All Chapters of One Night, Wrong Man: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

50 Chapters

Chapter 11 — Coincidence?

-POV Derby I stared at the black, glossy screen of my half-shut laptop, my breathing so shallow it felt like my lungs were lined with sand. *It’s a mistake,* I told myself, my fingers digging into the edge of the particle-board desk. *It has to be. The system glitched. The HR algorithms randomly picked my name from the administrative pool for the audit. Jordan Vasquez doesn’t even know I work on this specific floor. It’s just a massive, terrifying coincidence.* The explanation had more holes than Swiss cheese. Unfortunately, it was the only one keeping me from quitting on the spot. Because the alternative—the terrifying realization that a multi-billionaire heir had deliberately used his corporate security override to trap me in a mandatory private meeting—was too dangerous to think about. "Hey, are you going down to the lobby cafe?" I looked up too fast when Marcus stopped by my desk again. Meanwhile, Marcus looked exactly like a guy having a perfectly ordinary Tuesday. Which fe

Chapter 12 — The Invitation

-POV Derby I lowered myself into my chair and looked at the unfinished work on my screen. Five minutes ago, those deadlines had felt important. Now I couldn’t remember a single thing I’d been working on. On my left monitor, the corporate directory block banner still glowed red, locking me out of Jordan’s profile. On my phone, his aristocratic face stared back at me from the high-society gala photograph, his fiancée’s diamond ring practically mocking my existence. *He’s a royal,* I thought, a bitter, hysterical laugh bubbling up in my chest. *An actual high-society prince. And you spent two nights letting him treat you like his private playground.* I closed the browser tab with a violent tap of my finger, desperately trying to scrub the memory of his rough, heavy morning voice out of my head. I didn't want to think about the way his long, scarred fingers had held my jawline. I didn't want to think about how effortlessly he had manipulated the corporate system just to throw a manda

Chapter 13 — The Dress

-POV Derby My bedroom floor looked like a textile disaster. I sat on the edge of my mattress, staring at the three dresses laid out in front of me. In the quiet, cramped reality of my apartment, they looked exactly like what they were: off-the-rack purchases from a mid-tier department store, paid for in installments, meant for regular office holiday parties, not high-society galas. None of them were elite. None of them were haute couture. They certainly weren't designed to stand anywhere near a shipping heiress wrapped in emerald silk and old-money diamonds. "You're overthinking this," I muttered to myself, rubbing my temples as the dull hum of my refrigerator filled the silence. "You're going as support staff. You're an administrative asset. You sit at the back, eat the catering, and slide out after forty-five minutes. Nobody is going to look at you." But my heart didn't buy the lie. It did a slow, violent roll against my ribs as I picked up the darkest option—a simple, floor-len

Chapter 14 — The Room

-POV Derby The Grand Horizon didn’t just look expensive; it looked exclusive. It was the kind of venue that didn't need a sign outside because if you belonged there, you already knew the address. Stepping out of the elevator into the main ballroom felt like breaking into a private fortress. The air was thick with the scent of white orchids, crystal-clear champagne, and the suffocating weight of old money. Massive crystal chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings, casting a brilliant, unforgiving light over the crowd below. Everywhere I looked, diamonds caught the glare, flashing like warning signals. I took a slow, shallow breath, my hand instinctively dropping to smooth down the front of my fifty-dollar black slip dress. In the quiet safety of my bathroom mirror, the silk had felt elegant. Here, under the brutal scrutiny of high society, it felt entirely too thin. Fragile. Like a cheap costume that was one sharp glance away from tearing apart. "Jesus," Marcus muttered from beside

Chapter 15 — Eye Contact Again

-POV Derby The heavy fabric of the velvet drape brushed against my bare shoulder, the deep crimson weave feeling rough and coarse against my skin. I didn't turn around to face the crowded ballroom immediately. I couldn't. My back remained rigid, my fingers tightly curling into the soft palms of my hands until my short nails bit into the flesh. *Don't look,* I commanded myself, staring blindly at a stray gold tassel hanging near the window frame. *If you look, you lose. If you look, you acknowledge that he can pull your strings whenever he wants. Just walk out the side doors.* But the sheer physical sensation of his gaze was a solid, oppressive thing. It didn't feel like a passing glance from a stranger across a crowded room. It felt like an anchor dropped right between my shoulder blades, heavy and entirely immovable. The ambient noise of the Grand Horizon—the polished laughter of the old-money heirs, the clinking of champagne flutes, the soft, melancholic hum of the classical strin

Chapter 16 — Last Day.

-POV Derby I didn’t go to his place that night. I went home and checked the lock twice before I even took off my shoes. At 11:47, my phone lit up and my stomach dropped before I even looked at the screen. For a second I honestly thought about pretending I hadn’t seen it. I stared at the screen, pulse hammering. Any sensible person would’ve ignored it. Five seconds later I was already walking toward the door. Instead, I walked to the door on shaky legs and opened it. Jordan stood there, dark coat over his suit, looking annoyed enough that I knew he’d been standing there for a while. He stepped inside before I’d figured out what I was going to say. The second the door clicked shut behind him, he had me pinned against it, mouth crashing down on mine. The kiss was brutal — all teeth and tongue, like he was punishing me for making him wait. His hands gripped my waist, pulling me hard against him so I could feel how stiff he already was. “You think you can run from me?”

Chapter 17 — Not Done.

-POV Derby The next morning, the other side of the bed was empty. Jordan had left sometime before dawn, leaving behind nothing except a cold side of the bed and too many thoughts I didn’t want to have before coffee. The worst part wasn’t what happened. It was how little of me regretted it. I dragged myself to work, moving like a ghost. Every step seemed determined to remind me of last night, which would’ve been annoying if it hadn’t worked so well. By the time I reached my desk, I’d already lied three times about being tired. Noah looked up the second I rounded the corner. He leaned against my cubicle, two coffees in hand, looking like he’d already decided I wasn’t fooling anyone. “Okay, that’s not a face people make after eight hours of sleep.” he said quietly. “I didn’t.” He handed me an extra-shot oat latte without asking — extra shot, oat milk, no sugar. “Want to talk about it?” I took the cup, fingers brushing his. Noah squeezed my hand for a second, and I hate

Chapter 18 — Your Name In Print.

-POV Derby I lasted until 8:47 PM.By 8:48, I was already in a cab.Somewhere between my apartment and his building, I started making promises to myself I had no business making. The elevator opened, and suddenly there was nowhere left to hide behind excuses. Jordan looked up before the elevator doors had fully opened. For once he didn’t look like the man who ran half the company. He looked like someone who’d been waiting. The tension left his shoulders so quickly it almost looked like relief. “I wasn’t sure you would.” he said, voice low and rough. “I shouldn’t have.” He set the glass down and started toward me before I’d finished exhaling. Before I could decide whether to stay or leave, he’d already closed the distance between us. He kissed me like he’d spent the entire week arguing with himself, like he’d been carrying around something he didn’t know what to do with. His hands gripped my waist, pulling me hard against him so I could feel how stiff he already was.

Chapter 19 — The Morning After the Fall

-POV Derby The next morning I woke up in Jordan’s bed. I didn’t remember falling asleep. I remembered pieces of the night. Not enough to know when I’d fallen asleep. The room was brighter than I wanted it to be, which was how I noticed Jordan beside me. He was still asleep beside me, his arm still wrapped around me like he’d forgotten to let go. Seeing him like this did something uncomfortable to my chest. That was the problem. Nothing about this felt temporary anymore. I tried to slip out quietly, but the moment I moved, his arm tightened. “Don’t,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep. “Stay.” I froze. “I can’t,” I whispered. “I have work. And you’re still engaged.” His eyes opened slowly, and whatever sleep had been there disappeared almost immediately. He rolled me onto my back before I could finish whatever argument I was about to make. His cock was already hard, pressing against my entrance. “Stop reminding me,” he said quietly. “Like I haven’t spent every day

Chapter 20 — The Line We Keep Crossing

-POV Derby I left his penthouse that morning without saying goodbye. I slipped out while he was still asleep, one arm stretched across the bed like he’d expected me to still be there. Leaving would’ve felt easier if every part of me wasn’t still thinking about him, like he knew the conversation we’d been avoiding wasn’t going away. I took the elevator down feeling like a thief. By the time I got home, the version of me that had felt brave walking out of his penthouse was nowhere to be found. I showered until the water ran cold, trying to wash away the scent of him, the feeling of his hands, the echo of his voice whispering “you’re mine” against my skin. It didn’t work. At work, I went through the motions. Emails, meetings, polite smiles whenever someone asked how my weekend had been. Noah noticed. He didn’t say anything in front of others, but during lunch he pulled me aside in the pantry. “You look like you’re barely holding it together,” he said quietly. I forc

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