Chapter 381
Chapter 381:
She made her way to the grand staircase. The second floor was quiet, removed from the music and chatter below.
The Observation Deck was a long, carpeted hallway with a wall of windows overlooking the city on one side and the VIP boxes on the other, their fronts sealed with floor-to-ceiling black glass — mirrors, from this side.
Eliza walked the length of the hall. There was no Vinnie on the benches.
She stopped in front of the center box. Box 1.
She looked at her reflection in the dark glass. The green dress shimmered back at her. She stepped closer. She couldn’t see inside — but she could feel the heat radiating from it. The magnetic pull that had always existed between them.
“Dallas?” she whispered.
Inside the box, Dallas wheeled himself to the glass.
She was right there. Inches away.
He could see the stray hairs escaping her bun. The pulse fluttering at her throat. The sadness living quietly behind her eyes.
𝘕𝘰𝘃𝘦𝘭𝘀 𝗂𝗻 𝗍𝗿е𝗇d 𝗈n
He reached out and placed his palm against the glass, right where her face was.
“I’m here, baby,” he breathed. “I’m right here p>
Simmons stood in the corner, looking away. It was too painful to watch.
Eliza lifted her hand. She hesitated — then pressed her palm to the glass, perfectly aligned with the hand she couldn’t see on the other side.
Palm to palm. Separated by two inches of polarized glass and a lifetime of lies.
Dallas closed his eyes and imagined he could feel her warmth.
A high-pitched alarm shrieked from inside the box — a critical alert from his heart monitor, triggered by the force of the moment. The sound punched through the thick glass for just a second before it was abruptly silenced.
Eliza flinched back, her hand flying to her mouth. That sound was sharp, clinical, and terrifying.
“An alarm?” she whispered, her blood running cold. “That wasn’t a phone. That was a medical device p>
Inside, Dallas’s eyes snapped open. He gestured frantically to Simmons, who had already lunged for the machine and killed the sound.
Silence.
Eliza stared into the darkness. “Dallas, if you’re in there — please. Just come out. I know you’re sick. I don’t care about the lies. I just want you p>
Dallas bit down on his knuckle to stop the sob rising in his throat. Tears slid down his face, washing away whatever was left of the stoic mask.
Go away, he begged silently. Please go away before I open this door and ruin your life.
“Eliza p>
A voice boomed from the staircase.
Hunter Kensington — drunk, swaying, a bottle of champagne dangling from his fingers. “There you are,” Hunter slurred. “Hiding in the dark? Kinky p>
Eliza spun around, her back to the glass.
Dallas watched Hunter approach. His hand dropped to the wheel of his chair. His eyes went cold. Dead cold.
“Simmons,” Dallas said, his voice stripped of everything. “Open the door p>
Eliza was trapped. The Observation Deck was a dead end, and Hunter blocked the only exit.
“Leave me alone, Hunter,” Eliza said, her voice echoing in the narrow space.