Tangled Secrets

Olivia

He remembered.

He actually remembered me.

I drew in a shaky breath, forcing myself to speak. “Why?”

Axel tilted his head slightly. “Why what?”

I leaned forward, my voice low but sharp. “Why did you pretend that night? Was that your thing? Playing pretend to get women’s attention?”

He arched a brow, looking genuinely confused. “Pretend?”

“Yes!” I hissed. “You acted like you were a gigolo! You made me believe you were—”

He cut me off with a faint chuckle. “You’ve got that backward, sweetheart. You’re the one who came to me that night. You walked up, asked me for my price, and pulled me out of that club.”

My heart pounded against my ribs as I stared at him in disbelief. “That… that’s not true.”

“Oh, it’s very true,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “You were the one who grabbed my tie, whispered in my ear, and kissed me passionately.”

I blinked rapidly, my face heating as his words sank in. “S-stop talking.”

But he didn’t stop. His tone deepened, his eyes glinting with mischief. “And when you seductively sprawled on the bed … you didn’t seem confused about what you wanted then either.”

“Axel!” I snapped under my breath, but he was still going, his eyes locked on mine, like he enjoyed watching me squirm.

“You asked if I had protection,” he continued, his tone teasing. “And if I remember correctly, you were the one who sat on my…”

Before he could finish, I leaned over the table and clamped my hand over his mouth, my eyes darting frantically around the restaurant. My pulse was racing so hard I could barely breathe.

“Axel! That’s enough!” I whispered harshly, glaring at him.

His lips curved slightly beneath my palm, and I realized that he was freaking smiling.

Was this funny to him?!

Slowly, I pulled my hand away, my fingers trembling slightly. I sat back down, running my hand through my hair in frustration before exhaling shakily.

“You’re so unbelievable,” I muttered.

Finally, I forced myself to meet his eyes. “Look,” I said, trying to sound calm and reasonable, “I realize that… it was my fault. I was drunk and must have mistaken you for someone else that night, and I’m sorry about that.”

He raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

I continued, “But what’s done is done. It was a mistake; one stupid, drunken mistake. And since we both clearly regret it, let’s just… pretend it never happened. Okay?”

I swallowed hard. “And… Jasmine doesn’t need to know. She doesn’t have to find out about any of this.”

At that, Axel’s gaze sharpened. He leaned forward slightly. “So, you don’t want Jasmine to know about our… relationship?”

I nearly choked. “R-relationship?!”

He gave a small shrug. “That’s what it was, wasn’t it? For one night.”

I shook my head, my cheeks burning. “No. It was nothing. It was a mistake. And yes, I don’t want Jasmine to know because she’s SISTER. How do you think she'd react if she found out?”

He didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he just sat there, staring at me with a strange unreadable expression that made me a bit uncomfortable.

After a few seconds, I sighed and extended my hand across the table. “So… truce?”

His gaze flicked down to my hand, but he didn’t take it. Instead, he looked at me.

The way he stared made me feel oddly exposed, like he could see straight through every layer I was trying so hard to keep intact. I wanted to look away, but I didn’t. I held his gaze, trying to appear steady even though my heart was beating so fast.

Finally, Axel looked away. He picked up his glass and took a slow sip of his drink.

When he put it down again, he said quietly, “Alright. I’ll keep our little secret.”

I finally let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“But…”

My relief vanished instantly. “But what?”

He met my gaze again. “I’ll keep your secret if you agree to something.”

“What do you mean?”

He smiled faintly, leaning closer. “Be my mistress.”

For a second, I thought I’d misheard him. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he said casually. “Be my mistress. We both clearly enjoyed last night, so why pretend otherwise?”

Right at that moment, my hand moved before my brain could catch up, and the next thing I felt was the sharp sting on my palm from slapping Axel.

Every head at the nearby tables instantly turned toward us. Oh God.

Axel’s head tilted slightly to the side from the force, but he didn’t react—not a flinch, not a word. He just sat there, his jaw tightening, eyes locked on mine.

My hand trembled slightly as I lowered it, realizing what I’d just done. I was about to apologize to him when I stopped myself. Why should I apologize? He clearly deserved that slap for saying something so despicable.

Instead, I looked at him with a cold, steady gaze. “You must be shameless and stupid to think I’d ever agree to something like that.”

For a moment, none of us spoke. Then, to my shock, Axel chuckled. He was about to say something when we heard Jasmine’s voice.

“Hey, sorry I took so long!”

I jerked my head up. She was walking back toward the table with a smile on her face, completely oblivious to the scene that had just unfolded.

“Everything okay?” she asked, glancing between the two of us. “You both look… tense.”

Axel smiled easily, his tone smooth as ever. “All good. We were just talking.”

Jasmine turned to me, grinning. “You two getting along now?”

I tried to force a laugh, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t just sit here pretending everything was fine. I pushed my chair back, standing abruptly.

“Actually, I just got an urgent call. I need to go.”

“What? Now?” Jasmine asked, surprised.

“I’m so sorry,” I said quickly, grabbing my bag. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

Before she could say another word, I turned and left.

I walked fast, barely aware of the looks people gave me as I rushed out to the curb and went straight to my car.

As I sat inside, everything began to sink in.

What just happened back there?

I had to tell Jasmine. I had to warn her about him. She needed to know what kind of man he was. But if I told her, I’d have to admit what happened between us.

How could I even begin that conversation?

And if I decided to stay silent, my conscience just wouldn’t let me.

I pressed my fingers to my temples, groaning as I felt a headache coming.

Maybe I could find another way to tell Jasmine. Maybe I could warn her without mentioning… that night.

But deep down, I knew the truth wouldn’t stay hidden forever. Secrets had a way of crawling out when you least expected it.

I closed my eyes as my thoughts tangled in knots.

What do I do?