Chapter Four: A Tempting Mystery

I told myself I was done playing this game.

I had acknowledged him. That should have been the end of it. But as the night stretched on, the weight of his presence never wavered.

It wasn't obsession. It wasn't desperation.

It was patience.He was waiting—not for me to come to him, but for something else. Something I couldn't quite place.I had never been the kind of woman who chased a man's attention. If they wanted me, they came to me. That was the rule. That had always been the rule.

And yet, something about him made me want to break it.

A waiter passed, offering a fresh glass of champagne, but I declined. I had no interest in numbing whatever this feeling was. I needed clarity. Control.

Then, as if summoned by my own restless thoughts, I saw movement from the corner of my eye.

He was leaving.

Just like that.

No dramatic exit. No lingering stare to see if I'd follow. He simply turned, his broad frame cutting through the crowd with quiet authority, heading toward the exit as if he had seen all he needed to see.

I should have let him go.

I wanted to let him go.

But before I could think twice, my feet were already moving.

Not to follow.

Just to see.

I made my way toward the entrance of the ballroom, my pace unhurried, casual. The night air hit my skin as I stepped outside, the dim glow of streetlights casting long shadows on the pavement.

And there he was.

Standing beside a sleek, black car, hands in his pockets, his gaze lifted toward the night sky—as if he had all the time in the world.

I could have turned back.

I should have.

Instead, I stepped forward, my heels clicking softly against the pavement.

His head tilted slightly at the sound, but he didn't turn. Didn't speak.

The air between us crackled with something neither of us had named yet.

I folded my arms, tilting my chin up slightly. "You walk out of a party like that, and you don't even say goodbye?"

The words left my lips before I could stop them.

He finally turned.

And when he did, I realized something.

I had made the first move.