All Chapters of The Night Before I Knew Him: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

June"June! Over here!" Lia yells, waving wildly from across the road.I smile faintly and cross to meet her… then pause when I notice she’s not alone.Chris is here. And—"This is Tobias," she says, pointing to the unfamiliar guy. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot to tell you yesterday—I’m bringing these two blockheads with me."She covers her mouth, eyes wide, then leans in and whispers like it’s a scandal, "They have absolutely nothing to wear for the gala."I nod slowly, turning to Tobias. "Hi. I’m June."Tobias nods back with a knowing smile, and I feel my brow crease.Seeing my expression, he lifts his hands. "Lia told me everything about you. I mean—everything."I glance at Lia. "Everything, as in… what goes on with me at work?"Lia gives me a guilty smile. "That’s not true," she mouths.I shake my head, amused. Meeting new people is distracting enough, and great for me right now."Nothing she says is true. Don’t listen to her," I tell Tobias, stretching my neck to peek around

June"Oh, I didn’t know about this," I say, nodding in fake shock.Yep. As you guessed, I’m protecting Mr. Grande against my own better judgment.I just couldn’t bring myself to reveal it."And you know," Lia beams, then glances at her phone. "Oh, shit—it's time." She shoots up from her seat and turns to Tobias. "Call the ride."Chris stands too. "That’s not necessary. I brought my car."Lia’s eyes widen. "You brought what? I thought we agreed—" She cuts off when Tobias nudges her."Let’s go," he says, already on his feet.I stand with them, bracing myself for the next distraction."I parked across the street," Chris says, pointing.On the drive to S.C.C., Lia giggles beside me in the backseat. "Chris is trying way too hard to impress you," she whispers."I don’t think so," I whisper back with a shy smile—though we both know he is.Too bad I can’t look at him the same way… not with Tobias here.Pfft. I’m actually crazy.We got to Sin City Chic, and the moment my eyes landed on the tow

~Hermes~ "Ugh, so many poor people here," Jake groans, adjusting his dark shades."Shut up," Ted hisses, nudging him. "You’re embarrassing yourself."Gavin doesn’t look up from his phone. "Char says she’ll be here in a minute. This won’t take long."I ignore them, pretending to study the suits on the mannequins. Plastic men in fake skin. That’s about how I feel about myself right now."You’re late," Charlotte’s voice cuts through the little crowd behind us.We all turn, and see she’s here—with someone.On a normal day, with the way the girl’s barely dressed, I’d already be planning where to take her. A bathroom, or a back room. Anywhere, but nothing stirs, not even a flicker."Fuck," I mutter under my breath, dropping my gaze. What the hell is wrong with you, Hermes?"This is Natasha, a work friend of mine," Charlotte says, eyes landing squarely on me.Jake steps forward, hand out, already turning on his smirk. "Nice to meet you, Natasha."Charlotte shoots him a look sharp enough to

JuneI rush outside, eyes darting, heart hammering. I turn down the hallway, scanning every corner, forgetting entirely about my half-zipped shirt.His hands were wrapped in bandages. What happened to him?No, June, no—don’t. That’s not the point. The point is he looked at me like a stranger, just like the very first day I stepped into his office.."What are you doing?" Lia’s voice cuts through the air behind me.I freeze. Slowly, I turn. They’re all there—Lia, Chris, Tobias. My supposed distractions.All staring at me while I search for the one man I shouldn’t even allow myself to think about.“What are you looking for, June?” Lia asks, stepping into my frantic search.“Are you okay? You’ve been acting weird,” Chris adds carefully.I freeze, unclenching my fist. I can’t keep acting like this in front of someone who actually likes me — not because of someone who clearly doesn’t.I need to pull it together.“I thought I saw someone I know. I—“ I lie, rubbing the back of my neck.Lia le

JuneI couldn’t apologize. Leila didn’t even give me the chance. She left before I woke up, and now the weight of it presses on my chest. How am I supposed to fix this?And Chris—God, Chris. His confession still hangs in my head like a thread twisted through the eye of a needle, stuck and impossible to ignore. I wish I hadn’t read it.Sure, finding out he had a thing for me was… flattering, even exciting in a way. But to actually confess? I didn’t expect that. I thought we’d take our time, get to know each other better before anything like that.Isn’t it too fast? Maybe not. Maybe it’s just because Chris actually knows what he wants—unlike a certain someone. How dare he even transfer—“Is this shade of red suitable for you?” Lia’s voice finally cuts through my thoughts. She’s been asking me the same question for who knows how long. “Uh,” I answer absent-mindedly, catching a glimpse of my half-done face in Lia’s dressing mirror.Lia groans. “Oh my God, June. What is going on in that h