Campus Romance: The contract girlfriend

Chapter title; Chapter 2: The first fake date

I regretted it the second I said "Fine."

₦850,000 for 3 months of pretending. Sounded easy on paper.

In real life, it meant dinner with Damian Cole tonight. In front of the whole campus.

“Wear something nice,” his text said. “Pick you up at 7.”

Nice? The only "nice" thing I owned was a borrowed dress from my roommate. White. Simple. Too tight in the chest.

At 7:00 sharp, a black G-Wagon pulled up outside my hostel.

Heads turned. Phones came out.

And Damian stepped out in a black suit that probably cost more than my tuition.

He looked at me. Really looked.

And for one second, that cold mask slipped.

“Not bad, Ava,” he murmured, opening the door for me.

The restaurant was full of campus elites. Cameras flashed.

Whispers everywhere: “Since when is Ava with Damian Cole?”

We played our parts. Hand holding. Fake smiles. My stomach was in knots.

Until his ex walked in.

Linda. Model. Heiress. And the girl who broke his heart last year.

She stopped at our table, eyes narrowing. “Well, well. The scholarship girl?”

Damian’s hand tightened around mine under the table.

“Jealous, Linda?” he said smoothly. “This is my girlfriend now.”

Linda laughed. “Please. Everyone knows you don’t do relationships.”

She leaned in close to me and whispered, “He’ll use you and throw you away. Just like he did me.”

My heart sank. But I looked up at Damian and forced a smile.

“Then I guess he’ll just have to prove you wrong,” I said.

On the drive home, silence.

“Thanks for tonight,” I said quietly.

Damian didn’t answer. He just stared at the road.

Until he stopped the car suddenly.

He turned to me, eyes dark. “Rule 1 was no feelings, remember?”

My breath caught. “I remember.”

“Good,” he said. But his hand brushed mine on the gear shift.

And he didn’t pull away.

To be continued...