This wasn't real. There's no way this was real.
"Ever?" Aubrey's voice echoed until it came into clarity. "You still there?"
I shook my head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here, sorry," I replied, tucking the same strand of hair back, this time, behind my ear. "I just need a second."
I took a breath, making sure to inhale deeply before exhaling. I found my hand instinctively falling to my stomach. "You know what you're asking is borderline insanity, right?"
"I know!" Aubrey answered. "I knew even mentioning it to you would—"
"Send me into a spiral?" I interrupted. A dry laugh escaped me, prompting one of the nurses' eyes to dart up at me. I waved her off, and she returned to her paperwork.
"Yes!" Aubrey continued, her voice growing more exacerbated.
It fell quiet. Then, I heard a sigh come from her end of the phone. She was my best friend. I didn't need to see her to know exactly how she was positioned: phone pressed against her ear with her shoulder, and a hand on her curved hip.
When she returned, her tone was quieter and softer. "I see you, Ever. I know you don't think I do, but I do. I notice how hard you work. You're at your computer day and night. You might think your freelance business is a failure, but I see the numbers you bring in each month. The only reason you don't is because of those medical bills. If this is a way out, why not take it?"
I knew in my head it was crazy, illogical even.
There were so many factors against it: first, I didn't know the guy. Second, it'd be a marriage based purely on advantage—I'd be with someone, legally, forever, based on monetary gain. It went against everything I stood for. And third...who's to say he'd choose me?
All of these thoughts weighed in my head, pressing down harder and harder, to the point where it was impossible for me to even think of what to say. But then the beeping of the heart monitor hit my ears, and my eyes turned to the half-open doorway.
He was in the same position, his head propped on a set of two pillows, with wires running down his hospital gown, attached to different parts of his body. I kept waiting for him to budge, even twitch a little, but he didn't. He was entirely still, unaware of everything happening. Part of me envied him.
I never hated coming to see my Dad. I hated the circumstance. I hated the situation we were in. I hated that my mother was forced to work 12-hour shifts, 6 days a week, to support herself and the medical bills because of the lack of healthcare. I hated that, despite both of us working and contributing, we were still behind.
Aubrey had a point. I needed help. We needed help. I had tried every grant, loan, and benefit possible. It wasn't enough.
"I hear your brain whirring, Ev," Aubrey teased. This time, I let out a semi-real laugh. "Don't come to a decision yet. Just start by coming with me to the gala. That way, I can introduce you two and you can "
I bit my lip and shut my eyes. "Okay, when is it?"
"Tonight."
"Tonight?!" I exclaimed. At least six nurses' heads turned in my direction. I mouthed an apology and headed back into my Dad's room, shutting the door quietly behind me. I lowered my voice. "Aubrey, that's a little fast, don't you think?"
"This whole situation is a little fast, Ever."
Again, she was right. Aubrey was easily excited and overly optimistic, but when it came down to it, she was also a realist. I could trust her to be honest with me, and I could rarely argue her case.
"You're right," I agreed. "But what would I wear? I don't own anything near that fancy."
And just like that, Aubrey's voice was back to its normal eager pitch. "Oh, don't you worry. Like I said, I've been planning for this moment, and I have just the outfit for you."
***
I couldn't have imagined this in my wildest dreams. What the h*ll was I doing? In the past couple of hours, I had gone back and forth in my mind at least twenty times, wondering if I was doing the right thing. The thing is, I wouldn't know until after the fact, and it scared the sh*t out of me.
"So, this chicken fajita you got on the way home? Holy, mother. The things I would—"
Aubrey stopped. I turned and looked at her.
"You're sure this looks alright?" I asked.
"Alright?" Aubrey echoed. Her bright blue eyes were wide, and the mascara on them moved with her lashes as she blinked. She set down her food on my dresser and walked over to the mirror where I stood. Her hands rested on my shoulders. "That dress was made for you."
"You think so?"
I glanced at myself again in the mirror. Aubrey gave me a deep red, sequined dress. It had spaghetti-style straps and a modest v-neck that trailed down into a body-con, floor-length. There was a singular slit that completed the dress, stopping just above my thigh.
Aubrey nodded. "Absolutely. Plus, it's way better than the sweats you usually wear."
I glared at her through the mirror. "You know I only wear sweats because I don't go anywhere for work, right?"
"That's exactly my point, Ev! You don't do anything BUT work! I don't remember the last time we did something like this without some deadline getting in the way." Her eyes softened. "I miss you."
I let my glare go and turned to her with my unmanicured hand extended. She took hold of it, contrasting it with her perfectly manicured one.
"I miss you, too, Bree," I replied gently.
Aubrey rubbed the back of my hand with her thumb, and before I knew it, the two of us were welling up. Partially because of the moment, but also partially because she understood just how much I truly needed this, regardless of how scared I felt.
Aubrey inhaled deeply and let it out at the same moment she let go of my hand. "Ugh, okay. No crying. That mascara isn't waterproof, and if you're about to potentially marry my boss, I need you to look absolutely perfect. Got it?"
She handed me a napkin, and I laughed as I patted it underneath my eyes. I headed to the trash bin I kept in my room and tossed it out, just as Aubrey's phone buzzed.
"The driver's here," she noted, looking up from her screen. "Are you ready?"
I wasn't, but I nodded. "Yeah. But can I just have a second? I need to grab something first."
"Yeah, of course. Meet you downstairs."
Aubrey shut my bedroom door. I waited until I heard her heels retreat down the hall, and then the front door to our apartment shut. I turned back around and looked at myself in the mirror once more.
I instinctively reached up and fixed the curls that fell over my left shoulder. Then, I adjusted the barret on the right, holding it all in place. I reached down on the nightstand in front of me and unclasped a small, gold lucky charm necklace from my jewelry holder and placed it on my neck.
As soon as the clasp clicked into place, I lifted my hand and brushed my fingers gently against the cool metal. My Dad gave it to me on the day I graduated from college. He said it was to bring me luck wherever life decided to take me. I stopped wearing it after his second heart attack.
I took a deep breath. This was for him. It was always for him. And for the first time that day, I felt ready.
***
"You know, when you said 'ride', I thought you meant an Uber. Not a full-scale limo," I stated as the car drove down Main Street.
Aubrey chuckled, her white teeth glowing against the street lights as we passed. "You really think that Dean, or Cassian for that matter, would let me show up in an Uber?"
"I don't know what to think," I replied, my voice trembling a little more than I anticipated. "You haven't really told me a lot about him."
Her eyes narrowed at me, and she stared at me, incredulously. "Ever, he's only on the cover of every major magazine out there. Even people in France know him."
"Well, I'm not in France, am I?" I teased, making a face back at her. I crossed my legs in the seat, ignoring the tightness of the dress, and straightened up my back in a mocking gesture. "Plus, you said I never leave the house, so how am I supposed to know the same details that Cosmo and Esquire do?"
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, a smirk growing on my face. Aubrey sighed and let out a laugh.
"Well, if you read the magazines, you'd know that Cassian is a total shut-in. Like you, but not for the same reasons." I heard the dig, but I let it slide. The GPS on my phone said we were close, and if I was to make any impression, I needed to get what information I could. "He's got the whole 'dark and mysterious' vibe going on. As far as I know, all he does is work."
"He doesn't have family?" I asked. "Friends?"
"Dean is the only person I ever see him with. As far as family, I don't know. From what Dean's told me, he's pretty closed off. The only time he's mentioned anyone was his ex-business partner, Thomas, and it was in passing. Other than that, he keeps to himself."
"Okay..." I continued. "Anything else?"
"Uhmm, he's never tied down for more than three weeks, he doesn't have pets, and his star sign is a Virgo."
Now it was my turn to narrow my gaze at her. "You read that from a magazine, didn't you?"
"Duh! I know nothing about Cassian aside from he's hot and he's my boss. Like I said, he's a recluse, and I'm an assistant."
Everything Aubrey told me continued to play through my mind as we drove. Regardless of whether I went through with this idea or not, I didn't know how any relationship, let alone a marriage, would survive someone like that.
I stared out the window, watching the row of businesses go by. Some were still open, with string lights decorating the outside patios, which were full of customers. But most were closed, their lights off, ready to re-open the next morning.
And then, slowly enough, they faded away, and on a large chunk of the street, stood the Natural Museum and Arts building. The once quiet roads were now full of life: photographers lined the red carpet leading up to the grand, oval staircase, waiting for the guests to step out of their cars when they arrived.
Our limo pulled up behind another and waited. I watched as a woman, not much younger than Aubrey or me, got out of the vehicle ahead of us. She was tall and slender, her frame perfectly balanced within her dress. She flung a lock of gold hair behind her head and sauntered angelically up the steps, careful to pose for the cameras every so often.
Then, our car moved forward and stopped. The barrage of lights reflected against the tinted windows, and people clamoured forward, hoping to get a glimpse of whoever was inside. My stomach twisted, and I considered asking Aubrey to go ahead without me, when she turned to look at me. Her grin was ear-to-ear.
"Ready?"
I looked back outside and touched the necklace on my chest. I could do this. It was just one night, which might not even amount to anything. I needed to let myself enjoy it.
"Yeah," I replied, pushing a smile in return. "Let's go."
Aubrey squealed and opened her door. The camera lights flashed directly in my eyes every few seconds as we ascended the staircase, hand in hand, with Aubrey leading the way. If I thought the exterior of the museum was grand, the interior was amplified.
The floors were made of pure white and grey marble, and the columns were decorated with at least a thousand flowers each. My eyes followed them to the top, where they held up a dome-style ceiling, adorned with hand-painted images of different mammals and figures throughout history.
It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.
I didn't realize how long I was staring at it until Aubrey's arm jabbed mine. "What?" I asked, forcing my gaze back to hers.
"Looks like you've already got some competition," she noted, jerking her head forward.
I looked where she was pointing. That's when I saw him. Cassian.
I knew from photos exactly who he was. If I thought the ceilings were beautiful before, he outshone them in every way.
His hair was trimmed short at the sides, and the top, left long, was slicked back ever so slightly. He had to be at least 6'1" and very built. To his right was the woman I saw get out of the limo in front of ours. She laughed, rather flirtatiously and loudly, as her hand fell onto his shoulder.
But he barely seemed to notice. Honestly, to me, he looked rather bored with the entire conversation. A shorter man, around 5'8", stood on the other side of him. He wore a dark grey suit and was chatting with a group of people.
His eyes scanned the room and stopped when they landed on me. He then looked at Aubrey beside me, and I knew exactly who he was. Dean. He was more handsome than I expected.
I looked to Aubrey, and when I saw her wave him over, my heart clenched in my chest. Sh*t. This was actually happening. I watched as Dean leaned over to Cassian. Cassian's gaze dropped to the ground as Dean whispered something in his ear.
Then, his eyes raised, and for the first time, they met mine. I swear I stopped breathing. Everything from then on moved in slow motion—from Cassian waving away the girl, to the clear contortion of her face, to Dean and Cassian walking over to us and stopping just shy of a few feet across from me.
He smelled better than he looked. I tried to narrow my focus, and that's when I realized everyone was standing around, staring at me, waiting. I turned to Aubrey, who crumpled her face very lightly and gestured toward Dean's outstretched hand.
"Oh, I am so sorry. I'm Ever," I said, reaching his hand. I was purely guessing that's what the response was, and when Dean shook my hand in return and smiled, I assumed it was right. "I've heard so much about you."
"I really hope nothing confidential," Dean replied with a small laugh.
I shook my head. "No, no. Just embarrassing," I said with a smirk.
This, thankfully, got everyone else to laugh. Everyone but Cassian. Even though I wasn't looking directly at him, I could still feel his gaze on me. Watching me.
"Oh! And this is my boss, and our CEO, Cassian Lancaster. But I'm sure you know that too."
I nodded slowly as my eyes locked onto his once again. I felt a chill surge through my body as he extended his hand. I took it, and the second I did, his grip tightened. His eyes, as deep blue as the night sky, held mine.
"Nice to meet you, Ever. I'm Cassian."