The Makeup | Five Hargreeves x Reader Story

TWO

Y/N'S POV

Four years. It had been three years since I last set foot in New York. The city I went to for love. The city where I spent some of the most beautiful moments of my life. The city where I experienced the most devastating heartbreak. I sat in the leather backseat of a luxurious limo, gliding through the glistening streets of the city that never slept. I stared numbly through the tinted window. My eyes were fixed on the passing landscape, yet I only saw the images of him... of us together. The mere thought of him made my body shiver. The thought of actually meeting him was even worse. My stomach was tied in a knot.

How will he react when he sees me?

What if I want to throw myself into his arms when I see him?

Fours years. Supposedly enough time to forget. Enough time to fill my heart with hatred. Yet I still couldn't forget his face. I couldn't forget the way my heart used to skip a beat whenever I saw him. I could swear whenever I closed my eyes, I could still feel his touch lingering on my skin. How his fingertips teasingly brushed over my bare skin. The way his lips felt against mine. I saw him, and I felt him in every second of my existence.

Goddammit. I shook my head to clear it. I tried to dispel the haunting thoughts of the man I was supposed to loathe. I glanced past the driver's arm and through the front window. We'd arrived. I squeezed my purse in my hands and took a deep breath. Collecting my strength.

"Miss." The driver opened the door, offering his hand to assist me.

"Thank you." I smiled softly.

The car door slammed shut. I tossed my thick, dark waves, adjusting the Venetian mask adorning my face. Its ruby-red shade matched the high-split dress with a brush train and sequined see-through sleeves. My choice of attire was not by chance. On the contrary. It was meticulously planned. Red symbolizes blood and peril. Like the dangerous game I was about to begin this evening. It was also a color of passion and sexuality. I wanted to exude the aura of a seductress. A temptress. A strong, independent woman who could have any man falling at her feet. I wanted to command attention. Especially his. To reignite the fiery passion that was running high while we were together. Remind him that I was once a rose that had awoken an insatiable lust within him. Maybe he had not loved me, but I was sure, in his twisted, possessive way, he lusted after me. I wanted to use that against him.

I swayed through a dazzling ballroom. The venue was breathtaking, decorated with shimmering ornaments in black and gold shades. All the influential, filthy rich figures one could think of were present. All dressed up, their faces disguised under enigmatic Venetian masks. My gaze wandered around in search of that one special person whose sight could stop me in my tracks. Stop the world from turning around. Him. Five Hargreeves. The man who I hated with every fiber in my body. The man who still owned my heart.

Then my eyes met his, and my heart stopped beating. It became harder to breathe. The world around me seemed to freeze. He was there. Just a few steps away from me. His deep green eyes were still as hypnotizing. I kept glancing back at him, tilting my head just enough to steal glimpses from over my shoulder. He was surrounded by his family, but I could only focus on him. I only saw him. He looked exactly like that night when he crashed my engagement party. Still so dangerous. So irresistibly handsome. In an instant, all the memories came crashing back. If it wasn't for Five, I might've ended up marrying a man I didn't love—a man chosen for me by my father, a man who had been cheating on me with some other woman. Five said he was my savior that night. In a way, he was. What a shame his intentions weren't genuine, and he turned out to be the villain of the story instead—my undoing, my personal kryptonite. I took another look at him. Forget what I said. He was way more alluring than I remembered. How could someone be so perfect? How could such a dark, devilish man be so heavenly? I noticed a dark stubble he didn't have before. It suited him.