Justin's POV
She didn't flinch.
That was the first thing I noticed as I watched her from across the ballroom. The lights were soft, golden, casting a delicate glow over everything. Elena stood there shoulders straight, chin high, wearing strength like a second skin. She looked like she belonged to another world. A world far away from the one I had forged with iron and fire.
And for a moment, just a breath, I forgot how to breathe.she was too damn beautiful. Couldn't help but admit
The dress, the champagne coloured dress hugging her curves like it had been sewn from moonlight clung to her in all the right places. The diamonds at her ears caught the chandelier light, but even they dimmed in comparison to her eyes. Fierce. Sad. Unyielding.
Her lips, still tasting faintly of the cake we had shared of that moment I had pushed the rules just a little further curved ever so slightly when she caught me staring.And I was.Damn it, I was staring.
I turned from her for a moment, trying to collect my breath and the emotions I didn't have time or permission to feel. This marriage wasn't real. It wasn't supposed to be. I needed a wife to get the investors off my back, to close the largest international deal of my life, and her father owed me more than he could ever repay.
That was all this was supposed to be. A transaction. That was all I needed to tell myself and my mind was back on track. Not falling for the old scheme called "LOVE"
Can't believe looking at her made me vulnerable And Justin Shawn didn't do vulnerable.
I slipped away from the crowd, into the shadows of the ballroom, watching as Elena laughed softly with one of the guests her best friend, I presumed. Her smile wasn't forced this time. It was soft, hesitant, but real. That made it dangerous.
That made her dangerous.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. A message from Claude: "A meeting has been set on Monday for the development of JUSH company"
Performance. That was all it was supposed to be.
But when she walked toward me, her eyes lifting to meet mine with quiet defiance and grace, I felt the ground shift beneath me. Not much. Just enough to know that this wasn't going to be simple anymore.
Not with Elena.
"Mr. Shawn," she said smoothly, stopping just inches from me, the scent of vanilla and wildflowers wrapping around my senses.
"Elena," I replied. My voice was low. Controlled and cold. Even as my eyes traced the delicate shimmer dusted across her collarbone.
"Did I do well enough?" she asked. There was no sarcasm. No bite. Just genuine curiosity. She wasn't fishing for compliments. She just wanted to know.
And maybe that's what got to me most.
"You were…" I stopped. The words sat heavy in my chest. I looked away and then back again. "You were okay but you need to do better", I said in a cold way that I'm very sure gave her chills
Her eyes widened just a flicker. "Thank you and I would do better next time," she murmured.
We stood there for a beat too long. Then the music shifted.
Someone announced the bouquet toss.Guests clapped. Cameras flashed.
But for a moment, it was just us in a sea of blurred faces.
I leaned closer. "There's a firework show starting in ten minutes on the balcony. A little intimate moment so the people would think we are in love. Shall we?"She nodded.
We walked side by side to the balcony, the cool night breeze brushing against us. Fireworks shot into the air white, gold, pink, just like I had ordered. Not because I cared about the tradition. But because she had once told her friend at that gala, months ago, that she dreamed of a wedding where fireworks would light up the sky.
I had remembered.
She didn't know that.
But I did.
And as I stood next to her, silent beneath the explosions of light, I felt something tug at the walls I had built so carefully around my heart.
I didn't know what it was yet.But I was sure of one thing:The game had just begun.
"And Elena Clark might be more than I ever bargained for", The thought crossed my mind but I brushed it off.
I JUSTIN SHAWN DON'T HAVE THE TIME FOR SILLY EMOTIONAL GAMES
*******
Back inside, the music rose again this time slower, deeper, something classic. The signal for the second round of the couple's dance.
I turned toward her. "We have to go back in. They're expecting another dance from the couple of the century."
Her lips curved just slightly. "Duty calls, doesn't it?"
We returned to the dance floor. Her hand slid into mine again like it belonged there. My palm was warm against her waist, her breath steady against my neck. For a woman who had been thrown into this chaos, she carried herself like she'd trained for royalty. As we moved in rhythm, I felt the weight of every eye in the room on us. But for once, I wasn't performing.
She wasn't either.
It was just movement, music, her body pressed close enough to feel her heartbeat. I could smell the soft vanilla again, and it burned itself into my mind.
"I still don't understand you," she whispered, voice so low I nearly missed it.
"Good," I replied. "Understanding me wouldn't be a good idea."
She tilted her head. "You're not as cruel as people think, right??, a lot of people here have said good things concerning you.
I didn't answer.
Because I wasn't sure if she was right.
When the music ended, we stepped back, applause rising around us. I nodded briefly, and we exited the dance floor. The rest of the night passed in a blur of photographs, champagne, and perfectly manufactured smiles. I felt her arm looped through mine in every picture. I didn't pull away.
As we were ushered out toward the waiting car that would take us to the honeymoon suite the one meant for press and paparazzi to photograph tomorrow morning I I watched her again.
I didn't need to fake the awe this time.
She glowed.
She didn't flinch when I placed a hand on her back.
She didn't look like a girl trapped anymore.
She looked like a queen who had accepted her crown.
And I…
I felt something I hadn't felt in years.
Pride. Pride of choosing someone finer that the Girl that broke my heart
We stepped into the limo, doors shutting with a soft thud, sealing us in together.
She turned toward me. "So what now?"
I looked at her. Really looked.