Gwen POV
The faint hum of laboratory equipment finally died as our experiment came to an end.
I leaned back from the workstation, rubbing the bridge of my nose before looking at the numbers on the monitor one last time.
Six hours.
We’d been inside the physics laboratory for nearly six hours, and my eyes were beginning to protest.
“Finally,” Sara groaned, stretching both arms above her head.
“If I have to recalibrate that spectrometer one more time, I’m changing majors.”
“You’ve said that three times this week,” Emily laughed as she carefully shut down one of the computers.
“And this time I mean it.”
“You also said that after quantum mechanics.”
“That class doesn’t count.”
I couldn’t help smiling.
Despite all the complaints, we’d made real progress.
Getting into the lab early had been worth it.
By the time the other research groups arrived, we’d already collected everything we needed for today’s phase of the project.
We packed our notebooks and laptops before leaving the laboratory together, the conversation naturally drifting away from equations and measurements toward far less exhausting topics.
Then a familiar voice called out from somewhere ahead.
“Interrogator.”
I stopped walking immediately.
Only one person ever called me that.
Turning toward the campus entrance, I immediately spotted Chris leaning casually against a black Rolls-Royce, one hand tucked into his pocket as though he had all the time in the world.
It looked less like Chris was leaning against the Rolls-Royce and more like he was posing for an advertisement.
The car itself was breathtaking, yet somehow it felt like an accessory to him rather than the other way around.
Even from a distance, students walking across campus couldn’t help but glance in his direction.
The moment he noticed me, he pushed himself away from the car and began walking toward us.
Sara followed my gaze before looking at me with growing curiosity.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
Emily stared for another second before recognition dawned on her face.
“Wait… isn’t that Chris Sterling? And did he just call you Interrogator?”
I sighed, already regretting stopping.
“He’s my mom’s client,” I replied.
Sara frowned.
“That doesn’t answer the second question.”
Emily nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. Why does he call you ‘Interrogator’?”
I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling slightly embarrassed.
“The first time we met, I asked him… a lot of questions.”
“How many is ‘a lot’?” Sara asked with a grin.
“I don’t know… enough that he decided I was interrogating him instead of talking to him.”
Emily laughed.
“Honestly, that sounds exactly like something you’d do.”
“It does not.”
“It absolutely does,” Sara said.
“You once asked our teaching assistant twelve questions during a five-minute break.”
“Those were important questions.”
“They probably were,” Emily admitted, “but I can see why he calls you Interrogator.”
Before I could defend myself any further, Sara looked back at Chris, who was now only a few steps away.
“If he’s your mom’s client,” she asked, “why is he picking you up?”
I let out a helpless sigh.
“I honestly have no idea.”
As if on cue, Chris stopped in front of us, his usual calm smile resting on his face.
“So,” he said, looking directly at me, “how’s my girlfriend doing?”
I felt my heartbeat stumble before racing so fast I was sure everyone around me could hear it.
Heat flooded my face, spreading from my cheeks all the way to my ears.
Girlfriend?
What was he talking about?
Before I could recover enough to respond, Sara grabbed one of my arms while Emily claimed the other.
Both of them slowly turned toward me with matching expressions of complete disbelief.
Sara’s lips curled into a smile that promised trouble.
“Gwen,” she said sweetly, “would you like to explain why Chris Sterling just called you his girlfriend?”
Emily leaned in, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Because if that’s your mom’s client, I think we’ve skipped about ten chapters of your life.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Chris watching the scene with an expression of perfect innocence.
The absolute jerk.
He knew exactly what he was doing, and the amused glint in his eyes told me he was enjoying every second of watching me squirm.
Chris didn’t seem remotely bothered by the fact that he had just thrown me into complete emotional chaos.
Instead, he smiled as though everything was perfectly normal.
“We’re celebrating with brunch,” he said.
“You can pick any restaurant you want. As of today, I have full control of Sterling Corporation.”
He gave a small shrug, as though taking control of a billion-dollar company was no big deal.
“So, congratulations to me.” His eyes met mine, and a teasing smile appeared on his face.
“My treat, little girlfriend. Consider it a peace offering, so you can interrogate me with a peaceful mind.”
I was convinced every drop of blood in my body had rushed straight to my face.
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly blush any harder, he somehow found a way to make it worse.
It felt like I was being boiled alive, the temperature rising little by little with every word that left his mouth.
Beside me, Sara let out a loud gasp while Emily covered her mouth, failing miserably to hide the grin spreading across her face.
Both of them looked at me as though they had just uncovered the greatest secret in university history.
“You’ve been hiding a boyfriend from us this whole time?” Sara asked, her voice practically vibrating with excitement.
“I haven’t!” I protested immediately, but the words came out far less confidently than I intended.
Emily folded her arms and looked between Chris and me.
“Then why did he just call you ‘little girlfriend’?”
“I can explain.”
“I’m sure you can,” Sara replied with a smile that promised absolutely no mercy, “and you’re going to explain every single detail.”
I shot Chris a glare that should have been enough to make any reasonable person back down.
He only smiled.
The jerk.
Emily’s curiosity finally got the better of her, and she looked directly at Chris.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Emily looked at Chris with undisguised curiosity.
“So… is Gwen really your girlfriend?”
Chris didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he glanced at me, and I caught the faintest hint of amusement in his eyes before he looked back at my friends.
“Well,” he said with an easy smile, “we do live under the same roof.”
He let the words linger for just a moment before continuing in the same casual tone.
“And I have her mother’s blessing.”
There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation or embarrassment in his voice, as though he had just stated two perfectly ordinary facts.
Then his gaze returned to me, the smile on his face widening ever so slightly.
“So,” he said, “I’ll let you decide what that makes us.”
The smug jerk knew exactly what he was doing.
My entire body froze.
I could actually hear Sara inhale sharply beside me before both she and Emily slowly turned to stare at me.
The expressions on their faces were no longer merely curious—they were absolute disbelief mixed with excitement.
Every part of me felt unbearably hot.
Now I was fairly certain my body had become hotter than the surface of the sun.
“T-That’s not what happened,” I managed to stammer, desperately trying to defend myself.
“H-He only moved in because… because…” My mind completely abandoned me.
“It’s… it’s complicated.”
Sara raised an eyebrow.
Emily crossed her arms.
Neither of them looked convinced.
If anything, my pathetic attempt at explaining only made me look even more guilty.
Meanwhile, Chris stood there wearing the same innocent smile, as if he had no idea he had just ruined my entire reputation with two simple sentences.
At that moment, I realized something terrifying.
He wasn’t doing this by accident.
He was getting revenge for every question I had ever asked him.
And judging by the amusement hidden in his eyes…
He was enjoying every second of it.
Before I could explain anything—before I could even think of a believable excuse—Chris casually reached for my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine.
My entire body stiffened.
He didn’t even look at me.
Still wearing that infuriatingly calm smile, he simply started walking toward the Rolls-Royce, gently leading me along as if this was something we did every day.
I barely managed to keep up.
My heart was pounding so loudly I was convinced everyone around us could hear it.
Behind me, I heard Sara and Emily gasp almost in unison, followed by excited whispers that I couldn’t make out.
I didn’t dare look back.
Whatever expressions they were wearing, I knew I didn’t want to see them.
When we reached the car, Chris finally stopped.
Before opening the passenger door, he turned back toward my friends with the same polite smile he seemed to wear so effortlessly.
“It was nice meeting you both,” he said.
“Next time, brunch is on me.”
Then, as if he hadn’t already caused enough damage, he added, “Or you can ask your friend to invite you over to our place.”
Our place.
I nearly stopped breathing.
My heart, which had finally begun to settle, immediately started racing even faster.
I was convinced my face had reached a shade of red never before recorded in human history.
Chris opened the passenger door for me.
For one terrifying moment, I felt lightheaded.
I wasn’t sure whether it was from embarrassment or the fact that he’d just destroyed any chance I had of explaining this to Sara and Emily.
Then I looked inside the car.
Mom.
She was sitting comfortably in the back seat, watching everything with an amused smile.
The instant I saw her, every bit of panic vanished, replaced by a completely different emotion.
Annoyance.
Slowly, I turned my head toward Chris.
He noticed immediately.
The smile on his face grew even wider, carrying that unmistakable look of someone who had accomplished exactly what he had set out to do.
If the devil ever decided to disguise himself as a charming billionaire, he’d probably wear that exact smile.
Mom’s eyes shifted between the two of us before settling on my still-burning face.
The knowing smile spreading across her lips told me she’d understood everything without either of us saying a word.
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
Chris had spent the last five minutes teasing me without mercy, and now Mom had witnessed the entire performance.
I didn’t need to ask what would happen next.
For at least the next week, she was going to tease me relentlessly.