Novels by PlumangTboli

The event had finally come to an end, and Hayes and Ysa were on their way back to the penthouse.Ysa sat beside him in the back seat, still holding the small velvet box that had contained the Burmese ruby necklace. She had already worn the necklace throughout the final part of the celebration, but she had taken it off before leaving, worried that she might accidentally damage it. Now, she kept opening the box to look at it again.Hayes noticed her doing it for the third time."Are you planning to stare at that necklace all night?" he asked, glancing at her from beside him.Ysa looked up, caught in the act. "Can you blame me?"He gave a small laugh. "Apparently not."She looked down at the ruby again, carefully running her thumb along the edge of the velvet box. "I still can't believe Madame Elora gave this to me.""Grandmother," Hayes corrected, raising an eyebrow.Ysa glanced at him, her eyebrows lifting in confusion. "What?""She told you to call her grandmother," he reminded her, a

The room became lively again as the host returned to the stage with a stack of papers in his hand. He smiled at the crowd. The evening had already taken a few turns that nobody seemed to expect. Hayes had walked straight past Vivienne to get Ysa, Elora had welcomed her in front of everyone, and now the whole room seemed to be looking at Ysa differently.Then came the gifts.It was an old Grayson tradition, and everyone in the room knew what it meant. Gifts from Elora were never just gifts. They showed who she favored, who she welcomed, and sometimes, without anyone having to say it, where someone stood in the family. Ysa stood beside Hayes, her hand resting lightly on his arm as she tried to calm the nervous flutter in her chest. She still had no idea what was about to happen. She had come to the celebration with almost nothing to her name except the dress she had been given, the place she had been allowed to stand, and a secret she could not tell anyone. Now she was standing in the

Hayes brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. The simple gesture made her go still. The noise from the ballroom seemed farther away for a second, replaced by the warmth of his hand against her cheek.“She liked you because you were yourself.” His thumb lingered near her cheek for another second before his hand slowly lowered.Ysa’s smile faded. She looked down, suddenly unsure of what to do with the warmth that had settled in her chest. If he only knew how much of myself I had hidden from him. Her fingers curled together in front of her, and she swallowed before forcing herself to look at him again.“You're simple and honest.” Hayes studied her face, his expression calm as he added, “She said that was one of the things she liked about you.”Ysa’s throat tightened. She glanced toward the ballroom, then back at him. “I’m not always.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.Hayes’s expression changed immediately. His eyebrows drew together

“Come with me,” Hayes said quietly.After his grandmother stepped down from the stage to meet some of her old friends and longtime business associates she had not seen in years, Hayes reached for Ysa’s hand and gently pulled her along with him. He did not let go as they moved through the ballroom, his fingers laced through hers, but Ysa noticed that something about his touch had changed. Earlier, he had held her like he wanted everyone to know she was his. Now his grip was careful and controlled, almost as if he had started thinking too much about what they really were beneath the eyes of everyone watching them.What now? Ysa wondered as she glanced at him. Hayes kept his eyes ahead, acknowledging guests who greeted him while they passed. Several people who had barely looked at Ysa earlier were now smiling at her, some even nodding politely as if Elora's approval had suddenly changed her position in the room. Ysa tried to return their smiles, but her chest still felt tight. So Elora

His hand closed around hers, and for a heartbeat Ysa could not move. She looked up at him, wide-eyed, half-convinced she had misunderstood, that he would turn any second now and correct himself. But he did not turn. He just squeezed her fingers gently, his gaze soft and sure, and pulled her up from the chair until she was standing beside him, trembling, her dress settling around her, her heart hammering so hard she could feel it in her throat. “Walk with me,” he murmured, low enough only she heard. “Don’t look at anyone but me. Just walk.” He kept hold of her hand as they moved forward, and the crowd slowly made room for them. At first, people only stared. Then came the murmurs, one after another, until a few hands started clapping. The applause was nothing like the reaction Vivienne had received. That had been immediate and confident. This was slower, uncertain, as if everyone needed a second to understand what they were seeing. Ysa swallowed hard. Oh God. She could feel people

“Where is your wife, my dear grandson?” Elora repeated, looking directly at Hayes.Before Hayes could answer, someone moved from the crowd.Ysa looked up.Vivienne Vergara stepped forward.She had a small smile on her face, almost shy, as she walked out from where she had been standing with her family. For a second, nobody said anything.Then people started looking at each other.A few guests smiled.Someone near the front nodded.Then the whispers started.“Vivienne? Heir of Vergara lines?”“Of course.”“I knew it.”“She makes sense.”The whispers spread quickly around the ballroom. More people turned toward Vivienne, and the mood in the room began to change. What had started as confusion turned into excitement. People started smiling. A few guests began clapping.Then more joined.The applause grew louder.Ysa just stared at her.What?She looked at Vivienne, then at Hayes.No. Ysa's chest tightened. They think she's his wife.She swallowed hard.They actually think she's his wife.