
I nodded, trying not to faint. “Okay. What do I do?”
He stepped so close I could feel the warmth radiating off him.
“Look at me,” he murmured.
I did.
His eyes were stormy and unreadable and too intense.
“When we walk in,” he said softly, “you stay at my side. Don’t let go of my arm unless I tell you. Don’t look nervous. And if anyone asks how we met…”
He leaned in. His breath brushed my ear.
“Smile,” he whispered. “As if the truth is too intimate to share.”
My knees nearly buckled.
What truth?
There was no truth.
It was a lie. All of it.
But he made it sound real.
I opened my mouth to respond
He held out his hand.
“Ready?”
I stared at it.
At him.
At the path I was about to walk into.
I placed my hand in his.
His fingers curled around mine, firm and warm.
“Good,” he said, eyes locked on mine.
“Then let’s begin.”
He tugged me gently toward the door
Just as cameras flashed outside.
My life was no longer mine.
And it was only the first night.
End of Chapter Four
Cliffhanger: Aurora is about to make her first public appearance as Adrian Black’s girlfriend… and the world is wat
- Writer
