Married by Mistake, Loved by Design

Chapter Ten: Almost a Kiss

The city lights of the City twinkled beneath them as Alejandro and Valeria stood side by side on the rooftop terrace. The air was cool, a slight breeze tugging at their clothes as they leaned against the low stone wall, looking out at the skyline. For a moment, everything was silent—just the hum of the city below and the soft rustle of leaves in the wind.

But silence, like everything else between them, had become charged with something more.

Valeria could feel the weight of Alejandro’s presence beside her. His broad shoulders, his strong scent, the subtle tension in the air whenever their gazes met. She couldn’t ignore it anymore. She couldn’t pretend that the flutter in her chest when their hands brushed was just coincidence, that the warmth that spread through her veins when he smiled was something she could easily shake off.

They were supposed to be pretending.

This was just a business arrangement. A contract.

But why did it feel like everything was slowly unraveling? Why did she feel like she was losing control, losing herself, every time he looked at her as if she were something more?

“I don’t know why I agreed to this,” Valeria said, her voice low, almost swallowed by the wind.

Alejandro turned to face her, a slight frown pulling at the edges of his lips. “You agreed to it because you had no choice. We both did.”

She nodded, though she wasn’t sure if that was true anymore. She had no choice when it came to the contract, yes. But agreeing to play this role, to stay by his side night after night—somewhere deep down, she knew she had wanted it more than she cared to admit. And it was all becoming too much to keep pretending.

“I just thought... I thought I could keep it all separate,” she continued, her eyes not quite meeting his. “I thought I could play my part and keep my heart out of it. But I think I’m lying to myself.”

Alejandro’s gaze softened, though he quickly masked it with a quiet, almost imperceptible shift of his features. “You’re not the only one,” he said, his voice much quieter now. “I told myself this was just a job. But...”

He trailed off, the unspoken words hanging in the air between them. He didn’t have to finish his sentence for her to understand what he meant. They had both fallen into something they couldn’t control, and the more they fought it, the stronger the pull became.

Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t deny it any longer. She had wanted him from the moment they’d crossed paths, even before this charade began. He was everything she had never expected to want—powerful, confident, with a raw honesty that both terrified and captivated her.

And now, standing here with him, the magnetic force between them was undeniable.

Alejandro moved a step closer, his face now only a breath away from hers. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, the subtle tension in his muscles, and the way his breath quickened when she shifted slightly.

“I think... I think we’ve both been pretending long enough,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.

Valeria didn’t know what to say. Her pulse hammered in her chest, her heart racing as she gazed up at him. His eyes, dark and intense, seemed to search hers for something—perhaps for the truth she had been hiding, or for the words that would finally break down the wall she had so carefully built between them.

Everything in her screamed to pull away, to put some distance between them, to remind herself of the rules they had agreed to follow. But something in the air shifted—something far stronger than the cold breeze or the quiet buzz of the city.

And in that moment, Valeria knew she was just as lost as he was.

Before she could stop herself, she leaned in slightly, her lips barely brushing against his. It was a whisper of a touch, a soft, fleeting connection. A question and an answer all in one. Her breath mingled with his, warm and shaky, and her heart pounded so loudly in her chest that she feared he could hear it.

Alejandro’s hand reached up, his fingers grazing the side of her face, and the intensity of the moment made her stomach flip. His touch was gentle, almost reverent, as if he, too, was afraid to cross a line they might never be able to uncross.

For a heartbeat, they lingered there, suspended in time.

But then the world crashed back in. The reality of the contract. The expectations. The roles they were playing. It all came rushing back, and Valeria pulled away abruptly, her breath shaky as she took a step back, suddenly aware of how dangerously close she had come to losing herself.

“We... we can’t,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she turned away, facing the horizon once again, anything to avoid the fire she saw in Alejandro’s eyes.

He didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

And she didn’t dare look back.

The truth hung in the air like a broken promise, filling the space between them.

Neither of them had the courage to admit what was really happening.

Alejandro stood frozen, his hand still hovering in the space where her face had been just moments before. The warmth of her touch, the delicate brush of her lips against his—it had all been so fleeting, but it had felt like a lifetime. Every muscle in his body screamed for more, for the taste of what could have been. But he didn’t move. He couldn’t.

This wasn’t part of the plan. It never was.

His mind screamed at him to step back, to pull away from this dangerous edge they were teetering on. But his heart—his heart said otherwise. His heart begged him to take the risk, to cross that line, to embrace the truth of what had been growing between them since day one.

But Valeria was right.

They couldn’t. Not yet. Not in the world they were pretending to live in. Not while their entire relationship was built on a contract that had started with a lie.

“Valeria...” he whispered, though she didn’t hear him.

She couldn’t hear him. And maybe that was for the best.

In the silence that followed, Valeria felt the weight of her decision. She had wanted to believe that the connection between them was just a fleeting moment, something that could be easily ignored or dismissed. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t that simple.

The truth was, she didn’t know what would happen next. She didn’t know if she could keep pretending for much longer. She didn’t know if Alejandro could, either.

But for now, they would keep the distance. They would keep pretending. Because that was all they could do.

The night stretched on, and neither of them spoke.

They didn’t need to.

They both knew that this moment—this almost kiss—would haunt them for days to come.

And neither of them was ready to face the consequences.