Chapter 3: A Dangerous Proposal
448 Words
Stephanie balanced her tray of meals at the restaurant that evening, still replaying her encounter with Sean in her mind. The nerve of him! His smirk, his arrogance, his teasing tone — it all made her blood boil.
She had just served table five when the glass door swung open. In walked Sean, this time alone, his designer sneakers squeaking softly against the tiles. Stephanie almost dropped the tray.
Of all the restaurants in town, why here again?
He walked straight to her counter and leaned casually, his cologne drifting across.
“Relax, I’m not here to fight. Just to… talk.”
Stephanie raised an eyebrow. “We have a ‘no disturbance’ policy here. If you want to eat, order. If not, move aside.”
Sean laughed softly, shaking his head. “You’re different. Most people try to impress me. You? You push me away like I’m nothing.”
“That’s because you are nothing to me,” she snapped.
Instead of anger, Sean’s smile widened. “And that’s exactly why I need you.”
Stephanie frowned. “Excuse me?”
Sean leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Look, my father — Professor Adi — has been breathing down my neck. He thinks I’m reckless, irresponsible, wasting his reputation. He wants me to date some high-class girl from a senator’s family just to ‘fix my image.’ But I don’t want her.”
He paused, his eyes studying Stephanie.
“So, here’s my idea: Pretend to be my girlfriend. Just for show. That’ll shut my father up. In return, I’ll make sure your tuition, rent, and everything else is taken care of. No more struggling.”
Stephanie’s jaw dropped. She stared at him as if he had just spoken another language.
“You… you want me to fake date you? For money?”
Sean shrugged, flashing that arrogant grin. “Call it an arrangement. You help me, I help you. Win-win.”
Stephanie slammed the tray down. “I’m not for sale, Sean.”
Her voice was cold, sharp. She turned away, leaving him standing there, but her heart pounded.
Yes, she despised him. Yes, she rejected his insulting proposal.
But as she walked back to the kitchen, she couldn’t deny one truth — the thought of escaping her endless financial struggles, even just for a moment, had tempted her.
And Sean, watching her walk away, smirked to himself.
“She’ll say no today. But I’ll make her say yes.”
What neither of them realized was that this “arrangement,” if it ever happened, would not only entangle them but also awaken dangerous secrets and emotions neither was prepared to face.
End of Chapter 3.
- Writer
