Chapter 44

Clara's POV

"I have to leave. My lunch hour is almost over," I said, standing from my chair.

He turned to look at his watch. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, I have to leave." I insisted again. I pushed my chair in.

"Okay, I can drop you off." He suggested.

"No, it's okay." I insisted again.

The last thing I needed was to be linked up to another Montenegro. The rumours would go around saying I was an escort.

I rushed out of the restaurant; Vincent stayed behind to pay the bill.

I guess my lunch with him wasn't too bad after all. Maybe Layla did mean to help me relax a little bit. Right now, I was more focused on not being late than on Layla's intentions.

The car that drove me here awaited me when I stepped out.

The driver welcomed me, once again opening my door.

With three minutes to spare, I was back at the hotel. I changed back into my uniform and returned my hair to its bum.

Just as the clock struck noon, ending my lunch break, I received a text from Marcus informing me of the work he needed me to do. First, I needed to order supplies for all the cleaning things we needed. Based on the spreadsheets, I think some of the staff members were stealing toilet paper.

Next, I was off to deliver some freshly laundered towels to a few rooms around the hotel.

While doing my rounds, I saw Leonardo walking towards me. He was closing in on me. Luckily, he seemed distracted as he was busy texting on his phone.

I had forgotten that he was on this floor.

I quickly grabbed one of the towels, using it to cover my face as I continued walking.

This only managed to work because he was distracted.

I didn't want to speak to him. He would look at me with his very kind eyes, and I'd feel guilty about everything I was doing. I didn't want that right now.

I sighed, relieved that I had gotten away with it.

I made my first delivery. An elderly couple happily accepted the towels from my hands after I knocked on their door.'

I made my way to the elevator. Luckily, Leonardo was gone.

I pressed the buttons, waiting for the elevator doors to open.

My phone blipped. Dozens of screenshots were pouring in from Ivy.

I hadn't even had the chance to react or open any of the images when her message followed.

'Why didn't you tell me about this?' it read.

My eyes widened as I took the opportunity to open one of the screenshots.

There were pictures of me and Vincent, both of us laughing and deep into conversation. Our faces were clear as day in every one of the pictures with articles already written about us.

It had barely been an hour, and all of this was already out.

I panicked, browsing through the articles. Most of those articles were written by writers who assumed I was a rich heiress. With that dress, who wouldn't?

Luckily, most of them were focused on Vincent with outrageous headlines like: 'Is the playboy billionaire finally ready to settle down?' or 'Who is his new love?' the most outrageous one being, 'Has the playboy finally found someone to tame his heart? "

Is that how celebrities felt when people posted fake news about them?

Weeks ago, I was anonymous with not so much as a Facebook profile, and now I was on the cover of tabloids.

But who took those pictures? How did they even know that I'd be there?

Taking angles into consideration, the pictures were taken from within and outside the restaurant. This wasn't just a one-person job.

My blood couldn't help but boil. Was this what Layla intended? I agreed to help her, but not at the cost of my reputation. If this were how things would be, our alliance would have to end sooner.

This wasn't nice, as if my image hadn't taken a big enough knock.

I sighed, slipping my phone into my pocket.

The elevator doors finally opened.

From a distance, I saw Derek walking toward me. I froze.

What was he even doing on this floor?

I had to remember the plan I had decided on. I couldn't be seen with him. Right now, all I wanted was to be invisible.

Realisation hit. Had he seen the articles, too? Could that be the reason he was here? If so, how mad was he going to be about this, if even mad at all?

Before he could fully realise it was me, I slipped into the elevator. I turned my head away as the doors closed.

I dodged another bullet.

I hadn't even responded to Ivy's text. I'd have to do that later. Right now, my work is more important.

I pressed the button to the next floor, continuing with my delivery.

It took me just over half an hour to get all my deliveries done.

I sighed after making my final delivery, and I was ready to finally do some office work that didn't involve so much walking.

I felt a hand on my waist. Before I had the chance to react, I was pulled back.

I gasped and froze as Derek pressed me against the wall.

He pressed me against the wall with his body. With one hand, he blocked my left side, while with the other, he held me above.

"Didn't I tell you not to work so hard?" He reminded me.

He was serious, his eyes searching mine.

I struggled to breathe as my heart throbbed. All I could think about was how close we were and the tens of people who could walk in and see the two of us like this. Never mind the security cameras.

"Why are you avoiding me?" He asked.

"I-I'm not avoiding you." I stuttered.

He held my eyes with him, studying my every response.

"Why are you so nervous?" He asked.

"We are in the hall right now. Anyone can see us," I answered.

That didn't get the message across because he still held me in position.

He was right. Why was I so nervous? I didn't have to react this way. After all, he was the one engaged.

I tried pushing him away, but he remained unmoved. I gave up after a few attempts.

"Why are you bothering me? I'm not the one engaged." I said, slapping his shoulder.

My reaction took him aback as he stepped away from me.

"It's not like that," he answered.

He might have stepped back, but he was still too close for my comfort. How was I supposed to think straight with him this close?

"We are not getting married. That was just part of my grandfather's plan so we could get people's attention off the robbery for a little while. The hotel's reputation was at stake. We'll announce soon to break off our engagement," he explained.

I was relieved that it wasn't what I thought it was. I had been thinking the worst, that my fake baby would have a stepmother. But I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. What if he was trying to sweet-talk me so that he could weaken me?

"How come your mother seems to know nothing about it?" I questioned.

"My mother hates Madison. She'd go around and tell everyone the truth anyway." He answered. He paused as the realisation suddenly hit. "How would you know about my mother?" He asked.

My brain froze. I can't believe I let it slip. Of all the things I could have said.

I searched for an explanation in my heart. As far as he knew, his mother and I had only met twice, and we weren't close. No amount of lying in the world had prepared me for this.

Instead, I chose to change the subject.

"Did anyone ever tell you how gorgeous your hair looks today?" I asked, biting my lip.

His expression changed. It seemed to have worked to distract him.

I had assumed he would continue pressing on it, but he slowly closed the gap between us again.

He smiled back at me, his lips almost pressed against me. But just close enough to tease me.

But I couldn't take it, and I closed the final gap between us as I captured his lips with mine.

He had a way of driving me away from all logic. Everything in me told me that I should push him away and tell him the truth to end this whole fiasco. This is not to mention the number of people who could walk in at any moment. I would confirm the rumours.

My brain decided to throw away all logic. He quickly responded to the kiss, our lips moving in sync as everything around us blared out. Things were becoming more heated, and I knew if I didn't, I would become the next Kim Kardashian, which wouldn't be because of my looks.

I pulled away as I breathed heavily.

As we both tried to gather ourselves, he rested his head on my neck.

I saw a shadow back away in a corner.

I blinked, almost panicking, thinking it was one of the staff members.

I blinked again, this time seeing Madison for just a split second before the shadow backed away into a corner.

But no, maybe I was overthinking things. It couldn't be her. This wasn't even the floor on which her hotel room was situated.

She had consumed so much of our thoughts that I now saw her everywhere, even in moments like this.

Derek moved away from my neck, his hand moving to my channel, tilting my face to meet his eyes again.

He looked at me, and I looked at him, and at that moment, I couldn't get myself to think about anything else. Before we knew it, we were kissing again.

Right at that moment, I realised I had no plans of letting him go.