She Bet on Love, I Married Another

Chapter 8: Riding with a stranger

Alex

I stepped into the business-class cabin right after Amanda, glancing at the seat numbers as I made my way toward mine.

It was only two seats away from hers.

“Why is this not connecting?” she hissed from behind me.

I turned briefly and watched her fumble with her phone, tapping aggressively at the screen as though the poor device were personally responsible for whatever was irritating her.

I shook my head and took my seat.

It was going to be a long journey. I might as well sleep through it.

I closed my eyes and soon drifted off.

“Hello, sir.” A soft voice reached me through the haze of unconsciousness.

I jerked awake, blinking a few times before finding one of the flight attendants standing beside my seat with a wide smile.

“Sir, we’ve landed,” she said softly.

My gaze immediately swept around the cabin.

The first thing I noticed was that Amanda had already disembarked.

“I’ll escort you to the exclusive arrival lounge,” the attendant added, straightening up.

I nodded once and stood.

When we stepped into the lounge, the first person I saw was Amanda.

She was standing near the glass doors, impatiently tapping away at her phone.

The moment she noticed me, she stopped and her brows furrowed.

“You again!” she exclaimed.

Then she looked me over suspiciously.

“Don’t tell me you stalked me all the way across the country!”

I immediately shook my head. “I didn’t. The staff..”

I stopped when I turned toward the attendant who had escorted me in only to realize she was gone.

I frowned and turned back to Amanda. “Well, the flight attendant escorted me here.”

Amanda scoffed. “No. You’re just a persistent liar.”

I stared at her.

Apparently, she had already made up her mind about me.

“I bet someone promised you a substantial reward for getting information about me. But I don’t have time for this.”

Almost immediately, a sleek, high-end luxury vehicle pulled up outside the glass doors.

Amanda turned toward me, and although most of her face was still hidden behind the mask, I could see the smug smile in her eyes.

“See?” she said proudly. “That’s my best friend’s car. She sent it specifically to pick me up.”

She looked me up and down.

“You’re not going to claim you’re getting in that car too, are you?”

She laughed and walked toward the exit.

I shook my head at her silliness. 

My phone beeped suddenly however and I glanced down.

It was a message from the driver revealing he had already arrived.

And there was only one vehicle waiting outside. So where could he have parked?

To avoid any misunderstanding, I stepped outside and compared the license plate with the number in the message.

My entire body went still at the result. It was the same!

I looked at the vehicle again. How was that possible?

Amanda, who had already reached the car, turned around.

She stared at me as though I had just committed some kind of crime.

“What are you doing?”

She sounded almost panicked now.

I suppose I couldn’t blame her.

From her perspective, it probably looked like I had planned everything but it wasn’t even my fault to begin with.

I didn’t even know who she was.

I looked up at her. “This is my ride.”

She froze for a second, then she burst into laughter.

“You’re kidding, right?”

I stared at her blankly. “Do I look like I’m laughing?”

Her laughter died instantly.

“You liar! What…” she was cut short as the door opened and the driver stepped out.

He wore a crisp uniform and had a professional smile plastered across his face.

“Ma’am. Sir.” He gave us a curt bow. “Please, come in.”

I turned toward Amanda at the exact same time she turned toward me. We both stared at each other for a moment and neither of us spoke.

There was no way this was happening.

“Don’t kid me!” Amanda suddenly yelled. “Do you know who I am?”

There she goes again.

I honestly wonder who this woman thought she was.

“There’s no way I’m riding with this paparazzi!”

I frowned. “Excuse me, but I’m not a paparazzo.”

She hesitated, then looked me over again, as though trying to figure out what kind of person I actually was.

“Then what are you if you’re not one?” she demanded. “You’ve been tailing me since God knows when, and now you’ve manipulated your way into riding with me?”

I released a tired sigh. I have absolutely no interest in arguing with a woman who had apparently decided I was a stalker before even knowing me.

When I didn’t respond, she turned toward the driver.

“I will be the only one entering this car.”

The driver hesitated. He looked exhausted too.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’ll have to take you both.”

Amanda folded her arms across her chest, visibly fuming. “Would you like to tell me why?”

The driver released an exasperated sigh. “I’m terribly sorry, ma’am, but an urgent emergency came up at the company. That left us with only one vehicle available, so we had to make do with this one. I was instructed to bring you both together.”

Together?

Could it be that my soon-to-be wife knew this woman?

Natalie handled every one of my rides and bookings.

Could Natalie also be the best friend Amanda had been talking about?

Amanda’s eyes widened as she stared back at me again.

I shrugged. “At least now you know I’m not a paparazzo.”

She continued to stare. And for once, she had absolutely nothing to say.