Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 12

Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 12

I went with the black gown.

Graham and I arrived at the gala around eight.

Bennett was there. He saw me from across the room and didn’t look away. Didn’t even try. His eyes burned.

I looped my arm through Graham’s and dropped my voice. “Play along. Be my boyfriend for tonight.”

Graham didn’t miss a beat. “Got it.”

Bennett started toward us. I squeezed Graham’s arm. “I’m going to the restroom.” And I was gone.

I’d barely made it out.

Bennett walked straight up to Graham. “How much to walk away from Maren? Ten million? Twenty? Name it.” His voice dropped. “I’m in love with her.”

Graham just stared at him, completely baffled.

In the dressing room, Camille was touching up her makeup when Brent walked in.

Camille froze. “Brent. I’ve already told you: there is nothing between us. What do you want?”

“I’ve been in love with you for years. And you won’t even look at me.”

“You know exactly what I want. I’ve been obsessed with you every night. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to give

me a chance.”

Camille’s jaw set. “I don’t like you. I will never like you. Let it go.”

Brent loosened his tie. “Fine. You won’t date me? Then one night. That’s all I’m asking.” His smile turned ugly. “Or I post the video right now. Let everyone in our circle see exactly what you look like underneath those designer clothes.”

Camille slapped him. “You’re disgusting.”

Brent rubbed his cheek and smirked. “That actually hurt. So, what’s it going to be? Me, or the video?”

The bodyguards moved in. They pinned Brent down and handed him over to the police. His phone was seized

as evidence, and the surveillance camera in the dressing room had caught every word.

The gala ended.

Bennett’s Maybach sat idling in the dark.

I turned to Camille, voice low. “Go ahead. I’ll catch an Uber.”

Camille blinked. “The two of us? Me and who?”

“Bennett.” I turned to go.

Camille caught my hand, half laughing, half incredulous. “Why would I need to talk to Bennett?”

“Maren, I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”

I stared at her. “He’s not… waiting for you?”

Camille gave me a look. “He’s obviously waiting for you.”

“Go. My brother’s here.”

I nodded. “Get some rest.”

Camille pulled me into a hug. “Thank you, Maren. Tonight wouldn’t have gone this well without you.”

I smiled. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Camille headed for her brother’s car.

Bennett opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

I slid in. No small talk. “Bennett, are you and Camille together?”

Bennett went still. “Of course not.”

He read my face. “The coffee shop, the office: that was all business.”

“Oh.” So I’d been wrong this whole time.

My phone buzzed: a string of messages from Camille.

[Maren, you didn’t think there was something between me and Bennett, did you?]

[I swear, I’ve known him for years and there has NEVER been anything between us.] [Remember when I said I had a secret to tell you at the gown fitting? It was about Bennett.]

[I saw your photo in his office. I’m pretty sure he has feelings for you. I was going to tell you.]

[Here’s the deal: after my brother graduated, he started a company. Bennett and I both invested. Bennett’s hands-off, he just collects dividends.]

[I handle the books. Every six months I bring Bennett the financial statements so we can go over them

together.]

[The coffee shop meeting? That was me dropping off the first-half financials.]

[His finance team said the numbers weren’t clear enough, so I went to his office the next day with a more

detailed version.]

[His team was in the room with us. We spent an hour reviewing the financials.]

[We had to finish up that evening. The numbers finally matched.]

That’s what she’d meant on the phone: the hour-long meeting, the evening session. Accounting. Not a date.

The comments had played me. Nothing but lies.

Comments appeared. [Sorry lol. I’m a Camille stan, so trashing the side character was just instinct.]

[Same. Stirring drama between the side character and the MMC is what we do. Shame it didn’t work.]

[But Maren isn’t even a bad person. Is it too late to switch sides?]

[You guys flip so fast I’m getting whiplash.]

[I still ship the MMC and FMC.]

[Nobody’s married yet. There’s still hope.]

[Even if Camille doesn’t like Bennett, he definitely likes her.]

[And what about that hickey pic he posted…]

I still had questions about the hickey.

But at this point, I wouldn’t trust the comments if they told me the sky was blue.