I Kissed A Complete Stranger To Escape My Stalker — And Ended Up In A Fake Relationship With A Billionaire
Part 1
The worst decision of my life lasted exactly five seconds.
That is how long it took for me to grab a complete stranger by the collar and kiss him in the middle of a crowded train station.
I was not thinking about the consequences.
I was only thinking about the heavy footsteps echoing behind me on the polished marble floor.
My lungs burned as I pushed through the sea of evening commuters.
Normally, a station packed with hundreds of people would have made me feel safe.
That night, no matter where I turned, I kept seeing the same man in a gray baseball cap watching me.
Paranoia had become my constant companion over the last week.
Strange messages had appeared on my phone.
An unfamiliar car had parked outside my apartment building for three days straight.
I tightened my grip on my purse and rushed toward the downtown platform.
The train schedule above me flashed a delay notice.
Seven minutes felt like a death sentence.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw him again.
He was not rushing or hiding.
He was just walking and watching me with terrifying patience.
My pulse hammered against my ribs as I weaved through travelers dragging heavy suitcases.
I reached for my phone, but the underground level had absolutely zero signal.
The footsteps behind me seemed to grow louder.
Then I saw him standing near a marble column.
He looked completely still while the rest of the world rushed blindly around him.
He wore a dark overcoat, a tailored black suit, and kept his hands casually tucked into his pockets.
Several men stood nearby, scanning the crowd with professional intensity.
I immediately recognized what they were.
They were security details.
People subconsciously gave this man space without even realizing they were doing it.
I knew exactly who he was, because everyone in the city knew Dan.
He was a notoriously powerful businessman shrouded in intimidating rumors.
My heart skipped a beat as a reckless, possibly insane idea formed in my mind.
The man in the gray cap stepped onto my level and locked eyes with me.
I made my choice.
I crossed the distance before my courage could evaporate.
Dan noticed me instantly, his dark eyes sharp and completely unreadable.
For a split second, I almost stopped.
Then the stalker took another step toward me.
I lunged forward, grabbed the front of Dan’s coat, rose onto my toes, and pressed my lips against his.
The noise of the station completely vanished.
My brain stopped functioning as the shock of my own actions washed over me.
When I finally pulled away, my entire body was trembling.
Dan stared down at me.
He did not look angry or confused.
He studied me with an intensity that made it difficult to draw a breath.
His eyes flicked past my shoulder, locking onto the man in the gray cap.
“Interesting choice,” Dan said quietly.
His voice was smooth and dangerously controlled.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
“Just for one minute.”
Something shifted in his expression, and one corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“Play along,” he murmured.
His arm settled firmly around my waist in a protective, convincing gesture.
My heart nearly stopped beating.
I heard movement behind me as the stalker paused.
Dan’s gaze lifted over my shoulder, cold and direct.
Whatever silent message passed between them did not require any words.
After several agonizing seconds, the man in the gray cap turned and vanished into the crowd.
Relief hit me so hard my knees nearly buckled.
“There,” Dan said softly.
“Your problem seems to be leaving.”
I exhaled a shaky breath and thanked him.
“You are welcome, Megan,” he replied.
All the blood instantly drained from my face.
I had never told him my name.
The faint amusement vanished from his expression.
“Now,” he said, glancing toward his security team as they moved closer.
“Why don’t you tell me why someone is hunting you?”
I realized escaping the stalker might have been the easy part.
Dan guided me to a quiet coffee stand at the edge of the station.
He ordered me a drink and waited patiently while I tried to stop shaking.
I told him everything about the messages, the strange encounters, and the constant feeling of being watched.
I expected him to brush off my fears.
Instead, he listened intently, asking sharp questions about my routine and my recent breakup with Craig.
When I finished, Dan stood up and told me I was not going home.
I argued, but he pointed out that my apartment was the first place the stalker would look.
Before I could fully process the madness of the situation, I was sitting in the back of a black SUV.
The vehicle whisked me away to a private underground garage beneath a towering glass skyscraper.
A private elevator carried us up to a penthouse that looked like something out of an architectural magazine.
Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a breathtaking view of the sparkling city below.
I sat nervously on the edge of an expensive sofa while Dan made a phone call.
When he returned, his expression was grim.
His security team had checked my apartment building and found the man in the gray cap waiting outside my door.
The fear I had been fighting all week rushed back with crushing force.
“You are safe here,” Dan told me.
I desperately wanted to believe him.
The next morning, Dan proposed an arrangement that sounded completely insane.
He wanted me to stay under his protection for thirty days.
In exchange, I had to pretend to be his girlfriend.
He calmly explained that anyone watching me would back off if they believed I belonged to him.
His logic was infuriatingly sound.
I spent the entire day pacing the penthouse, weighing my options.
When one of his staff members handed me a folder filled with surveillance photos of the stalker following me, my decision was made.
I agreed to the thirty days.
I thought I was making a smart, calculated choice to stay safe.
I had no idea how complicated things were about to become.
Three nights later, Dan took me to a charity gala at an exclusive hotel.
We played our parts perfectly, navigating the crowded ballroom as a united front.
I slipped away to find a quiet hallway to catch my breath.
That is when I saw him.
The man in the gray cap was standing near an open doorway, speaking casually to another guest.
My stomach plummeted as raw panic seized my throat.
Before I could turn and run, Dan appeared from the opposite direction.
He saw my terrified expression and followed my gaze down the hall.
The stalker had already slipped away, but Dan’s jaw clenched tight.
I asked him if he knew the man hunting me.
Dan did not answer immediately, and the heavy silence told me everything I needed to know.
He finally exhaled slowly, looking more exhausted than I had ever seen him.
“He is my cousin, Brian,” Dan confessed.
