Our Accidental Forever
Chapter 92: Celebration & Distraction

Chapter 92: Celebration & Distraction

Ella’s POV:

The sound of my phone ringing broke the comfortable silence in the penthouse. I glanced at the screen and smiled when I saw Kate’s name flashing. Answering, I barely had time to say "Hello" before her voice burst through the speaker.

"Ella! I’m here, standing in the lobby, and your receptionist won’t let me up. Apparently, ’I’m here to celebrate my best friend’s new relationship’ isn’t a valid reason to be let into a penthouse," she said, her tone dripping with faux outrage.

I laughed, already picturing her tapping her foot impatiently in front of the desk. "Kate, you could’ve told me you were coming earlier. I’ll call them now to let you up."

"You should’ve just known," she retorted playfully. "Best friend telepathy, Ella. We need to work on it."

Rolling my eyes, I ended the call and immediately dialed the front desk. "Hi, this is Ella. My friend Kate is downstairs, please let her up."

"Of course, Miss Ella," the receptionist replied, her voice professional and calm.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Kate standing there, her signature grin firmly in place, holding a bottle of champagne in one hand and a large tote bag slung over her shoulder.

"Finally," she said, pushing past me into the penthouse like she owned the place. She stopped mid-step and let out a dramatic gasp. "Oh. My. God. This place is stunning.

Wow. Just wow. Is this what love gets you? I mean, if so, I demand my apartment burn down immediately. I need a prince charming to rescue me and give me this!"

I shut the door behind her and rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t help but laugh. "Kate, you’re ridiculous. You don’t need your apartment to burn down, you need to stop shopping at discount furniture stores and blaming the furniture for falling apart."

Kate turned to me with a faux-offended gasp. "Excuse me, Ella, my furniture is ’vintage.’ I just need a millionaire husband to make it ’eclectic.’"

I shook my head and laughed. "Well, good luck with that. Now, are you here to celebrate my officially real my love life, or are we planning a con to get you a penthouse of your own?"

"Can’t we do both?" she said with a sly grin, setting the champagne on the counter and dramatically flopping onto the couch.

I grabbed two glasses and joined her, trying to suppress my amusement. This was typical Kate, always over the top, but always with the best intentions.

"So," Kate said, patting the seat beside her. "Spill the tea. And I mean all of it. No holding back. What’s it like to be finally in a real relationship with Prince Perfect? How was it sleeping with him again after, you know, the first time?"

I nearly choked on the breath I’d just taken. "Kate!"

"What? Don’t act all shocked. You knew this was coming," she said, grinning wickedly. "Now tell me! I live vicariously through you. Was it fireworks? Butterflies? Did you hear angels singing? Or was it more of a passionate, rip-each-other’s-clothes-off kind of night?"

I covered my face with my hands, my cheeks burning. "You’re impossible."

"And you’re avoiding the question. Come on, Ella, we both know I’m not leaving here without details." She nudged me playfully. "Was it better this time? Or was more better than the last time.?"

I groaned, torn between laughter and exasperation. "You are shameless and you are not making any sense."

"Whatever you say, but I knew you love me for it. Now talk!"

I sighed, knowing there was no way to escape this. "Okay, fine. Yes, it was...amazing. Happy now?"

Kate’s eyes lit up, and she squealed, clapping her hands like a kid on Christmas morning. "I knew it! I knew he’d be the perfect mix of romantic and hot! Ugh, I hate you a little bit right now."

I laughed, shaking my head. "You’re unbelievable."

"Tell me everything. What led to it? How did it happen? Leave no detail unspoken."

I hesitated, trying to figure out how to condense everything into a version that wouldn’t give Kate enough ammunition to tease me for the next century. "Well, like I told you on the phone, it started with Arec taking me to the arcade. Then we went to karaoke..."

"Karaoke?" she interrupted. "He sings? Please tell me he sings like an angel."

I laughed. "He tries. That’s all I’ll say about that. But it was fun, and by the end of the night, I invited him back here. One thing led to another..."

"And you two got reacquainted in the most intimate way possible," Kate finished for me, wiggling her eyebrows. "Did he sleep on the left side of the bed?"

I couldn’t help but laugh again, wondering where she’s going with that question. "Yes, he did. And he hogs all the blankets."

"See? Domestic bliss! I’m telling you, Ella, this is it. The real deal. You’re living the dream," she said, throwing her arms out dramatically. "But let’s not forget the most important question: is the wedding still taking place?"

I smiled, her enthusiasm infectious. "Of course. It’s just will be a real wedding this time."

Kate squealed again, pulling me into a tight hug. "Yes! Best news of the year. Okay, now that we’ve celebrated you, can we move on to the champagne and maybe discuss how I can manifest my own Prince Charming?"

"Sure," I said, laughing. "But no burning down your apartment. You might want to start with, you know, dating."

Kate smirked, pouring us each a glass of champagne. "Ella. We’ll get to me later. For now, you’re the main event."

As I watched her raise her glass with a mischievous grin, I realized how lucky I was to have a friend like Kate, someone who could turn even the most embarrassing conversations into moments of joy.

---

Arec’s POV:

The clock ticked on the office wall, each sound louder and more obnoxious than usual. I sat at the head of the long conference table, nodding occasionally as the finance team droned on about projections and quarterly results.

Normally, this was where I thrived, analyzing numbers, making decisions, and steering the company toward success. But today, I couldn’t focus to save my life.

Ella. She was all I could think about.

I tapped my pen against my notepad, pretending to take notes while my mind wandered back to last night. Her laugh, bright and genuine, still echoed in my ears. Her touch, soft, tentative at first but growing more confident, lingered on my skin like a warm memory refusing to fade.

"Mr. Weston, would you like to weigh in on this?"

The question jolted me back to reality. I looked up to see the finance director staring at me, his expression polite but expectant. I had no idea what he’d been talking about for the past five minutes.

"Yes, I think that’s... reasonable," I said, hoping it sounded like a relevant response.

The director nodded, satisfied, and continued his presentation. I exhaled quietly, grateful to have dodged that bullet. But my reprieve was short-lived. My thoughts drifted again, to the way Ella had looked this morning, curled up in bed, her hair had been a mess, her smile sleepy but radiant.

"Mr. Weston?"

I blinked and looked to my right. My temporary assistant, Daniel, was standing beside me with a folder in hand. He offered it to me, his expression cautious.

"These need your signature," he said softly, probably noticing the dazed look in my eyes.

"Of course," I said, taking the folder.

I flipped through the pages, my mind still stuck on Ella. As I signed the documents, I found myself wondering what she was doing now. Was she still in the penthouse, lounging in bed? Or had she went out to hang out with her friend?

"Sir," Daniel said gently.

I looked up, startled. "What is it?"

"You just signed the wrong section," he said, pointing to the page in front of me.

Sure enough, my signature was sprawled across a line clearly marked Not for signature. I sighed, grabbing a pen to fix it. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Daniel said, though I could tell he was trying not to smile. He probably thought I was sleep-deprived or overworked. If only he knew the truth.

The meeting dragged on, but I barely registered a word of it. My colleagues exchanged charts, graphs, and projections while I stared blankly at my notepad, where I’d absentmindedly drawn a small heart in the corner. I quickly scratched it out, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed.

By the time the meeting ended, I was mentally drained from trying to appear engaged. I retreated to my office, grateful for a moment of solitude. But even then, my thoughts were far from work.

I sank into my chair and loosened my tie, letting out a long breath. My desk was piled with reports and emails demanding my attention, but instead of tackling them, I found myself staring out the window.

Ella. The thought of her made me smile despite myself. Last night, we’d crossed a line I’d been toeing for far too long. And this morning, as we’d talked and laughed over breakfast, it had hit me just how much she meant to me. She wasn’t just my fiancée by circumstance anymore, she was now the woman I wanted by my side

.

My phone buzzed on the desk, snapping me out of my thoughts. I grabbed it, for one second I thought it was Sam. It wasn’t, it was a calendar reminder for my next meeting.

I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face. Focus, Arec. You’re a vice president of a major company, for God’s sake. But no matter how much I tried to reel my thoughts back to work, they kept wandering to her.

Grabbing my phone, I opened a blank message to Ella. I hesitated, my thumb hovering over the keyboard. Was it too soon to text her? Would she think I was ridiculous for checking in so soon?

Finally, I typed: How’s your day going?

Before I could second-guess myself, I hit send.

A few minutes later, her reply came through: Better now that I’ve heard from you.

I grinned like an idiot, leaning back in my chair. For the first time all day, my mind felt at ease.

There was a knock at my door.

"Come in," I called, quickly straightening up.

Daniel stepped inside, holding another stack of documents. "These are for the afternoon review," he said, setting them on my desk.

"Thanks," I said, giving him a distracted nod.

He hesitated, then asked, "Is everything alright, Mr. Weston?"

I glanced up at him, caught off guard. "Why do you ask?"

"You just seem... preoccupied today," he said carefully.

I smiled faintly. "I’m fine, Daniel. Just a lot on my mind."

He didn’t look convinced but nodded anyway and left the room.