His Relentless Possession

38-Fake Girlfriend

We arrived at our next destination, one of the most famous luxury hotels in the city. Raiden parked his car right in front of the hotel lobby's entrance, where a valet dressed in a black suit came to assist him. Without a word, Raiden placed his hand at the small of my back and began guiding me into the hotel.

"Don't act so nervous..." Raiden whispered close to my ear.

"It's not like I can help it..." I whispered back.

How could I not be nervous about this? I felt like I was about to have a mental breakdown or a panic attack at any moment. Everything about this place and situation made me feel out of place, like a fish out of water.

"Raiden...I can't do this...I'm very sorry," I whispered as I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

"Yes, you can. You look so beautiful tonight, I could mistake you for an angel who came down from the heavens to earth," Raiden whispered close to my ear.

"You're so evil..." I hissed. I knew he didn't quite mean what he said, but I couldn't stop myself from feeling a little happy at his compliments.

"So, I've been told..." Raiden said, smiling charmingly without a care.

Now what?

A while ago, while we were in Raiden's car on the way to our next destination, I began demanding answers to the endless stream of questions floating around in my head. I felt like my head was going to split open if I didn't get any answers.

"Why did you make me get a makeover?" I asked, demanding answers.

"Because I can't let you turn up dressed in rags and looking the way you usually do," Raiden answered matter-of-factly.

"Turn up where? Where are we going?" I asked, raising my voice a little to get his attention.

"You'll find out soon. At least now you sorta look the part..." Raiden said, his eyes glued to the road.

"Look the part? What part?" I asked, getting more confused by the minute.

"Listen to me carefully because I'm only going to tell you this once. I'm taking you to a private party that one of my best friends is hosting. When you're there, all you have to do is act like you're his girlfriend, okay?" Raiden explained so casually that I didn't register his words at first.

"Okay...no, wait! What? Me...act as your friend's girlfriend?" I replied in shock.

Of all the crazy scenarios I had imagined, pretending to be his best friend's girlfriend wasn't one of them. Then again, Raiden asking me to go on a date with him would've been even more far-fetched.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Raiden said with a hint of annoyance.

"No...that's crazy. There's no way I'm doing that..." I said firmly, my voice growing louder.

"Guess you've suddenly got the 500 million dollars to pay my old man back now, huh?" Raiden asked, his tone so sarcastic that I wanted to box him in the ear.

I wanted to scream at him. How dare he rub my debt in my face like that? I hated what he was doing so much, but as much as I hated to admit it, he was partly right. This was part of fulfilling the deal I had made with his father. But how was I supposed to act like a fake girlfriend for a guy I had never met before?

"So...what do I have to do...exactly?" I asked after letting out a resigned sigh.

"Now you're finally getting it. The friend I've got to help out is the son of a very large conglomerate dealing with shipping and cargo. Basically, his father is trying to get him to date an heiress to a rather big empire made of cash. However, as you'd expect in classic stories, my friend has no interest in that girl. And that's where you come in," Raiden explained before turning to wink at me.

"I guess I have to play the role of his girlfriend to keep that girl away and show her that he already has someone?" I guessed, feeling how absurd this was.

"Exactly. During the party, he'll introduce you as his girlfriend, and you just play along. Simple," Raiden said.

He made it sound like it was nothing at all. Of course, he could say whatever he wanted because he wasn't the one all dolled up to fool the world.

"Why do I have to do this? Can't you...hire someone else to do it instead? She'll probably do a way better job than me," I said, trying to convince Raiden to change his mind—or better yet, turn the car around.

Raiden glanced at me and chuckled a little.

"You're perfect because you can look decent while not looking like a hooker. If we're going to convince that heiress, then the girlfriend can't be some supermodel or hooker; otherwise, she'll just think it isn't a serious relationship," Raiden explained.

"Aha..." I mumbled, not quite buying his argument. But it wasn't like I had a choice.

The fake eyelashes I had on felt heavy. My makeup was thick, my high heels were too high, the slit running up my thigh was too revealing, and the waist of my dress felt too tight. Overall, I felt like a walking disaster and couldn't wait for this to be over.

"We'll be arriving soon. My friend's name is Josh. He's a decent-looking guy...or so the girls say..." Raiden told me as he continued driving.

I sat back in my seat, praying that I could somehow pull this off. I rolled my eyes at Raiden. At that point, I wanted to scream that I couldn't care less about what his friend was called or how decent-looking he supposedly was...

--To be continued--
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