Sebastian:I'm downstairs. Ready?
Me:Be right there.
I grab my clutch, borrowed from Lennox and head downstairs.
Sebastian is waiting by his car, and when he sees me, his entire face transforms.
He's wearing a tuxedo. An actual, perfectly tailored tuxedo that makes him look like he stepped out of a magazine. His hair is styled, his jaw clean-shaven, and he looks every inch the Thornhill heir he was born to be.
"Wow," he says when I reach him.
"Back at you."
He opens my door, and I slide into the passenger seat. When he gets in, he doesn't start the car immediately. Just looks at me.
"What?" I ask.
"I'm trying to memorize this. You, right now, before everything changes."
"Nothing's changing. It's just a gala."
"It's the last date. After tonight, the contract is over. Everything changes." He reaches over and takes my hand. "But hopefully in a good way."
"Definitely in a good way."
He kisses my knuckles old-fashioned and sweet, then starts the car.
The gala is being held in the same ballroom where the auction happened two weeks ago. It feels both like yesterday and like years ago. So much has changed since I stood on that stage,terrified and angry, while Sebastian bid a thousand dollars on me.
Now I'm arriving with him, by choice, as something that might actually be a real couple.
The ballroom is transformed. White and gold decorations everywhere, fairy lights strung across the ceiling, tables set with elaborate centerpieces. It's beautiful in that excessive, wealthy way that Thornhill excels at.
Sebastian's hand finds mine as we enter. Other couples are already there—dressed up, laughing, taking photos. I recognize some faces from classes, from campus. Everyone looks so confident, so at ease in this world.
I try to channel that confidence as we make our way inside.
"Sebastian!" A voice calls out. Harrison from the Legacy Council waves us over. "Finally. We need you for photos. Publicity shots for the charity."
Sebastian squeezes my hand. "Be right back. Two minutes."
"I'll get us drinks," I offer.
He kisses my cheek, casual, possessive, public then heads off with Harrison.
I make my way to the bar, feeling suddenly alone in this crowd of people I don't know. The bartender hands me two glasses of champagne, and I turn to head back and nearly collide with a girl I vaguely recognize. One of Cecilia's friends. Tyler's date from the auction night.
"Isla, right?" She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "The scholarship student. Sebastian's... auction win."
The way she says it makes my skin crawl.
"That's me."
"It's so sweet, what you two are doing. Really playing up the whole Cinderella story for the cameras." She sips her drink. "Everyone's been talking about it."
"Talking about what?" I ask looking around.
"Oh, you know. The arrangement. How convenient it all is." She leans in conspiratorially. "Between you and me, I think it's smart. He gets good publicity, you get access to his world. Everyone wins."
