I dragged my eyes away from Christian’s and took out my phone. A small tremble shook my hand as I tapped into my profile and zeroed in on the number at the top.
1M.
One million followers.
Oh. My. GOD.
The rush from seeing that number was so strong I grew dizzy.
I’d known it would happen eventually, but actually hitting that milestone was surreal.
A thrill sizzled down my spine.
I did it.
I did it!
A grin broke out, and it took all my willpower not to jump and scream like a twelve-year-old at their favorite pop singer’s concert.
One million had been the goal since I started my account. It wasn’t my only goal, but it’d been the big one. The golden ticket. The validation I was a success, that I hadn’t made a mistake pursuing the path I was pursuing and that people liked my content and liked me.
After years of creating content, and thousands of posts, I’d finally hit it.
I stared down at my profile, waiting for the skies to open up, angels to sing, and confetti to rain down around me in congratulations.
At the very least, I expected the Instagram gods to pop up and slap a gold star on my hand for achieving such a huge milestone.
Nothing.
The exhilaration of joining the million-follower club was still there, but I’d also expected…more.
Some sense of achievement that would validate all the hard work I’d put into my account and the feeling that I’d made it, whatever it was.
But other than an excited, emoji-filled text from Brady and an inbox bursting with DMs, I was the same person I’d been an hour ago, with the same worries and insecurities.
Something jagged and morose punctured my thrill until I slowly floated back down to earth.
Somehow, it felt worse to achieve something and still feel dissatisfied than to not achieve it at all.
I had a million followers, yet I’d never felt emptier.
I tucked my phone into my pocket and tried to hide my disappointment.
“I didn’t realize you were watching my follower count that closely,” I said.
Christian didn’t take the bait. Instead, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a distinctive red and gold box.
“For you,” he said. “A congratulatory gift.”
Curiosity and hesitation warred inside me.
Should I take it? I didn't feel right accepting a gift from him when we were little more than a business arrangement, but what could he have possibly gotten me? Considering the size and brand, it had to be jewelry.
In the end, curiosity won.
I took the box and slowly opened it, half expecting something to jump out at me, but my breath trapped in my throat when I saw what was nestled against the black velvet.
Holy hell.
It was a watch—the most gorgeous, extravagant watch I’d ever laid eyes on. Diamonds and emeralds formed delicate butterflies on the polished face, and smaller diamonds studded the platinum band.
“It’s a limited-edition piece that hasn’t hit the market yet,” Christian said as casually as if it were a plastic toy he’d picked up from the mall. “There are only five in the world. One of them now belongs to you.”
I ran my fingers over the jeweled face. The watch must be worth a fortune.
“How did you get it?” The question was a whisper in the dying sunlight.
I knew the answer before he responded.
What Christian Harper wanted, Christian Harper got.
“I have my ways.”
The serotonin boost from holding a stunning piece of jewelry faded, replaced with wariness.
I couldn’t hold on to any happy feelings these days.
I closed my hand around the watch until the jewels cut into my palm. “Why are you giving this to me?”
“I told you. It’s a congratulatory gift.”
“You said I didn’t hit a million followers until an hour ago. You managed to get this watch and come home in that time?”
He responded with an elegant shrug. “I have good contacts.”
My default was trust, but I tasted the bitterness of his lie on my tongue.
The diamonds dug deeper grooves into my skin before I loosened my grip.
“It’s gorgeous, and I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t take this.” I held out the watch.
I wished I could’ve kept it, but I’d always wished for things I couldn’t have.
Love. Affection. Worthiness. Something deep and unconditional that I could call my own.
In the grand scheme of things, a watch was nothing. It was beautiful, and I hated how much I wanted something that meant nothing, but it was only an accessory. If someone wanted it, they could buy it.
Those other things, no amount of money could buy.
Christian’s expression flickered for the first time since he entered. “I gave it to you. It’s yours.”
“I’m giving it back. It’s too much,” I said firmly. “This is a diamond watch, Christian. It must be worth tens of thousands of dollars.”
“Ninety-two thousand, six hundred.”
I flinched at both the number and his cool tone.
“It’s only money. I have plenty of it.” Christian’s brows dipped into a V. “I thought you’d like it. You said you needed a new watch.”
I had said that. It’d been an off-the-cuff comment I made weeks ago.
I couldn’t believe Christian remembered it.
“If I wear this, I’ll get robbed the instant I step out of the house. Even if I don’t…” I dragged a breath through my compressed lungs.
The oxygen stoked flames of old frustration until they incinerated my inhibitions and the rest of my words spilled out.
“It’s not just the watch. It’s everything. Our arrangement, my bodyguard, living here rent-free, taking your jet to New York. I feel like I’m your mistress, except we’re not having sex. You’re not my boyfriend. I’m not sure if we’re even friends. So tell me, why are you doing all this? And don’t tell me it’s to congratulate me on my follower count or because you feel guilty someone broke into my apartment. I’m an optimist, not an idiot.”
If it were anyone else, I would suspect Christian was trying to lure me into some weird sexual arrangement. But he was rich and gorgeous enough that he didn’t need to lure anyone into anything. People lined up to do his bidding without him having to ask.
Why was he giving me special treatment when he barely knew me?
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The deafening march of the seconds passing by on the wall clock matched the muscle jumping in Christian’s jaw.
Not a word, only silence.
He was a vault, brimming with secrets and sealed with a lock not even a master thief could pick. Danger pulsed around him, screaming at me to stop and turn back before it was too late.
Like a reckless fool, I forged on.
“I don’t expect you to answer. You never do. But, while I’m grateful for your help with the stalker, I can’t take anymore from you than I already have.”
I held the watch out further. His hands remained at his sides, but the weight of his stare was a physical press against my skin.
“We signed a contract, but the boundaries have blurred since I moved in. It’s time we revert to the original terms of our agreement. We’re together in public only, for mutually beneficial reasons, and we’re housemates until we find my stalker and put him behind bars. That’s all we are. Nothing more, nothing less.”