Chapter four

ALEXANDRO LEX CASTELLO

~LAUREN’S POV~

Rosette and Patrick turned their attention to me, their gazes sharp with surprise.

I couldn’t blame them—it wasn’t every day you pointed to a man who looked like that and claimed he was yours. Now that I’d taken a proper look at him, he was clearly out of my league.

“You mean him?” Rosette asked, her brows raised as if she hadn’t heard me correctly.

“Yes, Rose. That’s him. My boyfriend,” I said, forcing the words out as casually as I could manage.

Patrick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. I could feel his disbelief piercing through me, but I refused to meet his gaze.

I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of questioning me, even if I was inwardly screaming at myself for the lie.

I had just told my ex and his fiancée that a complete stranger—a man I’d never spoken to in my life—was my boyfriend. What was I thinking?

I prayed silently that they wouldn’t ask me to talk to him. Patrick knew me too well—he knew I was terrible at lying. If they pressed, I might break and spill everything.

“You’re joking, right?” Patrick asked, his tone heavy with doubt.

“That guy over there?” He jabbed his finger toward the man in the expensive suit, who was deep in conversation with a group of similarly well-dressed individuals.

“Him?”

“Yes, Patrick. Him,” I snapped, irritation bubbling to the surface.

“You’d know I was capable of dating someone like that if you hadn’t been too busy cheating on me.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. My chest tightened as Patrick’s face darkened, and Rosette’s smile turned brittle.

She hooked her arm through Patrick’s, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He flinched, his jaw tightening. My eyes couldn’t help but linger on them, my heart twisting painfully in my chest.

I needed to leave. Hide. Vanish until this cursed party—and this entire vacation—was over.

What had I been thinking, agreeing to come here? I should have stayed indoors. Hell, I should have stayed far away from Patrick and Rosette altogether.

“So… are you going to introduce us?” Rosette’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts, her tone overly bright.

“Huh?” I blinked, pretending I hadn’t heard her.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” she repeated, her smile widening but not reaching her eyes. “Come on, I’d love to say hello.”

My heart began to race. My lie was unraveling faster than I could control, and Rosette was tugging at the loose threads with glee. This wasn’t the plan—not that I had any plan to begin with.

“Lauren,” Patrick said, his voice softer now, almost concerned. “Is everything okay?”

I glanced up at him, startled by the unexpected note of care in his tone. Before I could reply, Rosette nudged him sharply in the side, her expression souring. Clearly, she wasn’t pleased with his sudden concern for me.

My stomach twisted. Patrick still felt something for me—didn’t he? Or was I imagining things? Either way, it didn’t matter. I had bigger problems to worry about.

“Right,” I said, my voice shaky. “Introduce you guys. Sure.”

I turned to look at the man I’d pointed to earlier, my pulse hammering in my ears. His face was strikingly familiar, though I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before.

A billboard, maybe? A magazine cover? It didn’t matter. What mattered was figuring out how to convince him to go along with this ridiculous charade—for just one night.

“Are you two already fighting?” Rosette teased, her voice laced with mock concern.

“You don’t want to push him into someone else’s arms, you know.” She brushed invisible lint from Patrick’s shoulder, her fingers lingering just long enough to make her point.

My fists clenched involuntarily at her words. Was that what Patrick had told her? That we’d fallen apart because of me? My gaze flicked to him, but he quickly looked away, his jaw tightening. I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced a smile.

With a deep breath, I set my wine glass down on a nearby table and willed my frozen feet to move. One step.

Then another. Somehow, I made my way toward the man in the suit, who was still deep in conversation. The closer I got, the more his attention shifted—until his emerald-green eyes locked on mine.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Was he smiling at me?

“Babe,” I blurted out, the word tumbling from my lips before I could think better of it.

The group of men around him turned to me, their faces a mixture of curiosity and confusion. My supposed “boyfriend” arched a brow, his expression unreadable as he studied me.

His sharp suit and commanding presence screamed power, and for a moment, I felt like I was staring at someone who didn’t belong on this planet.

Rosette and Patrick had followed me, of course. “Hello,” Rosette chirped, stepping forward and extending her hand toward him.

“I’m Rosette Goldberg. Lauren’s coworker and friend.”

Friend? I nearly rolled my eyes at her audacity.

The man didn’t take her hand. Instead, he shifted his attention to me, his brow furrowing slightly. Panic surged through me, and without thinking, I slid my arm through his, anchoring myself to him like we were a pair.

“Ah,” he murmured, leaning closer to me. His warm breath tickled my ear, and his cologne—a mix of cedarwood and something subtly sweet—sent my senses reeling.

“It seems like we’ve been crossing paths quite a bit today, miss.”

I froze. Crossing paths? My mind scrambled to piece together what he meant. Had we met before? I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Patrick was watching me with a scowl, and Rosette’s grin was sharpening by the second.

“Please,” I whispered urgently, tightening my grip on his arm. “Just go along with this. I’ll explain later, I swear.”

His gaze flicked to mine, his emerald eyes narrowing slightly. “Go along with what, exactly?”

“Anything,” I begged under my breath. “Just… please.”

For a moment, he didn’t move, and I feared I’d made a terrible mistake. Then he straightened, sliding one hand into his pocket as he turned to face Rosette and Patrick.

“Good evening,” he said smoothly, his voice rich and commanding. “I’m Alexandro.”

Alexandro. The name sounded familiar. Too familiar. My stomach churned as I tried to place it, but Rosette’s voice cut through my thoughts.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Alexandro,” she said, her tone syrupy sweet. “Lauren’s been keeping you a secret.”

Alexandro’s lips curved into a faint smile, but his eyes remained sharp. “Has she now?”

Before I could respond, the room around us quieted as the MC’s voice boomed over the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for joining us tonight,” the MC announced.

“Please join me in welcoming our top benefactor and the man who made tonight’s success possible: the trillionaire tycoon, Mr. Alexandro Lex Castello.”

The sound of applause erupted around us as Alexandro released my arm and stepped forward. My mouth went dry as I watched him ascend the stage.

A trillionaire.

I had just claimed a trillionaire was my boyfriend.

Rosette leaned closer to me, her voice low and dripping with disdain. “Well, Lauren, it seems you’ve been hiding something special.”

Patrick looked pale, his eyes fixed on Alexandro as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

My heart pounded as I stared at Alexandro on the stage, his commanding presence drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

Just who the hell was this man—and what had I gotten myself into?