Chapter 0075
Chapter 0075
Ella POV
There were easily two dozen in the massive bouquet. When he reached us, he held them out to me.
I took the flowers, feeling a surge of surprise. “These are bgnitiful,” I said, my volce barely above a whisper,
“Your favorite flowers, according to my sources,” he said, winking.
“Sources?” I asked, puzzled.
“Your mother,” he replied with a playful grin. “She also informed me that you’re a big fan of sports.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed that,” Elizabeth said, raising her eyebrows at me.
“I used to play soccer in school,” I said. “I haven’t been to a game in a long time, though”
David hated sports and always acted annoyed when I suggested we go see a game together. Eventually, I stopped asking, and it hadn’t even occurred to me that now that I was no longer with him, I could start pursuing my interests again.
“Then I’ve chosen well,” Alexander said with a mischievous grin.
“Are we going to a game?” I asked hopefully. “Is that the surprise?” I was unable to contain my excitement as I bounced up and down.
Both Alexander and Elizabeth laughed at my enthusiasm, but I didn’t care. I probably looked silly, but it had been a while since I’d had a genuine surprise like this.
“Yes,” Alexander replied. “The car is already waiting. We should hurry, or we’ll be late.” He turned his attention to Elizabeth. “It was good to see you.”
“You as well,” she said, a look of warning flashing across her face. “Take good care of my friend.”
“I’ll do my best,” Alexander said with a charming smile.
Then he held his arm out to me. I linked my arm with his, and he led me toward the front of his office building, where a car was waiting
I turned around and waved to Elizabeth, who waved back with an amused smile on her face.
Alexander opened the back door for me, allowing me to slide inside before walking around to enter the car himself. As soon as the door closed behind him, the vehicle pulled away from the curb.
Once Alexander and I were alone–except for his driver–an unexpected tension filled the space between us. I could feel my own nervousness bubbling beneath the surface, but I found it hard to believe that Alexander would be feeling the same way about a simple fake date.
It might offend him to ask about the tension, so I remained quiet, leaving him to his thoughts.
I allowed my thoughts to wander, too.
While I was genuinely excited about this date and touched that Alexander had chosen something he knew I would enjoy, I couldn’t ignore the fact that this was little more than a publicity stunt.
The real purpose of this outing wasn’t for us to get to know each other–it was for us to be seen together..
Alexander had chosen the perfect venue for that. With thousands of people at the arena, it would be impossible for us to go unnoticed.
1/3
+25 BONUS
Chapter 0075
Alexander, as popular and public a figure as he was, would surely draw attention, and I had no doubt that with all the rumors and gossip swirling around me lately, people would take notice of my presence at his side.
After today, we wouldn’t need to make any official public announcement–people would talk, and that would be confirmation enough.
“Were you any good?” Alexander asked suddenly, breaking through my thoughts.
I looked at him in surprise, trying to make sense of his words. “At soccer,” he clarified. “Were you any good at soccer?”
I smiled awkwardly. “I was. I wasn’t team captain or anything, but I was fast, accurate with the ball, and very good at defense.”
Alexander’s smile widened slightly. “I might have guessed that about you.”
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Playing defense requires you to be aware of the players around you and anticipate their actions,” he said. “You seem to be very good at that.”
I tilted my head. “What do you mean?”
“You always seem to know what people are going to do well before they do it. It’s an admirable skill.”
“I don’t know how accurate that is,” I said, mulling over his statement. “Some people are just very easy to understand. Their motivations are simple, and so their reactions are predictable. There’s no real skill that goes into it.”
“People like David?” Alexander asked.
“Yes,” I nodded. “I know what David wants, and based on the years I’ve known him, I can guess how he’ll try to get it. I may not be right 100% of the time, but it’s close enough.‘
“And what about me?” Alexander leaned in, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Am I predictable?”
I met his gaze steadily, thinking over my response. There were things I knew about Alexander from the original timeline that could let me feign some insight into his actions.
But the truth was, I couldn’t read him easily. His motivations were a mystery, and I had no idea what his true goals were or how far he was willing to go to achieve them. From what I’d seen of him so far, it seemed like he had no limits.
“No,” I said softly. “I can’t predict what you’ll do. I think you’re a man who isn’t what he seems.”
Alexander’s eyes searched mine for a moment before he leaned back with a satisfied look. It felt like I had just passed some kind of test, but I wasn’t sure what that meant for the future of our pretend relationship.
By the time we arrived at the arena, the line just to get into the parking lot stretched endlessly ahead. I watched out my window, excitement bubbling up as we drew closer and closer.
“You’re like a child on the way to an amusement park,” Alexander said, his tone teasing.
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked, turning to face him. “I know this isn’t a real date, but I can still enjoy it, can’t I?”
“Oh, I hope you do,” he replied. “Just because there’s no real romance between us doesn’t mean we can’t still have a good time together.”
I smiled brightly. “I feel the same way. I’m glad we’re on the same page–there’d be no point in doing this if it
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Chapter
made us both miserable.”
+25 BONUS
Alexander leaned forward to speak to his driver, his voice low enough that I couldn’t make out the words. But
“Exactly,” he said.
after a brief exchange, the driver turned the wheel, pulling away from the line of cars and heading up a side street.
I looked at Alexander questioningly, but he only responded with a knowing grin.
M
