Chapter 59 Last dance before hell
Melissa’s POV
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.
Mom had disappeared into the crowd, leaving me standing there with a champagne flute I didn’t remember picking up. The crystal felt cold against my palm.
Aria was across the room, trapped in conversation with an older couple who kept touching her arm possessively. Her smile was weird. Her eyes screamed for help.
And Gavin…
Gavin was making his way toward me through the crowd.
People stopped him every few steps. A handshake here. A brief word there. But his eyes never left mine. They were dark, intense burning with something I couldn’t quite name.
When he finally reached me, he didn’t touch me. He didn’t even stand too close. But the air between us felt charged.
“Melissa.” His voice was low. “You came.”
“Aria needed me.” I took a sip of champagne, needing something to do with my hands. “What happened with my mom?”
His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Not here.”
“Gavin…”
“Not. Here.” His eyes flicked around us, noting the people within earshot. “Later. I promise.”
Before I could push further, a hand clapped Gavin on the shoulder.
“Cross! There you are. We need to discuss the merger…”
Gavin turned smoothly, his expression shifting into that cold businessman mask I knew so well. “Senator Harrison. Of course.”
He was pulled away into another conversation. But not before his eyes found mine one more time.
Later, he mouthed.
I drained my champagne.The evening crawled by in a blur of forced smiles and small talk.
I stuck close to Aria when I could, but she was constantly being pulled away by her parents, introduced to people whose names I immediately forgot. Each time, that attractive man in the expensive suit would appear at her elbow, his hand finding the small of her back with ease.
Christian, I assumed. Her fiancé.
He was handsome in that conventional way…strong jaw, perfect hair, confident smile.
But when he looked at Aria, there was something in his eyes that made my skin crawl. Possession. Ownership.Like she was something he’d purchased.
Aria’s face remained blank every time he touched her.
I wanted to grab her hand and run. But where would we go? What would that solve?
We were both trapped in our own beautiful cages.
————-
The lights dimmed slightly, and a voice came over the speakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if we could have your attention please. It’s time for our traditional engagement dance. Mr. Gavin Cross and his beautiful fiancée, Diana.”
My stomach dropped.
The crowd applauded as Gavin and my mom moved to the center of the floor. A spotlight found them. The string quartet began playing something slow and romantic.
I couldn’t breathe.
Gavin’s hand found my mother’s waist. Her hand rested on his shoulder. They moved together with ease, and I realized with a sick jolt how they looked perfect together.
Mom was smiling up at him, saying something that made him nod. His expression was unreadable, but his movements were gentle. Careful.
I wanted to look away. But I couldn’t .This was my future…watching them together, pretending to be happy about it, dying a little more inside every single day.
“They make a beautiful couple, don’t they?”
I jumped. Jason had appeared beside me, with two champagne flutes in hand. He offered me one.
“Jason.” I took the glass gratefully. “I didn’t see you arrive.”
“Couldn’t miss the big celebration.” His eyes were on the dancing couple, but something in his expression was calculating. “My father looks… different. Softer, maybe.”
“Does he?”
Jason’s gaze slid to me. “Because of her? Or because of someone else?”
My heart stopped.Did he know? Could he tell?
Before I could form a response, the music shifted. The MC’s voice returned.
“And now, we invite all couples to join them on the floor!”
Jason set down his glass and extended his hand. “May I have this dance, Warrior Girl?”
I hesitated. But refusing would draw more attention.
“Sure.”
His hand was warm when it closed around mine. He led me onto the floor, positioning us carefully…close enough to be part of the crowd, far enough from Gavin and my mom that we had our own space.
When his hand settled on my waist, pulling me closer than necessary, my body tensed.
“Relax,” he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. “I don’t bite. Unless asked nicely.”
“Jason…”
“You look absolutely beautiful tonight, Melissa.” His hand pressed more firmly against the small of my back, guiding me into the rhythm. “That dress… It's criminal.”
“Thank you.” I kept my voice polite and distant.
“You know what else is criminal?” His thumb traced small circles against my spine through the fabric. “The way my father looks at you.”
My breath caught.
“I don’t know what you…”
“Don’t.” His smile was sharp. Knowing. “I may have been raised by my grandfather, but I inherited my father’s ability to read people. And the way he looks at you, Melissa… that’s not how a man looks at his future stepdaughter.”
My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could feel it.
“You’re imagining things.”
“Am I?” He spun me smoothly, and when I came back to him, his eyes were darker. More serious.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because,” he leaned in closer, his lips nearly brushing my ear, “I like you, Warrior Girl. And I’d hate to see you get caught in the crossfire of a war you don’t even know you’re fighting.”
Before I could respond, someone tapped Jason’s shoulder.
“May I cut in?”
Gavin’s voice was ice.
Jason’s smile widened. “Of course, Father. She’s all yours.”
He released me with a final squeeze of my hand…a warning? a promise?…and disappeared into the crowd.
Then Gavin’s hands were on me.
One at my waist, possessive and sure. The other captured my hand, threading our fingers together in a way that felt far too intimate for the public eye.
He pulled me closer than he had my mother. Close enough that I could feel the heat of his body. Could smell his cologne. Could see the muscle ticking in his jaw.
“Gavin…”
“Dance with me.” His voice was rough. “Just dance with me.”
So I did.
We moved together in silence for a moment. The music swelled around us. People laughed and talked nearby. But in our small bubble, there was only his hand on my waist, his fingers laced with mine, and the thundering of my heart.
“Melissa.” He said my name like a prayer. “Something is about to happen.”
My stomach clenched. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t explain everything right now. But things are… complicated. More complicated than I anticipated.” His hand tightened on my waist. “And I hope…” He stopped. Swallowed hard. “I hope that at the end of all this, you’ll still choose to stand beside me.”
“Gavin, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
“What happened yesterday with your mother…”
“What happened?”
His eyes met mine, and what I saw there made my blood run cold. What expression was that? His aura almost brought me to my knees.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle. But you need to be careful. You need to stay where I can see you, stay with people you trust. Don’t go anywhere alone. Don’t…”
“You’re really scaring me now.”
“I know.” He spun me, bringing me even closer. Our bodies were nearly flush now, but he didn’t seem to care. “I’m trying to protect you. Trying to keep you safe.”
“From what?”
“From my past.” His forehead nearly touched mine. “From the people who want to drag me back to a life I left behind. From…”
“Mr. Cross!”
We broke apart as Marcus appeared, his face tight with urgency.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s a situation that requires your immediate attention.”
Gavin’s jaw clenched.
“Stay here,” he ordered. “Stay with Aria. Don’t leave the building. Promise me.”
“Gavin…”
“Promise me, Melissa.”
“I promise.”
He released me abruptly, pressing something into my hand…his phone.
“If anything happens, anything at all, hit the emergency contact. It will connect you directly to my security team.”
Then he was gone, following Marcus through the crowd.
I stood there, his phone burning in my palm, my body still warm from where he’d touched me.
He’d said, “I hope at the end of all this, you’ll still choose to stand beside me.”
Not as his stepdaughter.
As his queen.
Queen of hell, my mind supplied. Because that’s what this felt like…descending into something dark and dangerous and utterly inescapable.
I turned, looking for Aria, needing to ground myself.
That’s when I saw her.
She was at the far end of the room, her face pale, her body rigid. Christian had her by the elbow, leaning in close, saying something that made her flinch.
Then she ripped her arm away and ran.
Just bolted toward the exit, her burgundy dress flowing behind her.
Christian followed immediately, his long strides eating up the distance between them, his expression thunderous.
I didn’t think.I just ran after them, Gavin’s phone still clutched in my hand, my heels clicking frantically against the polished floor.
Behind me, music played on.
People laughed and danced, oblivious to the fact that everything was about to shatter.
I burst through the doors into the hallway just in time to see Aria disappear around a corner, Christian close behind.
Stay with people you trust, he’d said.
But Aria was my people. And she was in trouble.
I ran faster, the emerald green dress swishing around my legs, my heart pounding in my ears.
Whatever was happening tonight, whatever darkness was closing in…
It had finally arrived.