RENT A HEART
The past week had felt like a lifetime of dodging my own feelings. As I sat at the head of the table, I felt the dam about to break, then the door swung open, and my heart lurched.
Chris stood there, a storm cloud personified. His expression was unreadable, but one thing was clear: he wasn't smiling. My staffs exchanged glances, their gazes then focusing on me.
"Eve," Chris's voice was low. "We need to talk."
The room went silent, thick with nervous energy. The unspoken question hung in the air.
"Chris," I said, my voice calm despite my pounding heart, "can this wait? We're in the middle of an important meeting." I wanted him to leave, to deal with this later, on my terms.
"No, it can't," he said, stepping into the room. His anger simmered beneath the surface, but there was a visible vulnerability that made my own heart ache.
"Please excuse us," I told my staffs, who hurriedly packed and left us alone.
"You just left. You left after that night with just empty words on a piece of paper and then went out of the country for a whole week, Eve. A whole week."
I was surprised to see him so vulnerable, so angry. It was the first time. It was obvious he was hurt, and I knew I was wrong.
He stalked towards me, like a predator, and as he got closer, the anger seemed to flicker, replaced by a different intensity. He stopped in front of me, and then, without warning, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight, desperate embrace.
My breath hitched. I went stiff for a moment, surprised by the contact. Then, almost instantly, my arms went around him, clinging to his strong frame. A mix of emotions flooded me: surprise, relief, and an overwhelming need to simply hold him.
I breathed in his familiar scent, a comforting aroma that had been haunting my senses for the last week. He held me tightly, as if afraid I'd vanish if he let go, and I didn't resist. I had dreamed of this.
He pulled back, his hands on my shoulders, his gaze searching mine with an intensity that made my heart flutter. The anger lingered, but it was mixed with something else. Something softer.
"I missed you terribly," he whispered, the words barely audible, but they resonated through me.
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Eve, a fashion powerhouse ruling the world's runways, needs a fake boyfriend and fast, to appease her matchmaking mother.
Christopher, a charming, secretive, and dangerously attractive heir to the biggest conglomerate in the country. needs a distraction from his father's unwanted marriage plans.
Their solution? A temporary romance brokered through a "rent-a-partner" app.
What starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement quickly evolves into a sizzling romance, throw in a jealous childhood crush, a clash of powerful families, and a whirlwind of hilarious misunderstandings, and you've got a recipe for a romance that's as unexpected as it is unforgettable.
Will their carefully constructed facade withstand the pressure, or will their fake relationship crumble under the weight of their undeniable, and quite unexpected, love?
