His Ex Girl

Chapter 20- Confessions and Fake Pandora

Rafael's POV:

Daniel turned off the car and sat in the driver's seat, waiting for me to say something. With a quick nod in his direction he plugged in his earphones turning up the volume so that he couldn't hear us. I leaned back feeling the tension radiate from Yasmin beside me. The low hum of the city outside the hotel was a sharp contrast to the silence inside the vehicle. I had to tell her, and there was no easy way to do it.

"Yasmin," I began, my voice steady but my heart racing. "Before we go in, there's something you should know."

She looked at me, her eyes wide and searching. "What is it, Rafael?"

"I told your father that we're engaged," I said, watching her reaction closely.

Her eyes widened further, and she drew in a sharp breath. "You what?"

"I had to," I explained, my tone firm but gentle. "He asked me, and I thought it was best to tell him sooner rather than later."

She stared at me, a mixture of shock and resignation settling over her features. "I suspected he already knew," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nodded, forcing myself to hold back from mentioning the hug we shared earlier. When I confessed I didn't expect her to tell me she felt the same but I hoped she would have said something to give me hope that she could be interested. It was shocking how easy it had been for her to avoid talking about her feelings, now I wasn't even sure I'd be brave enough to bring it up again.

"It's okay," she said finally, her voice gaining strength. "He would have found out eventually."

With nothing left to say I got out of the car and walked around to her side to open her door. Daniel went to park the car while we stared at the building in front of us. The hotel loomed above us, an imposing structure of glass and steel. We made our way to the restaurant on the first floor, where we were supposed to meet Yasmin's father.

The restaurant was chic, with modern décor and a view of the city that was nothing short of breathtaking. We found a quiet corner and sat down. I used the moment to ask the question that had been gnawing at me ever since she told me about today.

"What's the game plan, Yasmin?"

She looked at me, her expression calm but determined. "I'm going to tell him that Ethan is my ex and I think it's in our best interest to work with someone else."

My heart skipped a beat. "You're not going to tell him that Ethan was your husband?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't see the point in complicating things. He'll be pissed at me for not telling him sooner. I'll just tell him that Ethan is my ex."

"What if Ethan lets it slip that you two were married?" I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper. The thought of that man ruining everything for her made my blood boil. I could understand why she didn't want to tell her Dad. It was likely that her father would be disappointed in her if he found out she got married and divorced in secret. 

She sighed again. "There isn't much I can do if he does, but I'll try to convince him otherwise."

Just as she was about to continue, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and then at me. "It's my dad. He's asking us to come up to the conference room. The hotel owner is letting him borrow it for our meeting."

We stood and made our way toward the elevator, but just as we were about to pass the reception desk, the receptionist called out to us. "Hello, you can't go back there without booking a room."

"Oh no," Yasmin rushed out. "We're here to meet my father, Ivan Rashid."

I stared at her in awe as she explained that we weren't trying to swindle ourselves a room. I knew she was Ivan's daughter, I mean, she was the one who told me but knowing it and hearing her say it to someone other than me made it so much more real for me. Somehow I was in a fake relationship with Ivan Rashid's daughter while also having very real feelings for her.  My life didn't feel real.

"You expect me to believe you're Ivan Rashid's daughter?" the stuck up receptionsists looked her up and down before rolling her eyes. "That's rich."

"No, it's ironic," Yasmin snapped. "How dare you look down at me when you're wearing a knock-off pandora set?"

"I- w-what?"

"You heard me. How about you do your job and ring the conference room, instead of trying to convince me you're something you're not?"

"Well I- I"

I snatched the phone from Yasmin's hand before she could say anything else and turned to facce the receptionist. I didn't miss her huff of annoyance as I spoke. "What my lovely fiancee is trying to say is her dad just asked us to meet him in the conference room, if you would just make the call, you'll see for yourself that we're not lying." 

"That's literally what I said," Yasmin mumbled at the same time the other woman forced a smile as she reached for her phone. It wasn't long after that she was reaching for a key, handing it to me without a second glance in Yasmin's direction. 

She handed the key to me just as a familiar voice interrupted us. "Well, well, look who we have here."

 We spun around to find Roman standing there smiling with his assistant by his side.