My stomach drops. "It's not an arrangement. We're actually?—"
"Of course you are." Her smile sharpens. "Well, enjoy tonight. I'm sure it's quite the experience for you. Being in a place like this, with people like us."
She walks away before I can respond, leaving me standing there with two glasses of champagne and a growing sense of unease.
People like us.
Is that how everyone sees this? As some charity case, some publicity stunt? Does everyone think I'm using Sebastian, or he's using me, or we're both using each other?
I find Sebastian by the photography backdrop, posing with other Legacy Council members. He sees me and immediately breaks away.
"Got the drinks. Good." He takes one and downs half of it. "God, these publicity things are exhausting."
"Are people talking about us?" I ask.
"What? Who?"
"That girl. Tyler's date. She made some comment about our 'arrangement.' About how convenient this is for both of us."
Sebastian's jaw tightens. "Ignore her. She's bitter that Tyler didn't win you. People are going to talk. That's what they do."
"But what are they saying?" I have a thousand questions going through my head right now.
"Nothing that matters." He sets down his glass and takes both my hands. "Isla, look at me. I don't care what anyone says. Tonight is about us. Finishing this contract and starting something real. Okay?"
I nod, trying to shake off the unease.
"Okay."
But the feeling doesn't go away.
We mingle. Dance. Smile for more photos. On the surface, everything is perfect. Sebastian introduces me to people, keeps his hand on my waist, treats me like I matter.
But I can feel eyes on us. Hear whispers that stop when we get too close. See knowing looks exchanged between Legacy Council members.
By nine o'clock, my anxiety is a living thing in my chest.
"I need some air," I tell Sebastian.
"Want me to come?"
"No, stay. I'll just be a minute."
I slip out onto one of the balconies overlooking campus. The February air is sharp and cold, but I welcome it. Inside was suffocating.
I pull out my phone to text Ivy, but before I can, I hear voices from around the corner of the balcony. Male voices. One I recognize immediately.
Sebastian.
And another voice. Older. Authoritative. Also somehow familiar.
"—absolutely unacceptable," the older voice is saying. "I raised you better than this."
"Father, you don't understand?—"
Father. Sebastian's father is here.
I should leave. Should give them privacy. But something keeps me frozen in place.
