Monica rolled her eyes, but there was the faintest hint of relief in her expression—one he caught and chose not to comnt on. "Don’t flatter yourself. You’re just conveniently tall and ridiculously pretty."
Rex smirked. "I don’t know if I should take that as a complint or a warning, "Rex grinned," but either way, you better be ready to pay up. I don’t work for free." He said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Humph! Isn’t it enough I’m letting you put your hand on my waist?" she said, motioning toward his uninvited hand on her waist.
Hearing this Rex just chuckled and said, "don’t get wrong, that’s just for the act, as for the paynt? We’ll see later."
"Dream on, be thankful that I hadn’t chopped your pigs hoof," she snorted.
"Ohhh, so fierce!" he smirked.
anwhile, a few ters away from them, the group of "partygoers" who’d been pretending to chat and laugh suddenly stiffened. Their fake smiles faltered for half a second as they watched the two getting chummy, whispering to each other like a couple sneaking away from prying eyes.
This wasn’t sothing they’d been briefed on.
They exchanged wide-eyed glances, silently communicating with a nod here, a twitch there. One of them motioned with his eyes, a subtle signal. They regrouped, trying to maintain the illusion of casual small talk. But now they were clearly second-guessing everything.
They were supposed to keep an eye on her, create a distraction or an opening—just long enough for soone else to make a move. A spike in her drink. A subtle nudge toward a side room. Just a quiet, clean setup.
But now? She wasn’t alone. She had soone by her side. And clearly soone quite close, maybe a lover.
This unexpected wildcard had thrown everything off.
Confused, one of them gave a slight nod, eyes darting in signal. The rest seed to understand. The plan might’ve hit a snag, but being confident in their acting, they chose to keep up the act—for now—and relay the update to whoever was pulling the strings. Anyway
But what they didn’t know was that their cover had already been blown long ago. They might’ve fooled a normal partygoer, but for soone like Monica—whose whole life revolved around reading people and performing—it was laughably obvious.
Taking Rex’s arm, she casually peeked at them from the corner of her eye. The awkward pause, frozen mid-laugh, confusion written all over their faces, unsure of whether to keep going or pull back. It only further confird her earlier suspicion that she may be overthinking.
So, to avoid any unexpected situation, she kept walking toward the main ballroom. she instinctively leaned a little closer to Rex, but compared to before, her steps grew lighter. Her shoulders eased. The tension she’d been holding onto for the past hour slowly slipping away.
At least, she wasn’t alone anymore.
At least I’m not on my own anymore, she thought, stealing a glance at Rex’s profile—clean, calm, and annoyingly perfect in the moonlight. A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Don’t look at like that," Rex said without turning his head. "Or you’ll end up falling for ."
Monica scoffed, "In your dreams. I’ve got thousands of people practically lining up for the chance."
"But none of them are as handso as ," he replied, smirking as he finally turned his head, catching her with that cocky, smug look of his.
"Yeah, well, I prefer brains over looks," she shot back.
"Ouch." He clutched his chest dramatically. "That almost hurt. Good thing I’ve got both."
"Debatable," she muttered.
"You wound ."
"Good. Maybe you’ll bleed so humility."
Rex chuckled. "Still not denying the handso part though."
"Because I’m generous," she said, arching a brow. "Letting you have your little delusions is charity work."
"You’re lucky I’m into strong-willed won with delusions of their own grandeur."
"You’re lucky I haven’t elbowed you in the ribs yet."
"I’d take that over being ignored," he grinned. "At least then I’d know you care."
She rolled her eyes, but a reluctant smile tugged at her lips. "You are so annoying."
"And yet..." He leaned slightly closer. "Here you are, holding my arm, walking with like we’re on a date."
"It’s purely strategic. You’re a convenient human shield."
Rex chuckled again, that low rumble of his that always sounded like trouble. "Call whatever you want, princess, but just know—if this were a movie, this would be the part where you realize I’m the one."
She scoffed. "Yeah, right. You’d be the cocky side character that dies in the second act."
"Bold of you to assu I’d let anyone else have the spotlight."
She wanted to snap back with sothing witty, but annoyingly—he wasn’t wrong. He was smug, sure. Cocky, no doubt. But unfortunately for her, the bastard really was that good-looking. She really hadn’t t anyone quite like him. And in that suit, with his tousled hair and that effortless swagger... he really did look like a prince charming straight out of a fantasy.
Not finding a proper coback, she simply huffed and looked ahead in mock annoyance.
But then, Rex’s expression shifted. The playful spark in his eyes dimd, replaced by a sharp seriousness that made the earlier exchange seem like an illusion. He leaned in, close —close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine before she could stop it.
Before she could open her mouth to say sothing, he spoke"I need to tell you sothing," he said, his voice dropping to a neutral, almost flat tone, with no trace of flirtation just now.
"I know you’re being targeted," he said.
She blinked, stunned and tensed again, her smile vanishing.
"I overheard one of the guards talking, not even an hour ago. He ntioned soone—so powerful big shot got their eye on you—been pursuing you for a while now. Or should I say coveting you, to be exact." His tone was detached, his eyes looking straight and expressions, like it was a small talk between a couple. "Apparently, he gave explicit orders to ’secure’ you tonight."
(End of Chapter)
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