My Bestie's Dad Likes Me Wet-Chapter 56 The Gala

GRANT POV

The whole drive there was a blur of red lights and rage. My knuckles were white against the steering wheel, and every time I blinked, that damn picture flashed in my head. My Nova, in the same dress I had ordered for her, smiling in another man’s arms.

Luca’s arms.

Each mile I covered only added fuel to the fire. The closer I got, the less I could breathe. I could already picture his smug face, his filthy hands on what’s mine.

By the time I pulled up to the event, the valet didn’t even have time to reach my door. I was already out, jacket unbuttoned, eyes locked on the grand entrance like I was walking straight into a war zone.

Security tried to stop me. One touch on my shoulder and I was already two seconds from snapping his wrist in half. The only reason I didn’t was because I had bigger bones to break inside.

The music hit first. Slow, elegant but it didn’t fit the pounding in my chest. The lights were gold and warm, people spinning in their glitter and money, laughing like the world didn’t rot under their shoes.

And there she was.

Nova.

Looking small. Lost. Too damn beautiful to be standing alone in this pit of snakes.

And then I saw him. Luca. Slowly dancing with that blonde doll on his arm like he hadn’t just destroyed something sacred.

The sight of him lit something in me that I couldn’t control. My pulse spiked. The sound of my boots against the marble floor was louder than the music as I closed the distance.

Nova didn’t see me at first. She was frozen, staring at the bastard like she wanted to kill him herself. But when my voice cut through the air, the whole room seemed to turn with her.

"When were you planning to tell me about this, Nymph?"

Her head snapped around, eyes wide, the color draining from her face.

The music kept playing while people started whispering, more attention on our part of the dancing floor while Luca finally looked up, and I swear I saw that smug little smirk twitch at the corner of his mouth.

I moved closer, step by step, not caring who watched. "Go on," I said quietly, just for her, even though the rage in my tone carried across the room. "Tell me how this," I motioned at her dress, at him, "isn’t what it looks like."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Just silence and those damn tears she tried to blink away.

And that’s when Luca chuckled.

Big mistake

I could already feel the urge crawling under my skin, that familiar burn that begged to swing, to break, to make him swallow that smirk whole.

But not tonight. Not in front of her.

Before anyone could say a damn thing, I reached for Nova’s wrist. Her pulse jumped under my fingers. She didn’t pull away, but I could feel her trembling from shock, fear and confusion, all mixed up like the perfect storm.

"Come here," I said low, just for her.

Without waiting for permission, I pulled her in close enough for the rest of the ballroom to think we were just another pair lost in the music. Close enough that her perfume hit me like oxygen after drowning.

The crowd swallowed us, the waltz wrapping around our steps as I guided her onto the dance floor.

Her hand rested against my chest, hesitant, like she wasn’t sure if she should touch me or run. My palm settled on her lower back, just above the curve of her hips, and I felt the smallest shiver escape her.

We moved slowly at first, deliberate step measured like a secret.

From over her head, my gaze locked on Luca.

He was still at the edge of the crowd, eyes narrowing, that fake calm look plastered on his face.

If looks could kill, we’d both be standing over his corpse.

"You picked a hell of a night to play pretend," I murmured, voice so low only she could hear.

"I didn’t—" she started, but her voice broke.

"Don’t lie to me, Nymph." My grip on her waist tightened, not enough to hurt, just enough to make her look at me. "You wore the dress. You smiled for the cameras. You let him touch you and you’ve been hiding things away from me."

Her eyes lifted to mine, wet but steady. "You think I wanted this? You think I’d rather be here than with you?"

The words hit harder than I wanted them to.

"Then why are you?" I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.

She exhaled shakily, her forehead brushing my chest as the song slowed even more.

"Because every time I try to make it right, something—someone—pulls me deeper into their mess. And you... you make it hard to breathe, Grant."

That last part almost undid me.

My thumb brushed her back in a slow circle, calming myself more than her. I leaned down, letting my lips graze her ear. "Then stop running," I whispered. "Stop letting them pull your strings. I’ll handle the rest."

"Handle?" she echoed softly, a bitter laugh escaping. "That’s what you said the last time before everything went to hell."

She pulled back slightly, eyes searching mine. There was something raw there, fear, yes, but also something dangerous.

I felt her words slice through me sharper than any knife.

The music faded into background noise to just the hum of strings and the drag of her breath against my chest.

Her eyes lifted, no longer glassy with confusion, but edged with something colder.

Resignation.

"I’m tired, Grant," she said finally. "So damn tired of pretending I’m fine. Of being tossed between people like I’m some pawn in their bloody games."

Her fingers tightened slightly against my shirt. "You keep saying you’ll handle it but every time you do, someone else gets hurt. Or worse."

I clenched my jaw. "So what do you want me to do? Watch them use you? Let them destroy what we have while I sit here doing nothing?"

She shook her head. "You don’t get it. It’s already happening. They already have me."

Her voice trembled, but she didn’t stop.

"Luca isn’t just some arrogant prick from the underworld. He’s tied to the Mafia. To my father’s death. To everything I’ve been searching for since the very beginning."

I froze mid-step. "What?"

"He found me first," she said, swallowing hard. "He knew about my mother. About their death. About the evidence I can use to get them justice. He said if I didn’t cooperate, he’d send the proof to the same people who killed them."

"Nova—"

"Let me finish." She pulled back just enough to look at me straight on, eyes glistening under the golden light.

"I thought I could outsmart him. I thought I could play along until I got what I needed. But he’s always a step ahead. He knows things he shouldn’t. And he keeps playing me like I’m nothing more than a game to be messed with when he feels like it."

Her voice cracked. "And Sandy? She’s working for him too. I see it now. She’s the one who’s been feeding him updates about us. Every meeting. Every plan. Every time you tried to protect me."

A cold fury coiled through me. My grip on her waist tightened. "I knew it was that bitch."

"Grant," she whispered, shaking her head slightly. "If you go after her now, you’ll walk right into his trap. That’s exactly what he wants. He’s baiting you through me."

I exhaled through my nose, the weight of her confession burning through every vein.

"So you let him take you here? To this damn gala?"

"I didn’t have a choice," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Sandy said tonight she would tell Lena everything if I don’t cooperate with her. And I assumed Luca would finally trade me the flash drive that proves who ordered the hit. I just needed to show up and keep up the act."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. "But when I saw that picture of Sandy with the gifts meant for me, I realized something."

"What?"

"That I’m done letting everyone else decide what happens to me. I’m done being scared. If I’m going down, I’ll go down on my own terms."

The music changed again to something slower, deeper as the crowd thinned. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She looked up at me, the same beautiful face that had my heart in knots, her face soft but steady.

"I need your help," she whispered finally. "But not as my savior. As my partner. No more lies. No more half-truths. You want me to trust you? Then trust me back."

I stared at her, my heart hammering against my ribs.

For the first time in months, I didn’t see the fragile, frightened girl I’d been trying to protect.

I saw a woman standing in the middle of chaos, still daring to fight.

The corners of my mouth twitched. "You’ve got some nerve, Nymph."

She gave a small smile, tired but fierce. "You all made me like this. I had no option but to finally grow up."

I leaned in just enough for my lips to brush her ear. "Then let’s burn them all together.

She didn’t flinch when I said it. Didn’t even blink. Just stared back at me like she’d already decided this was the moment everything would change.

The lights dimmed a little more, the crowd swaying around us in soft motion.

Her body fit against mine again as the next slow rhythm began in a smooth, haunting, like the calm before a storm.

"Then it’s settled," she murmured, almost to herself. "We do this together."

"Together," I echoed, letting my hand slide lower against the curve of her back.

I could feel the tremor running through her, but she wasn’t scared anymore. Not of me. Not of them.

For a moment, it almost felt right.

Like maybe, after all the chaos, this was the start of something we could actually build—

Until the music shifted again.

The scent of expensive cologne drifted in before the voice followed, deep and edged with arrogance.

"Mind if I cut in?"

We both froze.

Luca stood right beside us, his tux perfect, his smirk sharper than any blade.

His eyes flicked from Nova’s face to my hand at her waist and lingered there just long enough to make his point.

"I’d hate to think my guest forgot who she came with."

Nova stiffened instantly, her nails digging into my palm.

I didn’t look away from him. Not once.

"Are you sure you want to do this here?" I asked, voice low, steady.

He smiled wider. "Oh, I insist. After all..." He stepped forward, hand outstretched toward her, eyes still on me. "It wouldn’t be a real party without a little drama, would it?"

Nova’s breath hitched, her gaze darting between us, predator and prey, only neither of us willing to play the second role.

The crowd started watching again, whispers and hushed words scattered across the dancing floor.

The song slowed even more.

Her hand hovered between his and mine.

Before she picked...