Chapter 4 Melissa's Pov

I parked haphazardly, before I stumbled out.

I knew I looked like a mess...hair tangled, makeup smeared, wearing last night's clothes...but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Mom, what's going on?" The words tore out of me as I ran toward her.

Her eyes looked devastated. " Why didn't you tell me things were this bad?"

She collapsed on my shoulder, her sobs soaked into my shoulder, hot and desperate.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry." Her voice was muffled against my neck. "I really tried to keep up with the loan payments ever since your dad died. But after I lost my job..."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. "Mom, you lost your job? When?"

"Three months ago."

"But why didn't you say anything?" My voice cracked.

"I didn't want you to worry. I thought I could figure something out before they foreclosed."

Three months. She'd been struggling for three months and I hadn't noticed. I'd been too wrapped up in Troy...his parties, his drama, his bullshit. Too focused on school and chasing my photography dreams to see my own mother falling apart.

One of the bank officials cleared his throat, cutting the moment short. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you really need to leave the premises. We are on a tight schedule."

Mom pulled back, wiping uselessly at her tears. "I know. We're going."

"Where are we supposed to go?"

Her face shifted, something almost like relief crossed her face. "Gavin. My fiancé said we could move into his penthouse. He has plenty of space, and it's temporary. Just until I get back on my feet."

Gavin. Her fiancé of three months. A man I'd deliberately avoided meeting because the whole thing felt wrong.

"He's been so kind to us, Melissa. So generous." Her voice made my chest ache. "When I told him what happened, he didn't hesitate to help us"

I clenched my fists so hard my nails bit into my palms.

The truth was, my father's death twelve years ago broke something inside me. Something that couldn't be fixed or replaced. Yes, he'd left us drowning in debt. His gambling and bad decisions got him killed because he owed money to the wrong people.

But he was still my dad.

No stranger could replace that. I didn't care how rich or generous he was.

But I wasn't dumb enough not to know we didn't have any other option right now. We had nowhere else to go.

We were out of choices.

"Okay," I said quietly, the word tasting like defeat. "Okay, we'll go."

Relief flooded Mom's face, and she grabbed my hand, squeezing tight. "Thank you, baby. Thank you. This is going to be okay. You'll see. Gavin is wonderful. You're going to love him."

I doubted that. But I didn't say anything.

Gavin's building was downtown, It screamed wealth and power in a way that made me feel small and out of place.

"He never mentioned he was rich," I muttered, my voice echoing in the space.

"I told you he was successful," Mom said, but even she looked slightly overwhelmed.

Judging by what I was seeing, "successful" was an understatement. This man was loaded.

A woman probably in her mid-fifties, with perfectly styled gray hair. She was probably the house keeper.

"Mrs. Parker, please make yourself comfortable. Mr. Gavin will be with you shortly." Her smile was warm but professional.

"Thank you," Mom said.

We stepped inside the penthouse, and I had to force myself not to gasp.

If I thought the lobby was impressive, this was something else entirely. A floor to ceiling window,with a beautiful view. Beautiful furniture . Abstract art that probably cost more than a house. And everything was in black and white.

"Should I get you anything? Water? Coffee?" the housekeeper asked.

"No, thank you. We're fine," Mom said, smiling.

The woman nodded and disappeared down a hallway, leaving us alone.

Mom immediately grabbed my hand, squeezing tight. "See? This is going to be wonderful. We're so lucky..."

Mom released my hand, smoothing down her hair one last time, pasting on a bright smile on her face.

A man walked into the living room.

He was tall and broad-shouldered. His dress looked simple but it fit him perfectly like it was tailored just for him.

And he looked terribly familiar.

My breath caught in my throat.

No. It couldn't be.

He walked closer, and I saw the exact moment recognition hit him. His ice-blue eyes widened a little bit, before becoming perfectly neutral as though it was my imagination.

My entire world shattered into a million pieces.

The man was Ben. The stranger I kissed last night .

"Gavin!" Mom threw herself at him , not noticing the tension between us. "Thank you so much for this. I don't know what we would have done without you."

He wrapped his arms around her , but his eyes...those impossibly blue eyes...never left mine. They burned into me with an intensity that made my skin burn.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

"Melissa, come here." Mom's voice seemed to come from very far away. "Let me properly introduce you."

I couldn't move. My lungs had forgotten how to work.

"Melissa," Mom said again, more insistent. She grabbed my arm, pulling me forward.

I walked like a puppet, my legs moving without conscious thought.

"Gavin, this is my daughter, Melissa." Mom beamed, completely missing the way we were staring at each other. "Melissa, this is my fiancé. Your future stepfather, Gavin."

The word stepfather hit me like a blow.

The man whose touch had made me forget my own name.

Was my mother's fiancé.

"Melissa." Mom nudged me, frowning slightly. "Say hello, honey."

My mouth opened. Closed. No words came out.

Gavin's jaw tightened further. "Hello, Melissa." His voice was the same seductive voice that sent chills down my spine last night.

The way he said my name made my skin burn.

"Hi." The word was barely audible.

Mom looked between us, a slight frown creasing her forehead. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine," Gavin said smoothly.

God, what have I done?

The thought screamed through my head on repeat.

The room spun around me. My hands trembled at my sides. Nausea rolled through my stomach in waves.

We were completely, utterly screwed.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

......

The bedroom door clicked shut behind me and I finally let out the breath I had been holding.

The room was massive...it had a king-sized bed with a beautiful white bedspread, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, a walk-in closet bigger than my entire bedroom back home. It should have felt like a dream. Instead, it felt like a trap.

I grabbed my phone with shaking hands. It rang once.

"Melissa..."

"Aria..."

We both screamed at the same time.

"I have something to tell you," we said in unison again.

"Okay, you go first." I pressed my fingers to my temples where a headache was already forming.

"No, you go first."

"Aria, I need to organize my thoughts. Just... please. Go first."

She sighed dramatically. "Okay, don't panic, but this news is huge. Like huge huge."

"Just tell me."

"So that video of you kissing that hot guy while Troy got his face rearranged? It's circulating through the entire school group chat. Girl, you're famous."

I closed my eyes. "Oh God."

"Wait, there's more."

"How could there possibly be more?"

"So I couldn't shake this feeling that I'd seen him before...your mystery man. Something about him was familiar. And not many people drive Audis. Like, only rich rich people drive Audis."

"Aria, where are you going with this?"

"I did some digging." Her voice dropped. "Melissa, he's not just some random rich guy. He's Ben Gavin. Like, the Ben Gavin. He owns multiple professional hockey franchises. He's been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Forbes, everything. Babe, he's a billionaire. With a B."