For the next few days, I buried myself in work.
I knew it was childish, counterproductive even–but I couldn’t bring myself to face. Sebastian the same way anymore. Not after the way my heart had begun to betray me. Not after hearing Elise was back. Whatever this strange, slow warmth was growing between us…. it didn’t matter now.
So I avoided him.
I kept our conversations short and professional, dodged eye contact, and always had some file in my hand, pretending I was too busy to talk. I even skipped lunch entirely, using paperwork as my shield. The fewer moments I spent with him, the less my heart could confuse itself with things that were never meant to be real.
Sebastian noticed. I knew he did. His gaze would linger a little longer, his lips parting as if he wanted to ask–but he never did. He let me build my walls. And I hated that it hurt.
By the third day, my stomach was a pit of aching hunger, but I told myself I could power through. I waited until the office started emptying for lunch before slipping my things into my bag and heading toward the elevator. But as I passed by my desk again, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before.
A small white paper bag, carefully folded. Beside it was a handwritten note in smooth, dark
ink:
“You skipped lunch again. Eat before you collapse. – S.”
My chest tightened. I opened the bag slowly, and inside was a warm lunch box with my favorite–grilled chicken over herb rice, steamed vegetables, and a tiny dessert container of strawberry pudding.
I couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto my lips. It was subtle, careful, like the way Sebastian always treated me.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad… to feel this way.
Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for something real. Maybe I could tell him that my heart had begun to hope again.
With the lunch box still in my hands, I turned and headed toward his office, suddenly nervous. My fingers trembled slightly as I approached the glass door. I rehearsed what I might say–something silly and honest, like “This pudding might’ve changed my mind. about fake marriages.”
But I stopped.
Just steps from his door, I saw two women standing by the secretary’s desk, whispering. “Did you hear?” one of them said with wide eyes. “Model Elise is in there–with Mr. Rhys.” “No way,” the other breathed. “So he’s really seeing her again? I thought he was married.”
1/2 58.0%
about fake marriages.
But I stopped.
Just steps from his door, I saw two women standing by the secretary’s desk, whispering.
“Did you hear?” one of them said with wide eyes. “Model Elise is in there–with Mr. Rhys.”
“No way,” the other breathed. “So he’s really seeing her again? I thought he was married.”
The first one chuckled. “Please. That marriage was so sudden. Like, no one even knew her. She’s not even from the industry. No one had even heard of this ‘Ellie‘ before.”
I swallowed hard, my steps frozen in place.
“Honestly,” the second girl added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ellie was just… a placeholder. Even their names sound alike, right? Elise, Ellie? Sebastian was probably heartbroken and rushed into it. He’s just healing.”
I turned away quickly, blinking, desperate not to let the tears spill.
I walked fast, not knowing where I was going until the door to the women’s bathroom closed behind me. I locked myself in the last stall, slid
clutched the lunch box to my chest.
gainst the cold tiled wall, and
Their words rang over and over again in my head like cruel echoes. Placeholder. Rebound. Nothing.
I wasn’t even sure why I cared so much. Maybe because a part of me had wanted to believe that this was more than just pretending. That his kindness… was meant for me. Not some ghost of a love he couldn’t have.
I pressed a hand to my mouth as the first sob escaped.
God, I was so stupid.
How could I have fallen for someone again? After Colton? After everything I promised myself?
And yet here I was, crying in a bathroom stall, heart cracking for a man who didn’t even know he was holding it.
Eventually, the door creaked open and a pair of heels clacked in.
“Heard Elise and Mr. Rhys might be back together,” a new voice whispered. “Did you see the way he looked at her? There’s no way he ever looked at Ellie like that.”
They laughed softly.
“I almost feel bad for the girl,” the other voice replied. “But honestly? She should’ve known. She’s not in their league.”
I stayed silent.
Waited for them to leave.
And then… I just stayed.
Minutes passed. Maybe hours. I wasn’t sure. The lunch Sebastian had packed sat unopened beside me.
Eventually I laid my head on my knose and closed mu ovoz Chapter 15
