Chapter 005

Chapter 005

---- "I don't know how to act when I'm around you."

GABBIE

The day was finally over and it was just my usual getting ready to go home from the bar.

The music outside still thumped through the walls, but in here, everything felt muted… like someone had pressed pause on the world.

I sat in front of the mirror, wiping away the last smear of glitter from my cheeks. My face looked bare, smaller, almost fragile without the heavy mask of makeup.

Maybe that was why I avoided looking at myself for too long. I didn’t want to see the girl who almost lost everything last night over a kiss with a married man.

I was dragging the makeup wipe down my jaw when the door swung open.

“Ella!”

Dante stormed in with a grin too bright for this place, waving a thick bundle of cash with a dramatic flair.

My heart lurched. “That… better not be mine,” I muttered.

“Oh, it’s yours,” he declared proudly, tossing the stack into my lap and i nearly choked.

“Dante!” I stared at the money, more bills than I had seen in one place in my entire life. “What the hell is this?”

“Ten times your weekly pay.” He perched on the table like he owned the room. “Cash. Clean. All yours.”

My breath stuttered, a sharp gasp slipping out.

“No,” I whispered. “No, Dante… this can’t be—”

“It’s from the customer from yesterday.” He crossed his arms, smug. “Said to give you the whole amount. Plus a tip.” He pointed at the money. “That’s the tip.”

My vision blurred for a second and my fingers pressed against the bills like they weren't real.

“He paid this…” My voice trembled. “For me?”

“For you, Ella.” Dante nudged my shoulder. “He said to thank you, I don't know why but whatever you did, earned you this.”

He smirked. “He didn’t even touch you, did he?”

I swallowed, throat aching.

“No.”

“Then he paid because he wanted to,” Dante said, softer now. “You hit the jackpot Ella.”

I blinked hard, but the tears still gathered. “Dante…” My voice cracked. “This… this is enough to start the paperwork. For my dad’s surgery. This is actually.. this is_”

He wrapped an arm around me before the sob could slip out.

“Hey,” he murmured. “You’ve been fighting for months, Ella. You’ve gone through hell. You stayed clean when you could’ve taken shortcuts. You never let anyone touch you. You never sold your dignity. You survived.”

He squeezed gently. “You earned this. All of it.”

The tears finally escaped, sliding silently down my cheeks. “I almost forgot,” I whispered. “Why I was even working so hard.”

“You forget because you carry too much,” he said, brushing a stray tear with his thumb. “But you’re the strongest girl I know.”

I laughed shakily, my mind drifted, no, it dragged back to him.

Alex Vaughn, the man I kissed in the dark like I was starving for him.

The man who held a wife on the other end of the phone and reduced me to nothing with three affectionate words.

I hated him, hated how he made me feel, the ache he left behind, but he had practically saved my father’s life. And that was the part that ruined me.

“Hey,” Dante nudged me, catching me zoning out. “Why the long face? You got enough money to buy yourself a new life.”

I took a breath, steadying myself. “I’m fine,” I lied.

He arched a brow.

“Ella. I manage this club. I know when a girl’s got a man in her head.”

I stiffened. “No one’s in my head,” I snapped too quickly.

“Oh?” Dante smirked. “So you won't ask where he is?”

“Is he here tonight?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Dante’s grin widened.

“Aha.”

“No, Dante...”

“So there is a man,” he teased. “I knew it. You like the mysterious types, yeah? The one with money and a guilty conscience? Those ones are your weakness. What really happened last night?”

I rolled my eyes hard enough to strain something. “He’s nobody and nothing happened.”

“Right,” Dante said, dragging the word out. “Nobody. And yet you want to know if this nobody walked into my club tonight.”

“I was just curious.” I said firmly. “For financial reasons. Nothing else.”

“Sure.” He winked. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Dante...”

“But to answer your question: no. He’s not here.” Then, softer, “Why? You wanted to see him again?”

I froze, the truth clawing at my ribs.

“No,” I lied again.

He didn’t believe me, but he let it go.

“Alright,” he said, standing. “Go home. Eat something. Celebrate the fact that your father’s going to get a chance he didn’t have yesterday.”

I nodded, wiping the remnants of tears from my lashes. “Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything.”

“Don’t thank me,” he said, heading to the door. “Just keep surviving, Ella. That’s all you.”

Then he left, the room felt bigger without him, quieter.

I looked down at the money again, my hands trembling.

Alex Vaughn had done this, for me. Whether he meant to or not, if he regretted it or not.

He saved someone he didn’t even know existed under my mask. My heart twisted painfully.

I hated that I wanted him, I wanted to meet him even if it was one last time.

He wasn’t going to show up, of course he wasn’t. I’d heard him tell his wife that morning that he’d be home and the softness in his voice when he said it still stung more than it should.

Whatever happened last night was a stupid accident born from alcohol and loneliness.

I was just reaching for the exit when Dante suddenly rushed in.

“He’s here. The man from yesterday. Do you want to serve him, or should I send another girl?”

My heart kicked painfully, but I forced my expression flat. “It doesn’t matter. Send someone else.”

Dante shrugged and turned away. “Alright, I’ll—”

“I’ll take it.”

The words came out too fast.

He looked back, smirking like he knew exactly what was happening.

“It’s the right thing to do, you know. He tipped you well.”

“I’m just thanking him,” I muttered.

I wasn’t dressed for a dance, long tight jeans, a vintage blouse, my bag over my shoulder. No glitter. No legs. No cleavage. Just… me.

When I reached for the mask and slipped it on, Dante blinked like he couldn’t believe it.

“You’re going like that?”

“Yes,” I said. “I’m not dancing and I’m not staying. I’m just thanking him.”

He didn’t question me further, and I walked down the dim hallway, each step tightening the knot in my stomach.

When I pushed open the door to the private room, my breath caught.

He was there, it was actually him. Alex.

Just calm. Composed. Sitting like he hadn’t shattered me some hours ago.

And the way he looked at me…

His eyes softened instantly.

So warm it made my throat sting.

“You came?” he said quietly, almost surprised. “I honestly didn’t think you’d...”

“I only came to thank you,” I cut him off before I let that look sink into me. “For the tip. You didn’t have to… but what you did for me? I won’t forget it. I’m grateful.”

My voice almost cracked at the end, so I turned quickly before he heard the weakness in it.

I barely made it a single step.

His arms wrapped around me from behind me and it was fast, desperate, like he couldn’t help himself.

His body pressed against mine, warm and real and wrong in every possible way, my fingers curled around my bag strap to stop myself from leaning into him.

I wasn’t prepared for this.

For the way he held me like he’d been waiting all night for me to walk through that door.

For the way I wanted him even though i shouldn’t. Even though he had a wife at home.

Even though this could ruin everything.

"Will you let me explain now, GABRIELLA BROOK."