Divorced Heiress
I am Not A Contract Chapter 12

Bastian lost count of how many times he had looked at the time on his wristwatch, he was so anxious that he was already on his third glass of wine

Although he had been waiting for over half an hour, he didn't give up, holding onto the hope that Abby would appear at any moment and they could sort out the situation.

He really wanted that woman's attitude to calm down, he didn't want to ruin the relationship they had because of his brother's decisions, it was unfair because he had nothing to do with it.

When his glass was empty, the blonde waitress who had been serving him since he arrived approached his table with a slight smile on her face. She usually attended to him, so she knew what he usually ordered, but that day was different. Since he arrived, he only asked for wine, and as time passed, his expression changed. He seemed distressed and anxious, with his gaze fixed on the entrance of the restaurant.

"Mr. Lefebvre, are you ready to order?" asked the waitress kindly, while taking Bastian's empty glass to clear the table.

However, he prevented her with suspicion from taking the glass from his table. Bastian looked at the waitress who usually served him in that restaurant with great kindness and wanted to erase the disappointment that was beginning to invade him, but he couldn't. His expressionless gaze made the girl's smile disappear almost immediately. He was starting to realize that it wasn't a good day for Bastian Lefebvre. Nevertheless, he smiled again without letting it affect her.

"Not yet,' he responded expressionlessly and simply raised his empty glass in the air.

"Another glass of wine, I'll order when I finish it," added Bastian, smiling slightly as he realized that his treatment towards the waitress wasn't the best.

She wasn't to blame for the disappointment he had brought upon himself. "Please."

He had decided that it would be the last glass of wine he would drink while waiting for that stubborn woman. He couldn't do anything more than accept the reality that Abby didn't want to come. She stood him up.

The waitress served him the fourth glass of wine, and as he drank it slowly, he prayed to the heavens for a sign.

If she didn't come to the last-minute lunch, he would stop insisting and simply let go of that woman who was expecting his brother's child. He would do his best to remove her from his heart.

On the other hand, if she appeared before his glass was empty, he would know that he had a chance to go all-in to win her trust and, with a lot of patience, her love.

Bastian was aware of how far he could go for love, even if it meant going after his brother's ex-girlfriend. But he also knew when to let go and stop insisting on a case he considered lost.

If love is forced, then it's not love.

His long fingers drummed impatiently on the table.

Everything seemed to depend on the glass between his fingers, but in reality, everything depended on Abby's presence.

The emptiness in Bastian's chest was growing bigger and bigger. Sitting there, watching what little was left of his drink, he remembered the moment when he realized that his heart was starting to respond to the closeness of that woman. What started as a favor ended up becoming something real.

Flashback

When Bastian's gaze stopped at the familiar face of his ex-girlfriend accompanied by her current partner, he was forced to interrupt his conversation with Julian Ferrer.

- Seeing her with L&J's public relations, he immediately knew that she would be the presenter at the inauguration.

That could only mean one thing. That day, Abby would have to make her first appearance as his fake girlfriend.

"Excuse me, do you know where Abby is?" he asked Julian, completely changing the subject of their conversation and earning a confused look from the blue-eyed man.

"Um, I saw her near the models' dressing room a few minutes ago, haven't seen her since," Julian replied, pointing to the dressing room a few meters away.

Bastian nodded and patted Julian's shoulder a couple of times before walking towards the place he had pointed out, searching for the brunette with his eyes.

But his gaze was diverted to the three people having a conversation on the stage, and Sofia, the public relations, pointed towards the dressing room where Abby was supposed to be, but Bastian couldn't find her anywhere. He had to reach her soon to warn her.

Upon seeing them come down from the stage, Bastian hurriedly entered the dressing room without even knocking on the door, and his eyes immediately stopped at Abby's bare back, who was joyfully hugging her two friends, Sarah and Britney. There she was. "Oh, there you are, my girlfriend, I've been looking for you,"

Bastian interrupted their hug as the three women heard his voice.

As Abby turned around to look at him, Bastian's mouth opened and he couldn't help but scan her from top to bottom with his eyes.

Many words crossed his mind to describe how beautiful she looked in that blue dress, highlighting her slim and slender figure. How radiant she looked with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, exposing her neck with elegance and sensuality.

But no words came out of his mouth, apparently, they were stuck in his throat, mesmerized by the majestic beauty of the woman before his eyes.

He had lost himself unimaginably while admiring her, to the point that he only reacted when he realized Britney was whispering something to Sarah.

"Abby, you're... you're, are you Abby? Are you my girlfriend?" Bastian nearly stuttered, not knowing what to say, he had even forgotten why he was there.

The brunette almost burst into laughter at Bastian's face, finding it funny to see him like that, as if he had never seen a woman in his life.

"What an i***t you are, really, can't you see it's me?" Abby replied before turning around, making her dress sway and exposing her left leg. Bastian looked at her again, unabashedly, as if he wanted to preserve the image of that goddess in his mind.

"You look beautiful, very beautiful," he finally blurted out one of the many words that were passing through his head.

When he heard someone clearing their throat, he snapped back to reality, remembering that his ex-girlfriend could enter the dressing room at any moment.

With complete confidence, he approached Abby, trying not to think too much about the exquisite fragrance emanating from her. skin, he took her by the waist and whispered in her ear, "Jane is here and she could come in through that door at any moment." "Is she here? Is she coming?" Abby asked alarmed, looking at the door as if it were about to open at any moment. She was ready for the performance, she had one job, and she would do it excellently.

"Well, let's get to work." Bastian barely glanced at Sarah, who was standing next to the table with her two brothers, the younger Lefebvre looked at them with amusement, waiting for their first performance as a couple, and the older one seemed to have sharp daggers in his eyes as he downed his glass of whiskey in one gulp.

Under the watchful gaze of the three of them, Bastian couldn't contain the urge to touch her hair, pretending to help her fix some unruly strands.

Taking advantage of the situation they were in, he pressed the brunette's body against his own.

Anyone who didn't know the truth and saw them like that would assume they were a happy couple.

Even in the eyes of those who knew it was all a facade, they appeared to be the perfect couple, so much so that Vincent's blood began to boil as he saw them so close.

In the next second, the door opened once again, and Sofia, the publicist of L&), entered with the couple Bastian had seen a moment ago.

The couple immediately noticed them, as from that moment on, the show was starting, and Bastian let himself be carried away by his impulses as he pulled her even closer to his body, and his free hand caressed the exposed skin of her neck. "Bastian?" the woman recognized Bastian immediately even though she was facing away, and the dark-haired man turned around without letting go of Abby's waist when he heard her voice.

Bastian thought that seeing his ex-girlfriend with her fiancé was going to hurt him to the core, however, when he had her face to face, the only thing going through his head was how lucky he was to have an incredibly beautiful woman by his side, even if she was just pretending to be his girlfriend.

That can be fixed, right? Bastian couldn't help but think that after the event, he would invite Abby on a first date without the need to pretend in front of anyone.

"Jane. What a surprise to see you here." Bastian looked at Jane, pretending to be surprised by his ex-girlfriend's presence.

It couldnt be denied that they made a good couple in every sense, both had a wild side but were serious when necessary, they said what they thought without filtering it first, and when it came to acting, they both could win an award, they did it so naturally, as if it was in their blood

"I say the same about you. I'm covering the brand opening and Sofia was going to introduce me to the designer Zafiro, I never imagined I'd find you here, I thought you would stay in Marseille, after.

Jane left the word in the air, realizing that her fiancé was by her side and she would be talking about her breakup with Bastian in front of him, still, the dark-haired man knew what she was talking about and preferred not to continue the topic.

"Did I introduce you to my girlfriend? I guess I didn't."

As soon as Bastian said that, Jane's gaze shifted to Abby's face, as if she had just realized that the brunette was hooked on him.

"She is Abby, the most beautiful woman in the world, the most beautiful woman my eyes have ever seen."

Upon that introduction, Jane looked at Bastian in surprise for a few seconds and the next second looked at the brunette again, this time with suspicion.

"How I adore your flattery, darling. A pleasure, Abby Dubois."

Abby shook hands with the blonde with a natural smile on her face, the brunette's kindness made her look radiant, so much so that Jane briefly glanced at her from head to toe, searching for the slightest detail to criticize in silence, but she only found an elegant, beautiful woman who was so self-assured

At that moment, a strange feeling settled in Jane's chest.

Envy-

"I didn't know you already had a girlfriend, how cute." Jane spoke with a smile that could be seen from miles away that it was fake and looked at Abby as if she wanted to devour her alive, the brunette immediately noticed that and to make her acting more believable, she began to affectionately caress Bastians shoulder.

"Thank you, Jane, how sweet." Abby responded for Bastian, as if she liked that woman, although deep inside, she felt a kick to her stomach.

"The truth is, we fell in love when we were teenagers, but due to fate, we separated without having the chance to be more than friends, and now that we have found each other again, I won't let him slip away."

Abby hugged Bastian by the neck to look at him with eyes full of love, as if she was truly in love with him, and he looked at her in the same way, with a perfect smile that revealed his tiny dimple.

However, Bastian had stopped acting since the moment he introduced Abby.

"They say all roads lead to Rome." Bastian's sweet words made Jane raise an eyebrow and tense her jaw.

Meters away, Vincent let out a bitter laugh, while he had his back turned to them, pouring himself more whiskey to get through the bitter moment of seeing his brother with the woman who stirred up feelings in him.

Bastian delicately caressed Abby's face with his fingers, feeling the softness of her skin on his fingertips, suddenly, his eyes focused on the brunette's lips and his heart skipped a beat.

He couldn't resist the urge to taste the flavor of her lips and succumbed, surprising Abby, as he closed the space between them and pressed his lips against hers, feeling the warmth of her lips that caused a tingling sensation from head to toe.

The brunette remained frozen as Bastian kissed her, but she disguised it very well, covering her blushed face with the arms that were still around her fake boyfriend's neck.

And there, in that moment, with everyone's eyes on them, Bastian realized what that kiss awoke in him.

End of flashback

A genuine smile appeared on Bastians face as he remembered that first kiss, that first feeling, that first time his heart beat strongly in his chest for that woman, even though it had all been part of an act.

Just by remembering it, he felt the same tingling sensation on his lips, he could even perfectly recall the perfume she wore that night.

And in that way, smiling at nothing, a face appeared in front of his eyes as he smelled the wine to take one last sip, immediately bringing him back to reality.

The reality in which his heart started beating with happiness again, upon seeing that Abby had arrived just in time.

The last sip of wine in his glass affirmed that giving up was no longer an option.