Chapter 5
“Elise?”
The name left Nate’s lips like a ghost from a grave.
Lila blinked up at him, dazed, her vision blurred by tears and rain. “Wh-what?”
Nate crouched in front of her, studying her face, his brow creased. “Is this… some kind of sick joke?” he muttered.
Lila sniffled, wiping her soaked sleeve across her nose. “I don’t know who Elise is.”
But Nate didn’t hear her. Or maybe he didn’t believe her. His eyes scanned her face like he was searching for something—confirmation, denial, maybe a miracle.
“I watched you die,” he said under his breath, more to himself than her.
Lila flinched. “I’m not dead, okay? I’m just cold, wet, and completely ruined, if you haven’t noticed.”
Nate stood, silent for a beat. Then he extended a hand. “Come on. You can’t sit here all night.”
She hesitated. “You gonna kidnap me?”
His mouth twitched—either at her sarcasm or the ridiculousness of it all. “No. But if you stay out here any longer, hypothermia will beat me to it.”
Lila looked around—the empty streets, the cold wind biting through her clothes, the ache in her bones. She had nowhere else to go. And maybe, just maybe, this was her only shot.
She took his hand.
The inside of the car was warm, silent, luxurious. Lila sank into the leather seat, her soaked clothes clinging uncomfortably to her skin, but for the first time that night, she felt a strange, unfamiliar thing: safe.
Nate watched her as he drove, stealing glances like he still couldn’t believe she was real.
“You really look like her,” he said finally.
Lila turned her head toward the window, watching raindrops blur the city lights. “Who was she?”
“Elise,” he said. “Someone I… cared about. She died two years ago. Burned in a fire. No body was recovered, but I saw enough to know.”
Lila swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re not her,” Nate added quickly, almost to reassure himself. “But God, the resemblance is…”
She let the silence stretch, unsure what to say. She wasn’t Elise. But if looking like her could get her a place to sleep and maybe, just maybe, a lifeline out of the hell she was trapped in…
“Is that why you stopped?” she asked softly. “Because I looked like her?”
He didn’t answer.
They pulled into a luxury hotel downtown, the kind with glowing chandeliers and doormen who probably judged people by the shoes they wore. Lila’s muddy sneakers squeaked embarrassingly as she stepped out.
Nate handed the valet his keys and walked beside her, ignoring the way the hotel staff stared at her soaked clothes.
He booked a suite. With one swipe of his black card, he secured a room that probably cost more than her tuition.
They rode the elevator in silence.
Lila could feel the weight of Nate’s eyes on her. The tension between them had shifted—less confusion now, more curiosity. She wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.
Inside the suite, he tossed a towel to her. “Bathroom’s through there. I’ll get you some clothes.”
Lila nodded and disappeared into the marbled bathroom. When she looked in the mirror, she gasped.
She looked awful. Red-rimmed eyes, puffy cheeks, mascara smudged. Her hair stuck to her forehead in soaked clumps. No wonder he thought she was a ghost.
She peeled off her wet clothes and stepped into the steaming shower. Hot water hit her skin like heaven. Her tears mixed with it, but at least she didn’t have to explain them here.
When she stepped out, a fluffy white robe waited on the sink. Alongside it was a folded T-shirt and sweatpants—clearly his, way too big.
She emerged from the bathroom slowly, the robe wrapped tight around her. Nate sat on the couch, scrolling through his phone, but looked up the second she entered.
“You look better,” he said simply.
She raised a brow. “You sure I don’t still look like a ghost?”
“You don’t look like her when you smile,” he said.
Lila hesitated, then sat on the opposite end of the couch. She pulled the sweatpants over her legs and tucked them under herself.
“I don’t know what your deal is,” she said slowly. “But I need money. A lot of it. And you look like someone who has it.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re not going to blackmail me.”
“No,” she said. “I want a job.”
He blinked. “A job.”
“Fifty thousand dollars,” she said bluntly. “I’ll do whatever you want. Clean floors, answer calls, dress up and pretend to be someone if that’s your kink—I don’t care. I just need the money.”
Nate’s jaw flexed. “Do you know how insane this sounds?”
“Yeah,” she said with a sad smile. “Welcome to my life.”
He stared at her. “Why fifty grand?”
“To buy back my house,” she replied. “To keep my drunk father off the streets. To stop my stepmother from auctioning off the only thing my real mom left me. Happy now?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “You really don’t know who Elise is?”
“No,” she said, quieter now. “But maybe you can pretend I do.”
Something flickered in his eyes.
“You want a job?” he said slowly.
She nodded.
He stood, walked to the minibar, and poured himself a drink. “Fine. Let’s make a deal.”
Lila’s breath caught.
“You pretend to be Elise,” he said, his voice low. “Just for a little while. You’ll do exactly as I say, no questions asked. In return, I’ll give you the fifty grand.”
Her stomach flipped. “Pretend to be your dead girlfriend?”
He turned. “Not just a girlfriend. My fiancée.”
Lila’s lips parted in disbelief.
“I need her back for reasons I can’t explain right now. You want money. I want Elise. So what’s it going to be?”
Lila stared at him. The rain still roared outside. Her entire world had already turned upside down. What was one more lie?
She reached out and shook his hand.
“Deal”.
