He smiled, continuing, "The more I look at this picture, the more it seems familiar."

Claudia's hand instinctively clenched the hem of her dress as she responded, "It must be your imagination!"

Bennett lifted his gaze to meet hers, questioning, "Doesn't this resemble the scene from the night I came to pick you up in the rain?" No, it didn't just resemble it; it was that very scene!

Claudia couldn't bring herself to admit this. She remained standing, frozen in awkwardness, Lamenting her earlier curiosity.

She stayed silent, but Bennett seemed unwilling to release her from the subject.

“Were our photos taken that night?"

Oh, if only there were an opportunity to undo what had been done!

Upon seeing her silence, Bennett's eyes drifted to her reddening earlobes. Concealing a smile behind his intense eyes, he looked down and said, "I won't trouble you further. You should go practice the piano."

At that moment, Claudia's mind was far from the piano. Her eyes fixated on the phone in Bennett's hand, she gathered her courage and decided to confess. "You're right. The truth is, the people in that photo are us."

"Oh, that explains why the woman in it looks so lovely."

Caught between delight and confusion at his compliment, Claudia found herself at a loss for words.

“Would you like to change the screensaver picture?"

"Why?"

The man's eyes met hers again.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of guilt under his gaze, Claudia averted her eyes, stammering, “What if others see it and misunderstand something?"

“Misunderstand what? That our relationship is something less than honorable?"

Bennett's soft laughter filled the room, “Claudia, haven't you forgotten that you're known as Mrs. Dreskin to the outside world? If I use this photo as my screensaver, others will simply think we're a loving couple.”

His laugh was deep and rich, causing Claudia's cheeks to turn an even deeper shade of red.

She stood there, her heart pounding. Even this man's Laughter was seductive.

He was so damn irresistible!

Last night, Claudia had been bested and left in retreat once more. When she shared this with Aurora, her cheeks turned red as she confessed.

“Aurora, if things keep going this way, I might actually fall in love with him

Aurora cheered her on. "Go for it, girl! You two are legally wed now. Embrace it boldly!"

Claudia's face grew warmer, and she protested, “But we have an agreement!"