One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 164: Chapter 164

It started with a white lie. A tiny exaggeration meant to impress. Nothing big. Nothing malicious.
At least, that’s what Leila told herself.
She wasn’t the standout twin. That was Amara—with her stage presence and dramatic flair, always glowing at center stage. Leila was the quiet one, the observer, the steady presence who blended in unless she worked hard to be noticed.
And she wanted to be noticed.
Especially by Eli.
He was the senior intern in the robotics club, all tousled curls and sharp logic, who could explain quantum physics and make it sound like poetry. Leila had first seen him present at the inter-school tech symposium and fell headfirst into a crush that made her heart ache in all the quiet spaces of her soul.
When she asked to join the robotics team, she didn’t expect to get in. But she did.
And that’s where it all began.
The problem was, she didn’t actually know robotics. She wasn’t a coder. She wasn’t even good with circuits. But she wanted to impress Eli. So when he asked what her experience was, she said, “Oh, I built a drone in middle school.”
Lie.
When he asked if she could program in Python, she replied, “Of course.”
Lie.
And when the sign-ups came for the Regional High School Innovation Fair, and Eli asked her to co-lead a presentation on their AI-powered rover prototype, she said yes.
That was the biggest lie of all.
The days leading up to the science fair were a tangled mess of spreadsheets, technical documents, sleepless nights, and panic attacks.
Leila Googled everything. She watched YouTube tutorials at 2 a.m., tried to piece together code from forums she didn’t understand, and sat in the bathroom with her head against the tile floor, wishing she could rewind time.
But she couldn’t back out.
Because Eli had started to smile at her differently. Because he’d asked her to walk with him to lunch. Because he’d said, “I trust you.”
So she kept going.
Even when it broke her.
The day of the fair arrived like a storm she couldn’t avoid.
The gym was transformed into a wonderland of invention. Booths with blinking lights, VR goggles, mechanical limbs, and hydroponic gardens lined the space like a futuristic festival. And right in the center, the robotics team set up their booth—complete with a stage for live demonstrations.
Leila’s hands trembled as she placed the prototype rover on the table.
Eli beamed. “We’ve got this. You ready to walk them through the neural network interface?”
She swallowed. Nodded.
Another lie.
They were third to present.
The panel of judges—engineers from real firms, tech entrepreneurs, and school board officials—gathered in front of them with clipboards and curious expressions.
Eli started strong. Polished. Confident.
Then came her turn.
Leila stepped forward.
The moment she opened her mouth, she knew she was about to fall.
She stammered. Confused torque with vector paths. Referred to wires that didn’t exist. One of the judges raised an eyebrow. Another whispered to their colleague.
Eli looked at her, puzzled.
The rover, mid-demo, short-circuited. Sparks flew. Smoke curled.
Someone in the audience gasped. Another laughed.
The presentation ended with a judge unplugging the bot and a long, stretching silence.
Outside, she couldn’t face him. Eli caught up with her by the lockers.
“Leila,” he said, voice quiet. “What happened?”
She looked at him, trying to find the right apology, the right version of the truth.
“I lied,” she said. “About everything. The drone. The coding. I just… I wanted to be someone you’d notice.”
Eli didn’t look angry.
He looked heartbroken.
“You didn’t have to be anyone else,” he said. “You’re already brilliant. Just not at this. And that’s okay.”
He walked away.
She didn’t stop him.
That night, she didn’t come down for dinner.
Arielle brought a tray up to her room, setting it on the nightstand.
“Want to talk?” she asked.
Leila stared at the wall. “Not really.”
Arielle sat anyway. “I once told your father I knew how to drive stick shift.”
Leila blinked. “You?”
Arielle smiled. “First date. He offered to let me try. I panicked, cried, and we stalled on a hill for thirty minutes. I felt like an idiot.”
Leila turned to her slowly. “What did he say?”
“That he didn’t care what I knew. He just wanted me to be honest.”
Leila’s eyes welled. “I messed everything up.”
“You learned,” Arielle said gently. “The hard way, yes. But it will shape who you become.”
“I wanted to be special.”
“You already are,” Arielle whispered. “You just haven’t believed it yet.”
The next morning, Leila returned to school. Head high. No more lies.
She went to the robotics room, returned her badge.
“I’m not your co-lead,” she told the teacher. “I never was. I’m applying for the writing club instead.”
And when she passed Eli in the hallway, she smiled. Not with hope. But with peace.
Some truths come late.
But they always arrive.