Chapter 5: The Proposal

...

Oh my god!

How can you say that—are you not afraid to die?!

Tanya stared, then burst out laughing: "You? Please."

She waved her phone: "Mom was just complaining yesterday that you’re getting old and still can’t find a girlfriend—she’s convinced you’ll end up living with a dozen cats if you don’t get your act together. And now you’re bragging about women... Talk is cheap."

Nathan snorted.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I quickly took the watch from my bag and handed it over with both hands.

"Nathan, your watch."

He took it, his cool fingertips brushing mine—a tiny spark.

"Thanks."

He slipped the watch back on his wrist without another glance at me.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn’t help feeling a strange sense of loss. I tried to distract myself by counting the lanterns on the ceiling, but my mind kept drifting back to him.

After that, Tanya did most of the talking, with Nathan chiming in occasionally.

He was always reserved and distant, polite but hard to approach.

Maybe because I was Tanya’s best friend, he took care of me too—but only just that.

Halfway through the meal, my stomach was still aching, so I got up to go to the bathroom.

Unexpectedly, as I came out, I ran right into Nathan, who was on the phone in the hallway.

I nodded and was about to walk past him, but he hung up the next second.

"Not feeling well?"

I froze: "Huh?"

Nathan looked at me and asked again: "You haven’t looked well all night. Are you sick?"

I shook my head: "No, no."

He paused: "Last night..."

I looked at him like a startled cat, eyes wide.

But he changed the subject, his gaze dark: "It’s just a breakup. Did you really like him that much?"

...Huh?

I stammered: "N-not really..."

Chris was my first love. I wanted a nice college romance, but who knew I’d fall for such a jerk.

To say I loved him deeply—not really. We were only together a month or so, but the way he messed me around was humiliating.

Especially the cheating. That was pure humiliation.

I always felt nervous around Nathan, and now even more so. The hallway lights made his eyes seem bottomless, and I wondered how much he was guessing.

"Um...Nathan, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back in."

Nathan raised his brows: "Why do you look so guilty?"

His gaze pinned me, and I felt like he could see straight through every lie I’d ever told.

How am I guilty? Nathan glanced toward the private room, then said lightly: "You don’t want my sister to find out about us, right?"

Me: "...Ahhh."

Why does that sound so wrong...

But I couldn’t deny it.

My heart raced: "I—I really didn’t mean it, I was just drunk and impulsive—"

Nathan was tall, the hallway light casting a soft glow over him, his eyes deep and unreadable.

Or maybe I was just imagining things.

"I know." He cut me off, sounding impatient, voice cool. "I just want to ask you for a favor."

He finally looked me in the eye.

"How about this—pretend to be my girlfriend for a month. Save me from my mom’s matchmaking, and I’ll owe you one."