Serving My Ex's Engagement Party - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

I desperately wanted Randell to take me home, but exhaustion won out. Before I knew it, I'd passed out in his car.
When consciousness returned, morning light streamed through unfamiliar windows. Stretching sleepily, my hand brushed against something—someone. Every nerve in my body jolted awake.
There was my hand, resting casually on Randell's chest. I froze, torn between pulling away and pretending this wasn't happening.
"Problem?" Randell's sleep-rough voice teased as he propped himself up on one elbow, that infuriating smirk playing on his lips.
I shrieked and lashed out instinctively—my foot connecting squarely with his torso. The next thing I knew, Randell was sprawled on the floor, clutching himself with a pained expression that mixed shock with genuine discomfort.
"Holy shit—are you okay?" My voice cracked with real fear. If I'd actually hurt Deleon Industries' golden boy, his mother would have my head on a platter.
Wrapping the comforter around myself like armor, I inched toward the bed's edge. "Randell...seriously, are you—"
His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. In one fluid motion, I tumbled onto his bare chest, our bodies pressed together with alarming intimacy. His skin burned against mine.
"Randell..." His name came out as a shaky whisper, my traitorous body responding to his proximity.
"I want to kiss you, Eleanore."
No asking. No hesitation. His mouth captured mine before I could protest. My thoughts short-circuited—maybe it was sleep deprivation, maybe something deeper—but I found myself kissing him back with equal hunger.
His calloused hands mapped my body with possessive strokes until the doorbell shattered the moment.
Reality came crashing back. I shoved him away hard, scrambling for cover. The walk-in closet became my makeshift sanctuary just as the front door swung open without permission.
My blood ran cold. Who had Randell's door code?
"Randell! Thank God!" Lesly's shrill voice pierced through the wood. "I called a dozen times last night! I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere!"
Peering through the slats, I took in the incriminating scene—our clothes strewn across the floor like breadcrumbs leading straight to my hiding place.
Lesly's manicured fingers trailed down Randell's bare torso. "Remember our engagement, darling. Play while you can, but marriage changes everything." Her eyes flickered toward the closet—just for a heartbeat—but it was enough. She knew.
Curling into myself, the truth settled like lead in my stomach. Of course Randell had moved on. Seven years was a lifetime. I'd been a fool to imagine otherwise.
I barely registered Lesly's departure. The closet door swung open, revealing Randell's conflicted expression.
"Eleanore—"
My palm connected with his cheek before I'd fully decided to strike. The sharp crack echoed in the small space.
"What am I to you, Randell? Some cheap thrill before your wedding?" My voice shook with fury. "Am I that pathetic to you?"
His arms encircled me like steel bands. I went limp, watching him with dead eyes as he struggled for words.
"The engagement means nothing. It's just family politics."
I barked a humorless laugh. "But you'll still marry her, won't you? We were never in the same universe, Randell."
"Eleanore—"
"Just give me back my child," I whispered. "Let's stop pretending this could ever work."
His arms fell away. The silence between us grew heavier than any words could have been.