Chapter 3
The first floor of The Grand Regency Hotel blazed with light when I arrived.
I had come twenty minutes early, but instead of walking straight through the front doors, I settled into the coffee shop across the lobby and watched the entrance through the glass wall that ran from floor to ceiling.
At seven forty-five, Claire appeared.
She had a mask on, her hair was down around her shoulders, and she was wearing a white dress in the exact same shade as mine. She had even slowed her walk to a deliberate pace, as if she were practicing the way I normally carried myself.
She stopped first at the lobby mirror to smooth down her hair. Then she looked down at her phone and tapped out a quick message to someone.
A few seconds later, the elevator doors slid open, and a man stepped out.
He was dressed in a black suit, stood tall with a commanding presence, and his strikingly sharp features carried an almost aggressive edge. The noisy crowd seemed to part for him instinctively.
Until that moment, I had only ever seen Charles Lewis on the cover of financial magazines.
As the youngest person to ever hold real power in the Lewis family, the thirty-year-old already controlled the majority of the Lewis Corporation.
The business world had plenty to say about him that he was ruthless, cold-blooded, and hated nothing more than someone trying to outmaneuver him.
Our engagement, meanwhile, had never been more than a casual promise thrown out by our elders years ago. If I'm being honest, this was the first time we had even laid eyes on each other.
The comments exploded in an instant.
[He's here. He's finally here!]
[God, Charles is absolutely stunning.]
[Go get him, Claire. Tonight's the night you rise to the top.]
Leaning against the window, I watched Claire walk gracefully toward him and felt surprisingly calm.
Charles came to a halt, his eyes flicking down to her chest before his brow tightened almost imperceptibly.
Nervously, Claire tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and spoke in a soft voice. "Mr. Lewis, I'm..."
That was when I called Charles.
He looked down at his phone, saw who it was, and picked up.
"Charles," I said, my voice perfectly even, "the woman standing in front of you isn't me."
Through the glass, I could clearly see the change in him. The cold, detached expression he'd worn just a moment ago shifted the second he heard my voice.
His head snapped up, and his eyes cut straight through the crowd to find me.
Claire turned to follow his gaze.
The moment our eyes met, her face went pale.
Gathering the hem of my dress, I crossed the street and walked toward them, one step at a time.
The comments went absolutely berserk.
[Holy shit!]
[What the hell? Wasn't Lily drugged?]
[Then why is she here?!]
[Wait a second. Is Charles staring at that brooch on her chest?"]
Claire was the first to recover. With her eyes quickly turning red, she jumped in before anyone else could speak. "Lily? I thought you were back at home with a stomachache. What are you doing here?"
With that single line, she had already cast herself in the role of the concerned sister looking out for me.
Unfortunately for her, I already knew every move she planned to make.
I looked at her and smiled faintly. "Claire, didn't you tell me you were coming to break off the engagement for me? Then why are you wearing that dress, that hairstyle, and even the necklace my mother left me?
"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were here to marry him in my place."
A few people nearby glanced over without meaning to.
Claire's smile became strained. "You've misunderstood. I just thought Mr. Lewis might not recognize me, so..."
"Not recognize you?" I interrupted, my voice quiet enough to stay civil but loud enough for Charles to hear every word. "The thing is, he was never supposed to recognize you at all."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.