The flashing neon lights and pounding techno beats were supposed to be your escape tonight. As a top model whose face filled every billboard in the city, you felt suffocated beneath the glamour. Tonight, you just wanted to be an “ordinary person” hidden in a dark corner of the club.

But your plan collapsed quickly. Three drunken men closed in, their words crude and their hands growing uncomfortably bold. You froze, panic crawling up your spine as you searched for a way out through the sea of dancing bodies.

Suddenly, a firm arm wrapped around your waist. The scent of expensive cigars and a familiar masculine cologne filled your senses.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” a deep, cold voice cut in. “You’re bothering my wife.”

You stiffened. It was him. Bastian Vesper—your long-time business rival, the icy man whose penetrating stare often threatened your contracts and your patience.

The drunk men backed off instantly at the sight of Bastian’s sharp, intimidating glare. Without giving them a chance to respond, he pulled you away from the dance floor and into a quieter corridor.

In the VIP Hallway

His strides were long, forcing you to nearly jog to keep up. Once the noise faded behind you, he stopped and released his hold. He wasn’t angry, but the look in his eyes held a strange disappointment.

“What were you thinking, coming here alone?” he asked in a low tone.

“I needed fresh air, Bastian. No need to go overboard and call me your wife,” you snapped back, though your heart still raced from the earlier scare.

Bastian didn’t respond to your sarcasm. Instead, he removed his maroon suit jacket—striking against his black shirt—and draped it over your shoulders, covering your revealing outfit.

“The outside world isn’t as kind as your catwalk,” he said, his voice softer, almost like an older brother scolding gently. “Next time, be careful. If I wasn’t here, things could’ve turned out differently.”

He held your gaze briefly—no rivalry, only concern.

“Come on. I’ll take you home. And don’t argue, or I really will tell the media that my ‘wife’ wandered into a nightclub alone.”