Chapter 1
I texted: [Has the getaway car arrived?]
I was hiding in a restroom cubicle of a cafe, my fingers tapping rapidly on the screen.
My heart was pounding like it was going to burst out of my chest.
Right outside were the spies my so-called fiancé, Sebastian Bennett, had sent to watch me.
My phone buzzed.
My fake online boyfriend, whose username was "Done Trying", replied almost immediately.
He texted: [Yes, it’s parked right outside. Black Maybach, license plate ending in 8888.]
I was caught off guard.
Seriously? Even pretty boys who lived off women were showing up in Maybachs for gigs now?
Forget it, escaping came first.
I took a deep breath and adjusted the black hoodie I'd put on just to make a quick getaway.
I pushed the door open and pulled the hood down.
The café wasn't crowded.
A man was sitting by the window.
He was dressed in a sharp suit. His broad shoulders radiated a chill that warned people to keep their distance.
I kept my head down and made a beeline for the exit.
"Miss Wilkins, where are you heading to?"
A deep, magnetic voice, which sounded like a cold instrument, stopped me in my tracks.
I froze.
Why did that voice sound so familiar?
I slowly turned around.
The man by the window was leisurely putting down his coffee cup.
His profile was razor-sharp, his nose high and straight, and his eyes were slightly upturned, carrying a playful, mocking glint.
Se-Sebastian?
That legendary, ruthless, and cold-blooded business tyrant who only agreed to marry me to seize the Wilkins family’s business?
Alarm bells were ringing in my head.
Oh no.
I hadn't even made it out the door, and I was already doomed.
I forced a laugh, my feet already halfway out the door. "Mr. Bennett, what a coincidence. I was just out for a walk."
Sebastian remained silent.
He drummed his slender fingers twice on the tabletop.
Then he picked up his phone from the table and shook it.
The screen lit up.
It showed our chat interface.
The last message read: [Yes, it’s parked right outside. Black Maybach, license plate ending in 8888.]
My smile stiffened.
The silence hung in the air for three seconds.
I checked my phone in disbelief, stared at the name "Done Trying," then looked back at Sebastian.
"Y-you're that boy toy?" I stammered.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow and stood up.
His tall frame loomed over me, and the air felt heavy, almost crushing.
He walked right up to me, leaned in close, his warm breath brushing against my ear.
"What's wrong? Are you not happy to see me?" he asked.
"Girlfriend," Sebastian said softly.
That single word was barely more than a whisper, but it shot through me like a bolt of electricity, making my skin tingle.
My knees buckled. I nearly dropped right to the floor.
Could someone explain how the secret online spot I found for trash-talking my fiancé turned out to be him all along?
And I'd even plotted out a detailed plan with him to escape Sebastian.
I'd gone so far as to call Sebastian a "cold-blooded fogy".
I was so doomed.
Sebastian glanced at my pale face, a mischievous smirk curling at his lips.
"The car's waiting outside," he said.
He casually took my stiff hand, his palm warm and dry against mine.
"Weren't you trying to ditch the wedding?" he teased.
"Let's go. I'll take you away."
I was ushered into the Maybach with the plate ending in 8888.
The sound of the door locking echoed like the tolling of my doom.
Sebastian settled into the driver's seat, one hand resting on the wheel, his shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal his well-defined forearms.
He seemed to be in a good mood.
He even turned on the car stereo.
Of all things, he actually put on the rock music I'd just mentioned in passing as my favorite during our chats.
"Well..." I started.
I shrank back in the passenger seat, scrambling for an explanation.
"Mr. Bennett, this is all a misunderstanding."
"What misunderstanding?" Sebastian asked.
Sebastian kept his eyes on the road as the car glided smoothly into traffic.
"Am I mistaken that you don't want to marry me, or that you want to make me your boy toy?"
I was totally speechless.
To keep up my sugar mama act for this so-called boy toy, I actually said stuff like, "Come with me, I'll spoil you."
Little did I know, his net worth blew my dad's out of the water.
"Don't take anything online too seriously," I said, trying to salvage a bit of dignity.
"It was just some role-play to help with my wedding nerves."
Sebastian smirked softly.
At the red light, he turned his head to look at me.
His gaze was so intense that I felt like I could get lost in it.
"But Summer, I took it seriously."
My heart skipped a beat.
"You said Sebastian was a cold-blooded monster who'd do anything for profit."
He was just quoting my own words right back at me.