Chapter 5
Anna’s POV
I couldn’t believe it. Out of all the people I could have run into, it had to be Nate–the boy I’d had a silly, hopeless crush on back in high school.
He had always been so dismissive of my existence and only teased me at any chance. he got.
And now, here he was, towering over me and looking even more devastatingly attractive, making my heart flutter in a way I thought I had long since outgrown.
He was probably four or five times richer than Caden and ran many influential businesses.
I felt a flush creep up my neck, suddenly all too aware of the way my short red dress. clung to my curves.
“Wow, I almost didn’t recognize you,” he
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said, his gaze sweeping over me in a way that made my skin prickle. “No wonder you couldn’t see where you were going–I forgot you were blind as a bat. Where are your big, nerdy glasses?”
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, a familiar irritation taking root inside me. “News flash, Mr. Powers,” I snapped. “I don’t have eye issues anymore. That was so many years ago!”
He raised his eyebrows, a hint of a smirk. tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Huh, well, you don’t look so bad,” he murmured, his eyes lingering on the curve of my hips, the length of my full legs. “In fact, you look… really good.”
Damn him and his infuriating ability to still get a reaction out of me.
“Well, I’m so glad my appearance meets with your approval,” I replied in a sarcastic tone, crossing my arms over my chest. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you ran into my car. So, how about you pay for the
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damages?”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “Pay for the damages? Sweetheart, I don’t think so. You should be paying for my car.”
His phone started vibrating then, and he glanced down, squinting at the screen. “Damn, I almost forgot about the charity gala…”
He turned to me, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You know what, Anna? How about you make it up to me by being my date for the evening?”
I stared at him, bewildered. “Your date? Are you insane? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a married woman,” I said, flashing my ring at his face.
But Nate just waved a dismissive hand. “Hold on a sec,” he said, pulling out his phone and scrolling through it. “Married. woman, huh? Didn’t your husband, Caden, tell everyone that another woman ist carrying his child?”
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He shoved the screen in my face, revealing a series of articles and social media posts detailing the scandal.
I felt the blood rush to my face, burning with humiliation. How dare he bring that up? How dare he rub salt in the wound of my broken marriage?
“That’s none of your business,” I hissed at him angrily and snatched the phone from him. “Take this away from my face; I don’t want to see any more of that crap.”
He just chuckled. “Look, I don’t care about the drama.
All I care about is that you hit my car, and now you owe me. So, are you going to be my date for the evening or what?”
I finally agreed reluctantly. “Fine, whatever. What’s the name of this dumb gala, anyway?”
“The Weston Foundation gala,” Nate stated. “You know, the one your husband and his family are running.”
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I groaned inwardly. Of course it would be the one I was supposed to attend with Caden.
“I’ll come pick you up, alright?” he said, that insufferable grin still plastered on his face. “It wouldn’t make sense for us to show
up separately.”
I rolled my eyes, rattling off the address of my apartment. As I turned to walk away, he suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back.
“Wait, wait, wait,” he said, digging in his pocket for his phone. “Give me your number, too. How else am I supposed to get in touch with you?”
I scoffed, snatching the device from his hand. “Oh, I don’t know, Nate. Maybe by using a carrier pigeon?” I muttered. sarcastically as I punched in my number with force.
“Don’t go breaking my stuff. I kind of need that to function, you know.” He shot me a
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glare.
I thrust the phone back at him, glaring. “Just take your stupid phone and leave me
alone.”
I just shook my head in annoyance and turned back to my car, fumbling with the keys. But when I tried to start the engine, nothing happened.
Nate must have noticed my struggle, because the next thing I knew, he was calling out to me. “What’s the matter? Can’t even start your own car now?”
“I’m trying, okay?” I snapped back.
He let out an exasperated sigh and stepped away from his car, striding over to where I stood. “Move your silly car backward so I
can pass,”
I shifted into reverse, but the car refused to budge. Nate threw up his hands. “Alright, that’s it. Get out of the car.”
I stared at him with a slight frown. “So I
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don’t know how to drive my own car now?”
‘Well, why isn’t it moving?” he retorted.
I let out an irritated huff. “Why don’t you come take a look and help me figure it out?”
Nate glanced at his own car. “The gala starts soon, and I need to get going. How about this, you try starting it again while I push you to the side of the road?
Before I could protest, he was already at the back of my car, straining to push it. Slowly, we made our way to the side of the road, where he called a tow truck.
He turned to me. “You can leave it here; the mechanic will take care of it. Come on, we need to get going. We don’t want to be late. for the gala.”
I hesitated for a moment, then squared my shoulders and followed him to his car.
After all, if Caden could betray me, then I was damn well going to enjoy a little
payback of my own.
