Chapter 2 Pretend Lovers, Real Tension
The ballroom glowed with chandeliers, every crystal catching the light like fragments of stars. Cassandra had been to countless galas before, but tonight felt different, charged, dangerous. Not because of the gossip that floated like smoke through the air, but because of the man at her side.
Damian Cross was not supposed to belong here. Yet somehow, he commanded the room more than the dukes, financiers, and power brokers in their tailored suits. Where they moved with rehearsed grace, Damian prowled with unstudied confidence. He didn’t need to belong, he made belonging irrelevant.
And with his arm draped casually around her waist, every eye followed him.
“You’re enjoying this,” Cassandra murmured under her breath, smile locked in place for the cameras flashing at the entrance.
Damian leaned closer, his lips grazing the shell of her ear as he whispered, “Of course I am. You’re the one who dragged me into your little performance. I might as well steal the spotlight while I’m here.”
She stiffened, her mask of composure never faltering. “You’re here to protect my image, not wreck it.”
His chuckle rumbled low in his chest, almost dangerous in its intimacy. “Funny thing about masks, sweetheart, they crack the longer you wear them.”
Her gaze flicked up at him, sharp and challenging, but his only answer was a wicked grin.
Inside the ballroom, the orchestra played softly while waiters moved like shadows with trays of champagne. Cassandra slipped into conversation with familiar faces, socialites who wore pearls like armor, men who cloaked cruelty in charm. Normally, she navigated these waters with ease. But tonight, Damian shifted the currents.
When one of her rivals, a woman with eyes sharp as polished steel, raised a perfectly arched brow at Damian and asked, “And who might you be?” he didn’t hesitate.
“I’m the man who makes her smile when the rest of you bore her.”
The gasp that rippled through the circle was delicious and dangerous. Cassandra’s practiced laugh followed half a second too late, but Damian caught the faint flush on her cheeks before she could hide it.
Later, when they drifted to the dance floor, Cassandra hissed through her smile, “You’re reckless.”
Damian spun her with effortless grace, his hand pressing firmly against the small of her back. “You asked for a performance, Cassandra. I don’t do half-measures.”
“You’ll undo everything.”
“Or maybe I’ll make them believe in you more than ever.” His eyes locked on hers, unflinching, daring. “They’re eating out of your hand, and you know it.”
She wanted to argue, but the truth stole her words. The crowd was watching them, watching her. For the first time since her world had started to crumble, she wasn’t the subject of pity or ridicule. She was radiant, untouchable again. And it was because of him.
The thought unsettled her more than she cared to admit.
The dance ended, and he led her off the floor, refusing to release her hand until they were out of sight behind a velvet curtain. Away from prying eyes, Cassandra exhaled sharply, pulling her hand back. “Don’t get comfortable. This is a role, nothing more.”
Damian’s gaze softened, just for a flicker, before the smirk returned. “You keep telling yourself that.”
She bristled. “You’re insufferable.”
“And yet,” he drawled, stepping closer, “you’re still holding onto me.”
Cassandra froze, realizing too late that her fingers had remained tangled with his. She let go abruptly, heat rising in her cheeks. “That’s because appearances matter.”
“Sure,” Damian murmured, eyes glinting as he leaned down just enough that their lips hovered dangerously close. “But tell me, Cass, who are you performing for right now?”
The way he said her name, shortened, intimate, sent a shiver through her. For one breathless moment, she couldn’t tell if she wanted to shove him away or close the distance.
Then the sound of approaching footsteps shattered the spell, and she stepped back, mask snapping back into place.
By the time the night ended, Cassandra’s nerves were frayed. Damian had charmed her enemies, scandalized her rivals, and looked entirely too comfortable in the role of her lover.
As their car door closed behind them, sealing them away from the glittering chaos, Cassandra folded her arms tightly. “You were reckless tonight. You nearly ruined everything.”
Damian stretched out beside her, grin lazy but eyes sharper than she wanted to admit. “Ruined? Cassandra, I saved you. Don’t pretend you didn’t feel the shift in that room.”
Her heart betrayed her with its pounding, but her voice remained steady. “This ends the moment the gala season does.”
Damian tilted his head, studying her like a man who already knew her secrets. “We’ll see.”
The silence stretched between them, thick with something neither dared name. And for the first time, Cassandra realized her carefully drawn lines were already blurring.