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The balcony of the Grand Imperial Hotel felt like a fragile island floating above the city lights. The cool night air tugged at Gabriella's champagne silk gown, the fabric shimmering like liquid starlight. But inside, the atmosphere was suffocating.
The Broken Promise
Jake stood close, the scent of his expensive cologne mixing with the smell of white roses. His face was etched with a raw, serious emotion that Gabriella hadn't seen before.
"I can't lose you, Gabriella," Jake whispered, his voice cracking. He gently grabbed her hand, his fingers warm against her skin. "I don't want anyone else between us. Only you and me. Why should we lose our love because of them?"
Gabriella's heart hammered against her ribs. Her face began to melt, her defenses crumbling. For a second, she wanted to say yes. "Ye...s..." she breathed.
"Then leave it," Jake urged. "Leave Raina alone. Stop this revenge."
The word Raina acted like a bucket of ice water. Gabriella's soft eyes snapped into a sharp, burning fury. She shoved his hand away with a force that surprised them both.
"What?" she hissed, flipping her hair back. "You're still protecting her? I thought, just for a second, that you finally understood me. But no." Her voice dropped to a deadly, vibrating low. "You want me to let her walk free?"
Jake reached out to grab her again. "Gabriella, listen—"
"STOP!" she roared, the sound echoing off the marble walls. "Why are you protecting her so badly? Why?!"
"Because she didn't kill Kevin!" Jake shouted back, his voice deep and desperate.
Gabriella let out a hollow, pained chuckle. She pushed him back. "You're still saying that? Every piece of evidence points to her! She even admitted it! And yet, you..." She scoffed, her eyes brimming with tears of betrayal. "I get it now. You did whatever Raina told you to do. You even acted like you loved me just for her."
She stared him down, her gaze piercing. "A man protects someone at all costs only when that person is close to him. Who is she to you, Jake? Your secret lover?"
Jake's face went white with fury. His hand flew up, fueled by blind instinct, about to slap her. Gabriella flinched, closing her eyes and waiting for the blow.
It never came.
She opened her eyes to see a hand gripping Jake's wrist mid-air. It was Felix. His eyes were fierce, and the veins in his hand stood out, showing the incredible strength of his grip. He looked lethal in his black tuxedo, a silent guardian standing between them.
Jake ripped his hand back, breathing hard. "Don't talk nonsense! She is my friend!" He looked at the ground, then back at Gabriella with a dark, mocking chuckle. "What about you, Gabriella? You want revenge for Kevin so badly... what was he to you?"
"You know nothing about our friendship!" Gabriella screamed. "How dare you!"
"This is how I feel!" Jake countered. "You know nothing about me and Raina!"
Gabriella smiled, but there was no joy in it. "Look. Your true self is coming out. You always choose Raina over me. We can never be together, Jake. Never ever."
She turned on her heel and walked away, her champagne dress trailing behind her like a fading dream. Felix gave Jake one last cold look before following her into the ballroom.
Jake stood alone on the balcony, the silence crashing down on him. He felt a deep, jagged pain in his chest. He couldn't lose Gabriella, but he couldn't abandon Raina either.
"How could you know, Gabriella?" he whispered to the empty air. "Raina was the only one who stood by me when everyone else turned their backs."
He closed his eyes, and a painful memory surfaced. He saw Christina, Han's sister. She had loved Jake with every fiber of her being, but he had ignored her. When she was dying of a brain tumor, he hadn't even visited her in her final moments.
After she died, everyone—Han, Selina, Ronnie—had blamed him. They called him heartless. But Raina... Raina had been his shield. She had stood in front of the world to protect him.
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The Echo of a Touch
The grand staircase of the Imperial Hotel was a cascading river of white marble, lined with gold-leaf railings that caught the glow of a hundred crystal chandeliers. It was a place of high drama and silent secrets. Gabriella stood on the landing, the hem of her champagne silk gown pooling around her feet like liquid gold. The fabric was heavy, but her heart felt even heavier.
As she tried to hurry away, Felix reached out and caught her hand. The contact was electric, stopping her in her tracks. She turned, her eyes shimmering with the remnants of the tears she had shed for Jake.
Without a word, Felix pulled a clean tissue from his tuxedo pocket. He leaned in, his hand rising toward her face to gently wipe away the dampness on her cheek. But halfway there, he froze. The air between them suddenly felt charged with something dangerous and real. Realizing he had crossed a boundary—that he was letting his guard down—he stopped.
With a stiff, formal movement, he simply placed the tissue in her palm. Gabriella took it, her fingers brushing his, and quickly wiped her eyes.
A flush of heat crawled up Gabriella's neck as flashes of the previous night returned to her. The drug, the hospital, the way she had clung to him... it was all a blur, but a vivid one.
"Felix..." she started, her voice hesitating. "I didn't... I didn't go too far yesterday, did I? I wasn't a total trouble for you?"
Felix paused, a slow, playful smile spreading across his face. Gabriella's heart did a nervous flip. She bit her lip in pure embarrassment, her mind racing through all the embarrassing things she might have said while drugged.
"Yes, " Felix murmured, his voice a low hum. "You were a lot of trouble."
Before she could apologize, Felix stepped toward her. He leaned in, closing the distance until Gabriella was forced to look up into his intense, dark eyes. He was so close she could feel the warmth radiating from him.
"But," he whispered, his gaze moving across her face with a genuine, raw sincerity she had never seen before. "Yesterday, I saw someone real in you. Someone so different from the 'Gabriella' the world thinks they know."
His words hit her harder than any insult ever could. Her face softened, her breath hitching as she saw the man behind the mystery for the first time. For a heartbeat, the revenge, the pain of Jake, and the coldness of the world disappeared.
Felix straightened his posture, the mask of the cool businessman sliding back into place. Without another word, he turned and walked down the marble steps, his silhouette sharp and commanding.
Gabriella stood frozen on the stairs, unable to take her eyes off his retreating figure. Her heart was beating a rhythm she didn't recognize—one that felt dangerously close to hope.
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The Empty Spotlight
The ballroom of the Grand Imperial was a vision of gold and ivory. The stage was draped in white velvet, illuminated by dazzling spotlights that made every diamond in the room sparkle. But for Gabriella, the light felt blinding and cold.
Gabriella stepped onto the stage, her champagne silk gown trailing behind her like a river of liquid starlight. The intricate lace on the bodice hugged her frame, making her look like a queen, but her expression was a mask of stone.
Below the stage, the elite of the city whispered, their eyes moving between her and the empty space beside her. Jake was nowhere to be found.
Among the crowd, Felix stood leaning against a marble pillar. He looked lethal in his black tuxedo, a glass of deep red wine held loosely in his hand. His gaze was locked on Gabriella—intense, unblinking, and strangely protective.
"You've fallen for her, haven't you?" his assistant whispered mockingly from beside him.
Felix didn't flinch. He slowly closed his eyes, his long lashes casting shadows on his cheekbones. "I told you already," he said, his voice a bored, low velvet. "I haven't."
He turned away, but the assistant wasn't finished. "The eyes don't lie, boss. The way you look at her every single time... it's different. It's not just a mission."
Felix froze for a heartbeat. The wine in his glass swirled as his hand tightened. A wave of deep, complicated thinking washed over his face. Without a word, he took a slow sip of the wine and walked out toward the balcony, needing the fresh night air to clear the sudden chaos in his chest.
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On the stage, the tension was thick enough to cut. Gabriella's parents, Frederick and Roselette, stood tall, trying to maintain their dignified smiles. Next to them stood Julie, Jake's mother, who was nervously twisting her pearl necklace.
But the two most important men—Jake and his father, Robert—were missing.
Dona leaned in close to Gabriella, her voice a sharp whisper. "Where is he? Usually, it's the girls who take forever to get ready. Why is Jake so late for his own engagement?"
Gabriella didn't reply. She stared out at the sea of faces, her heart heavy with the memory of their fight on the balcony. The pain of Jake choosing Raina again and again felt like a fresh wound. She looked upset, her jaw tight as she fought back the urge to walk off the stage and never look back.
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The Assassin's Scope
The Grand Hall was a cathedral of gold and glass, draped in white lilies and smelling of the finest champagne. It was the night of the elite, where the rich gathered to watch the merger of two powerful families. Robert, Jake's father, stepped through the massive arched entrance, his footsteps clicking on the polished marble. He looked every bit the powerful patriarch in his midnight-black tuxedo, but beneath the silk lay a heart made of cold iron.
Just as he reached the center of the hall, his phone vibrated. It was the sniper he had hired to take out the girl who had been interfering with his business—the one constantly seen with Felix.
"I have her in my sights," the sniper's voice crackled through the earpiece. "I'm ready to pull the trigger."
"Shoot her. No mercy," Robert commanded, his voice a low hiss. "Is Felix with her?"
"He was there a few seconds ago. Now he's moved," the shooter replied.
Robert's eyes flashed with a cruel fire. "Shoot her in front of him. How dare he hold a gun behind my son's back. I want Felix to feel that same soul-crushing pain. I want him to watch her fall. Wait ! Do you know who is she..?"
"I don't know who she is," the sniper grunted. "I'm not a spy; I don't check backgrounds. I just hit the target....you said and I am doing. But she's been with him quite a lot."
"Fine," Robert snapped. "My son's engagement is today. Don't disturb me again. Just inform me once the job is done."
Robert entered the main ballroom, a fake, practiced smile spreading across his face as he greeted the guests. But then, his gaze shifted to the corner table. There sat Felix, looking calm and dangerous.
Robert's heart skipped a beat. A cold realization washed over him. If Felix is here, that means she is here too. If the sniper fires now, the engagement will turn into a bloodbath. All my hard work will be doomed.
In a panic, he pulled out his phone and dialed the sniper back.
"You're the one disturbing me now," the sniper growled. "I'm seconds away from the kill."
"Wait! No! Stop!" Robert whispered harshly.
The sniper scoffed, his finger hovering over the trigger. "Why? I was just about to send her to the grave."
"Who is she?" Robert asked, his voice trembling with a sudden, horrific thought. "How does she look?"
"Why are you asking me that now?" the sniper replied impatiently. "She's the bride. She's the one in the white dress on the stage. I don't know her name; I just know she's the target."
Robert's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "The bride?! You idiot, she's my son's future wife! She's Gabriella!"
The sniper froze on the rooftop across the street. "What?"
"Look at me," Robert hissed, stepping toward the side of the stage. "I'm right here!"
The sniper adjusted his lens and spotted Robert through the glass. "You almost made me kill your own daughter-in-law," the sniper said, his voice devoid of emotion. "But as a professional, I follow orders. You told me to kill the girl seen with Felix. I don't check IDs."
Robert was shaking with outrage. "You...!"
"Save it," the sniper interrupted. "Our deal is done. Send the money immediately. The fact that you stopped me at the last second doesn't mean I didn't do my work. Pay up, or next time, I won't stop."
The line went dead.
Robert stood paralyzed, his chest heaving. He looked up at the stage where Gabriella stood, looking like a hauntingly beautiful vision in her shimmering champagne-silk gown. Her eyes were full of a deep, hidden sadness, but all Robert could see was the mystery.
Robert's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. He looked from Gabriella to Felix, who was still watching her from the shadows with an intensity that couldn't be ignored.
Why was Felix protecting her? Why were they seen together ?
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To Be Continued....
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