TABLOID INTRO
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
KHALID AND ROMAN MAKE RARE PUBLIC APPEARANCE TOGETHER—AND THE TENSION IS EXPLOSIVE
The Saudi prince and actress Roman Helton attended the same industry gala last night, and sources say they were barely able to keep their hands off each other. But here's where it gets interesting: they also couldn't seem to keep their eyes off other people. Roman was spotted being very friendly with co-star Marcus Chen. And Khalid? He looked like he was about to murder someone. Was this a lovers' quarrel or a very public power play?
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TMZ
KHALID AND ROMAN AT SAME GALA: THE SEXUAL TENSION WAS SUFFOCATING
The prince and actress arrived separately but were clearly together. And when Roman started flirting with her Midnight Film co-star? Khalid's reaction was IMMEDIATE. His jaw clenched. His eyes went dark. He looked like he wanted to burn the building down. Then they had a very heated conversation at the bar. No kiss. No reconciliation. Just raw chemistry and tension.
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PAGE SIX
IS THIS THE MOMENT KHALID AND ROMAN'S RELATIONSHIP OFFICIALLY WENT PUBLIC?
They were at the same event. They clearly knew each other. And when she flirted with another man, he reacted like a man who was about to lose his mind. The question is: will he actually claim her? Or are they going to keep playing this dangerous game?
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NARRATIVE
He's already at the breaking point when he arrives at the gala.
Three days since the hair incident. Three days of not seeing her. Three days of replaying the moment her fingers touched his neck over and over again. Three days of lying awake at night thinking about Sunday, about her apartment, about her finally asking him to touch her.
He's been existing in a state of physical agitation that's borderline painful.
So when he sees her across the ballroom, wearing a silver dress that clings to her in ways that should be illegal, he has to grip his drink to keep his hands steady.
She sees him. Makes eye contact. Smiles like she knows exactly what she's doing to him.
Then she turns to the man next to her—Marcus Chen, some actor from her film—and she leans against his shoulder like they're intimate.
Khalid's vision goes red for a moment.
He watches her touch Marcus's arm. Watches her laugh at something he says. Watches her position her body close to his in a way that's eerily similar to what she did at the first gala, except this time, Khalid knows exactly what she's doing.
She's testing him publicly.
She's pushing him in front of hundreds of witnesses to see if he'll break.
It's brilliant and cruel and absolutely calculated, and he's going to lose his mind if she keeps it up.
He sets down his drink and walks directly to the bar where she's now standing with Marcus, leaning against it like she doesn't have a care in the world.
"We need to talk," he says, and his voice is dangerous. Quiet. The kind of dangerous that makes people step back.
Marcus actually does step back.
Roman turns to him slowly, and he can see the satisfaction in her eyes. She's won this round. She's made him break his composure in public.
"Now," Khalid says.
She follows him to a quiet corner near the terrace, and the moment they're out of sight of most of the party, he leans against the wall and just looks at her for a long moment.
"You were flirting with him," he says.
"I was being friendly," she says.
"You were sending a very specific message."
"Which was?"
"That you can touch other men." He pauses. "That you're testing me."
She doesn't deny it.
"Why?" he asks. "After three days of silence, after we made plans for Sunday, after you called me—why push me tonight?"
"Because," she says, and her voice is sharp, "I wanted to see what you'd do. I wanted to see if you'd actually claim me publicly or if you'd just let me walk away with someone else."
"So this was a test."
"Its fun," she says. "Well at least for me"
He steps closer. Just one step, but it's enough that the air between them becomes charged.
"You're playing a dangerous game," he says.
"I know that too," she says, and there's something like satisfaction in her voice. "That's the point."
He reaches out and takes her wrist gently, not threatening, just holding her in place.
"You want me to claim you?" he says softly. "You want me to mark you as mine in front of all these people?"
"Maybe," she says.
"Say it," he says. "Say you want me to claim you."
She looks at him, and her pupils are dilated, and her breathing is elevated, and she's completely turned on by this.
"I want you to claim me," she says.
He brings her wrist up to his mouth and he kisses the inside of it. A slow, deliberate kiss. Then he looks at her, and his eyes are completely dark now.
"Go back out there," he says. "Say goodbye to Marcus. Tell him you're leaving. And then go to your car and wait for me."
"Khalid—"
"Don't argue with me," he says. His voice is still quiet but it's absolute. "You pushed me tonight. You wanted me to break. Consider me broken. Now go."
She hesitates for only a moment. Then she nods.
She goes back into the party, and he watches from the shadows as she extracts herself from the social obligations. She's graceful about it, charming, but she's clearly leaving. And when she passes Marcus, she doesn't even look at him.
Khalid waits fifteen minutes. Not to cool down—he's far past cooling down—but because leaving immediately after her would be too obvious, and he's not going to give the tabloids the satisfaction of knowing exactly what he's about to do.
When he exits the gala, she's already in her car.
She rolls down the window as he approaches.
"Follow me," he says. "We're not going to your apartment. We're going to mine."
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The drive is torture.
He can see her car in front of him the entire way, and all he can think about is her in that silver dress, and her fingers on his neck three days ago, and the way she said "I want you to claim me."
By the time they get to his penthouse, he's barely human.
He opens her car door and takes her hand, and he doesn't let go the entire walk to the elevator. Doesn't let go in the elevator. Doesn't let go until they're inside his apartment and the door is closed.
Then he does.
Because if he doesn't, he's going to lose all control, and he wants her to be completely sure about what she's asking for.
"Before we do this," he says, "I need you to understand something."
She's breathing heavily. Her dress is wrinkled from the car ride. Her hair is slightly messed. She looks absolutely ruined already, and he hasn't even touched her yet.
"What?" she asks.
"You're going to feel me everywhere. You're going to see marks on your body that are going to remind you exactly how much I want you."
"Okay," she says, and her voice is steady.
"And you're not going to flirt with other men at parties. You're not going to test me like that again. Because now you know what happens when you push me."
"Are you setting rules?" she asks, and there's a challenge in her voice.
"Yes," he says. "I am. You want to be claimed? You're claimed. You want me to own you? You're owned. But that means you don't get to play those games anymore."
She steps closer. Right up to him. She's looking up at him with something like defiance in her eyes.
"And if I want to play the games?" she asks.
He reaches up and takes her face in his hands, and his thumbs brush her cheekbones.
"Then you're going to learn what I do when you disobey," he says. "And I promise you, Roman, you're going to like it a lot more than you think you will."
Then he kisses her.
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TABLOID OUTRO
DAILY MAIL
KHALID'S PUBLIC CLAIM: IS THE PRINCE FINALLY MAKING ROMAN HELTON OFFICIAL?
The prince's reaction to Roman flirting with Marcus Chen was possessive. Territorial. The reaction of a man who's done playing games. Sources say he whisked her away from the party. They disappeared together. By morning, the question wasn't "are they together?" The question was: "how completely claimed is Roman Helton?"
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PAGE SIX
KHALID'S DARK MOMENT AT THE GALA: THIS IS NOT THE RESTRAINED PRINCE WE KNEW
Something's changed. The prince who was carefully maintaining distance for weeks suddenly looked like he wanted to burn down the building. When Roman flirted with another man, he didn't ask politely for a conversation. He demanded it. And when he left the party, she left with him. Whatever's happening between them is past the point of no return.
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TMZ
Video: Khalid leaving the gala alone, 15 minutes after Roman left. His jaw is clenched. His eyes are completely dark. He looks like a man on a mission.
Caption: "KHALID IS ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING. THE SEXUAL TENSION WAS SUFFOCATING AND NOW IT'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE" 🔥🔥🔥
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HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
THE MOMENT KHALID BECAME ROMAN'S: A TURNING POINT
The prince's reaction at the gala wasn't jealousy. It was ownership. It was a man claiming what's his. And Roman? She walked out with him without hesitation. Whatever's about to happen between them, it's going to change everything.