Chapter Three
1180 Words
The elevator ride was long and still. My reflection in the mirror looked like a ghost of the bride I used to be. My makeup was smudged, my eyes red, but Leo didn’t look away. His gaze lingered once, then shifted to the numbers above the door.
When we reached the top floor, he led me into an apartment that looked like a magazine photo. Everything was clean lines, black marble, soft gold light. The windows stretched from floor to ceiling, giving a view of the sleeping city below.
“You live here alone?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“It feels…empty.”
He glanced at me, “I like silence.”
I nodded. “I used to like it too. Until it started to sound like loneliness.”
He said nothing. He took off his jacket, hung it neatly, and walked toward the kitchen. “You want something to drink?”
“Water is fine.”
He poured two glasses. His movements were precise, practiced. He handed me one and leaned against the counter. For a few seconds, the only sound was the city’s hum far below us.
“What made you say yes?” he asked suddenly.
I blinked. “To your deal?”
He nodded.
“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. Maybe I wanted a distraction. Maybe I didn’t want to be me for a while.
His eyes softened for the first time that night. Then we understand each other.
I wanted to ask what he meant, but he was already walking toward a hallway. “There’s a guest room down there. You’ll find clean clothes in the closet. My sister leaves some whenever she visits. Sleep. We leave early.”
I wanted to thank him, but he had already disappeared into another room. The sound of a closing door echoed faintly. I stood there, holding the glass of water in my hand, surrounded by too much beauty and too little warmth.
The guest room was soft, white, and spotless. The bed looked untouched. I sat at the edge and let the silence settle. My phone blinked with missed calls and unread messages. His name appeared again on the screen. The man I was supposed to marry. I turned the phone facedown.
I changed into a loose shirt from the closet and stared out the window. The city looked different from up here. Small. Harmless. I pressed my forehead against the glass and exhaled. I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. I didn’t know if Leo King was a blessing or another kind of mistake.
But for the first time in a long while, I wasn’t crying.
Morning light crept across the room. I woke to the smell of coffee. My head felt heavy from restless dreams. I followed the scent to the kitchen. Leo was there, already dressed in a dark suit, hair neat, expression unreadable.
“Good Morning,” I said, voice rough.
He nodded once. Eat something before we go. Leo said
A plate sat on the counter. Toast, eggs, fruits. Simple but thoughtful. I took a bite. He watched me like he was studying a puzzle.
About this weekend, he said. My family will ask questions. They always do. We’ll need a story.
“What kind of story?”
How we met. How long we’ve been together. Why are you the one.
The words hung in the air. I swallowed hard. And what’s the truth?
His lips curved faintly. The truth is irrelevant. Believability matters.
So I’m an actress now.
“You’re survival smart. There’s a difference.”
His confidence was both irritating and magnetic. I looked at him. You don’t strike me as someone who struggles with family pressure.
I don’t, he said. I struggle with their expectations.
He picked up his phone and checked the time. Pack lightly. We leave in an hour.
I watched him move, calm and sure, as if this whole arrangement was ordinary. My heart thudded with a quiet fear. Not because I doubted the deal. But because a small, dangerous part of me wanted to know him beyond the agreement.
When he turned to leave, I asked, What should I wear?
He paused, looked at me once, and said, Whatever makes you feel untouchable.
The elevator doors closed behind him, leaving me alone again.
I sipped the coffee he had made. It was strong and bitter, like everything about him. Outside, the morning sun touched the city, and I realized the weekend had already begun.
And I wasn’t sure I would be the same woman when it ended.
The car waited in front of the building, sleek and black, like everything else in Leo’s world. I stood by the curb with my small bag, wearing a pale blue dress from his sister’s closet. It fits too well. I caught my reflection in the car window and barely recognized the woman staring back. No wedding dress. No trembling hands. Just someone trying to start over.
Leo stepped out of the lobby. He wore another dark suit, this one sharper, cleaner. His hair was still damp from the shower. He looked like he belonged to a world that didn’t break easily. His eyes met mine for a second. Are you ready?
Yes I am, I said.
He opened the back door for me. His movements were quiet, exact. I slid in, and the soft scent of leather filled the air. The driver nodded to him. Leo sat beside me, phone in hand, already typing. I turned to the window as the city drifted past in a blur of motion.
The silence stretched for miles. Every so often, his sleeve brushed mine, and I felt a small, sharp reminder that this wasn’t a dream. We were strangers with a deal that looked like intimacy.
After twenty minutes, I broke the silence. Your family’s place, how far is it?
Two hours outside the city, he said. Near the coast.
Do they know I exist yet?
He gave a small smirk. Not yet. My mother thinks I’m bringing someone special. That’s all.
I sank deeper into the seat. So, I’m the surprise.
“You’re the solution.”
He said it without emotion, but something in his tone made my stomach twist. I looked at him, at the calm confidence in his eyes, and wondered what kind of man needed to fake a relationship to keep peace with his family. Then I remembered I was the woman who ran from her wedding. I wasn’t one to judge.
You were engaged, he said suddenly, still looking ahead. What happened?
I hesitated. You saw what happened.
He nodded once. You ran.
I had to,I said. He cheated. I saw it right before the vows.
His jaw tightened. Coward move.
I thought so too, I said quietly. I would have forgiven a mistake. But not the lie. Not the timing.
He glanced at me then, and for the first time, I saw something like understanding in his eyes. He looked away. People show their true selves when they think they’ve already won.
- Writer
