Chapter 11 Dont Fall For Me #3
A shared lunch.
A quiet conversation.
A hand brushing another beneath a conference table.
A smile that belonged only to them.
And sometimes, when no one was watching, Ling would look at Orm for a little too long.
Orm would catch her.
"What?"
Ling would shake her head.
"Nothing."
Orm would smile.
"Liar."
And Ling would smile back.
?
One evening, the office emptied earlier than usual.
Orm was packing her things when she found a note on her desk.
She opened it.
Roof. Five minutes.
No signature.
She smiled.
She knew.
When she reached the rooftop, Ling was already there.
Bangkok stretched beneath them, thousands of lights scattered across the darkness.
Ling stood near the railing.
Orm walked toward her.
"You summoned me?"
Ling smiled.
"I asked."
"Same thing."
Ling laughed.
The sound made Orm smile.
They stood together.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Ling said,
"I've been thinking."
"That's dangerous."
Ling rolled her eyes.
"Very funny."
"Thank you."
Ling looked at her.
"I don't know what happens next."
"Neither do I."
"I don't know how to do this."
"Neither do I."
Ling smiled.
"You're supposed to reassure me."
"I'm being honest."
"Fair."
They looked at each other.
"I don't want to pretend anymore," Ling said.
Orm's heart skipped.
"But?"
Ling sighed.
"But I don't know if I'm ready to stop."
Orm nodded.
"Then don't."
Ling frowned.
"What?"
"We don't have to tell everyone tomorrow."
Ling stared.
"We don't have to define everything tonight."
Orm smiled.
"We can just be honest with each other."
Ling looked at her for a long moment.
"That sounds terrifying."
"It is."
"You're very calm about it."
"I'm not."
Ling laughed.
"You're shaking."
Orm looked down.
Their hands were trembling slightly.
"Maybe I'm nervous."
Ling reached for her hand.
"Me too."
Their fingers intertwined.
The city continued moving beneath them.
Cars passed.
Lights changed.
People hurried home.
The world remained completely unaware that two women standing on a rooftop were quietly changing the rules of a relationship that had begun as a lie.
Orm looked at Ling.
"So..."
"So?"
"Are we still pretending?"
Ling smiled.
"For the campaign?"
"Yes."
Ling thought about it.
"Yes."
Orm groaned.
"That's disappointing."
"But..."
Ling stepped closer.
Her voice softened.
"Not with each other."
Orm's breath caught.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Ling lifted her hand and gently touched Orm's cheek.
The same gesture.
The one that had started everything.
Orm closed her eyes.
But Ling didn't kiss her.
Not yet.
She simply rested her forehead against Orm's.
It was quieter than a kiss.
More intimate.
And somehow more frightening.
"Don't fall for me," Ling whispered again.
Orm smiled.
"You're really bad at making that sound convincing."
Ling laughed softly.
Then she pulled away.
"Goodnight, Orm."
"Goodnight."
Ling walked toward the door.
Orm watched her go.
At the doorway, Ling stopped.
She looked back.
For one second, she looked exactly like the woman Orm had met on her first day at Veyra.
Intimidating.
Composed.
Impossible to read.
Then she smiled.
A real smile.
And disappeared.
Orm stood alone on the rooftop.
Her heart was racing.
She knew this wasn't over.
If anything, it had only just begun.
Because the campaign was about to enter its most public phase.
The cameras would return.
The interviews would increase.
The photographs would become more intimate.
And soon, Veyra would have to decide how far it was willing to let the world's favourite fake relationship go.
But there was another problem.
Aurelia's next campaign event was only days away.
And this time, it wasn't just another staged appearance.
It was a major public event.
The kind where every camera would be watching.
The kind where every gesture would be analysed.
The kind where pretending would become almost impossible.
Orm looked toward the city.
She didn't know what Ling would do when the cameras came back on.
She didn't know whether Ling would pull away again.
She didn't know whether she could keep pretending not to care.
And she certainly didn't know what would happen if, in front of everyone, Ling forgot herself again.
But for the first time, Orm wasn't afraid of the uncertainty.
She was almost looking forward to it.
Because perhaps the most dangerous part of falling in love wasn't the moment you realised it.
Perhaps it was the moment you realised you were willing to find out what happened next.
And Orm was.
Whatever happened next, she would be there.
Even if Ling ran.
Even if the campaign became complicated.
Even if the whole world was watching.
She would be there.
Because somewhere between the first argument and the first kiss, the fake relationship had stopped being fake.
Neither of them had said the words.
Not yet.
But they were getting closer.
Much closer.
And neither of them knew how much longer they could keep the truth hidden.