Chapter 4: One Night That Changed Everything

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The clinking of crystal glasses echoed inside the elite lounge of the Solaris Grand Hotel, a venue known only to the top 1% of the city's elite. Celebrities, billionaires, and foreign dignitaries gathered, laughing and whispering behind veils of champagne bubbles and expensive colognes.

Aiden Valen sat stiffly at the VIP corner booth, his signature tailored black suit crisp against the dim ambient light. His eyes, cold and calculating, swept across the room like a silent storm. As always, he wasn't here for the social chatter. He was here because his childhood friend, Evan, had dragged him in.

"You need to relax, man," Evan laughed, nudging a glass of red wine toward Aiden. "One sip won't kill you. It’s imported straight from France. You’ll thank me later."

Aiden narrowed his eyes. "You said that last time, and I ended up stuck in a conversation about skincare routines with a model named ‘Princess Loulou’."

Evan smirked. "And didn’t you say your skin never felt smoother?"

With a sigh of resignation, Aiden lifted the glass and took a sip. It tasted rich, smooth… but oddly sweet. Too sweet.

At another side of the lounge, Lira walked in wearing a sleek, wine-red dress with a thigh slit and an open back that made heads turn. But her sharp eyes were scanning the room, trying to find Aiden. Tonight, she was hired again. Not as his date this time, but as a guest to attend the same event, pretending not to know him.

She wasn’t used to these upper-class venues. Everything felt too polished, too fake. But when her handler passed her a crystal flute filled with what looked like sparkling wine, she didn’t think twice.

She took a sip. And then another.

Warmth spread through her limbs like a rising tide. Her heart fluttered. Her skin prickled. The soft laughter, the low music, the ambient lights—all began to blur.

From across the room, Aiden spotted her.

He stood.

She looked up.

Their eyes met—and time stilled.

For a second, they forgot roles, contracts, pretense. It was just him and her.

Aiden’s legs moved on their own.

Lira’s heels clicked softly against the marble floor as she walked toward him.

Neither noticed the faint haze in their gaze. Neither questioned the racing of their hearts or the heat pooling in their stomachs. Neither realized someone had spiked both their drinks.

They met halfway. No words.

His hand brushed her arm gently. Her breath hitched.

“Lira…” he whispered.

Her name had never sounded so intimate before.

“Let’s get out of here,” she breathed.

No one stopped them. No one dared.

—

The suite Aiden had reserved earlier in the Solaris tower was silent when they entered. Moonlight poured through the vast floor-to-ceiling windows, casting silver highlights across the velvet furniture.

Aiden kicked the door shut, his tie already loosened. His usually sharp eyes looked clouded—confused, hungry, vulnerable.

Lira's pulse pounded in her ears. “Are you okay?”

He reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re so beautiful.”

She trembled at the softness in his voice.

“I shouldn’t feel this way,” he muttered, as if in pain. “I hired you to pretend, but all I think about is how real it feels when you smile at me…”

Her chest tightened.

“Aiden,” she whispered, stepping closer.

His hand cupped her jaw. His thumb traced her bottom lip.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight. I feel... strange. Like I can’t control myself.”

“Me too,” she admitted, her cheeks flushing. “I feel dizzy. And warm. And like I want to—”

Their lips crashed together before she could finish.

It was soft at first, hesitant.

Then deeper. Urgent. Starved.

Clothes were shed between kisses, piece by piece, scattered across the plush carpet.

Aiden lifted her in his arms effortlessly and carried her to the bed.

Their lips never parted.

Lira’s fingers tangled in his hair as he leaned over her, pressing their bodies together like two puzzle pieces finally fitting into place.

His lips moved from her mouth to her jaw, her neck, her collarbone—slow, reverent, like he was learning every part of her.

Her fingers traced the muscles of his back, feeling him shudder under her touch.

"Aiden," she moaned.

The sound of his name on her lips ignited something wild inside him.

He paused only once, his forehead resting against hers.

“If we do this,” he rasped, voice heavy with restraint, “you’ll never be just pretend again.”

“I don’t want to pretend anymore,” she whispered, eyes glistening.

That was all he needed.

Their bodies moved in sync—urgent yet tender, lost in a rhythm only they understood.

It was not just passion—it was longing, ache, a collision of two hearts who didn’t know how to love, but found themselves anyway.

The night wrapped around them like a secret.

And as dawn approached, tangled sheets and quiet breaths were all that remained.

—

Lira woke up first.

The sun was rising through the curtains, casting soft golden light across the bed.

She turned her head slowly.

There he was—Aiden Valen, the cold CEO, fast asleep beside her. His face, usually carved in stone, now looked peaceful, even boyish. One arm was wrapped possessively around her waist.

Her heart fluttered.

What had they done?

She gently traced his jawline, trying not to wake him.

But memories of last night came rushing in—his touch, his voice, the way he’d held her like she meant the world.

It hadn’t been just lust. It had felt too… real.

Lira slowly sat up, wrapping the blanket around her.

She had to go.

She needed time to think.

Just as her feet touched the floor—

A warm hand caught her wrist.

She turned.

Aiden was awake. His eyes—still hazy, still raw—looked straight into hers.