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Even if things between Stacia and I never become real, I'd rather have the time with her than the money without her.
Chapter Sixteen
Stacia
I stare at my fake fiancé’s mother, wondering what exactly she was able to dig up on me and who she might have talked to in my past. I can't help but wonder if she's the reason Logan keeps pretending he knows what's going on in my life.
What if he's not pretending? What if Logan got to her too, like he has gotten to everyone else in my life?
What if she found me and told him where I am?
With fear churning through me, I stare at her, not sure what to say or how to react. What can I say? Without knowing what she knows, I can't even stand up for myself. And if she got her information from Logan, it's over.
“There's no need to look so afraid, dear,” she says.
But I have every reason to believe that I should be absolutely terrified right now.
I shift in the raggedy seat, wishing I at least had a nicer place to talk to her. I can smell the permanent musty dankness that sticks to the air in this place, and I know she can too. This place isn't pretty to look at, and while I don't mind because I'm proud to have my own place after everything I've been through, I'm not exactly proud to have someone visiting. Especially not someone like Nathan's mother.
I know Nathan’s rich. I can't help but imagine she is, too. The way she carries herself, the clothing she's wearing, her expensive handbag, everything speaks to generational wealth, something I was never privy to, part of, or privileged enough to enjoy.
As it is, I'm just grateful she didn't get mugged walking through the parking lot clutching that thousand dollar purse in hand. At least I'm guessing it's super expensive. Brands aren't really my thing.
“I'm meeting my fiancés mom for the first time. Of course I'm afraid.” I offer her what I hope is a charming smile, although I'm sure I look more like a monster.
She tilts her head, giving me a look that says she's on to me and I don't have any secrets. A look that sends my heart plummeting to the very tips of my toes.
“I'd just like to ask if there's anything you'd like to tell me.” She sits upright in her chair with the regal posture of a queen.
“Oh, where to start. I was a straight A student. I wasn't on the cheerleading squad because I preferred gymnastics, not that my family could afford the lessons. I didn't complete my college degree because life got in the way-” Even as I'm listing things off, trying to be funny and relatable and likable, she waves a hand at me and stops me short.
“Come on now, we both know that's not what I'm talking about.”
Well, if this ship is going to sink, I might as well light it on fire first. “You caught me. I fell in with the wrong crowd, made some bad decisions, ruined my life and ran away.” I keep the words as upbeat as possible, but as I say them, as I think about everything that's happened, my eyes begin to well up with tears. I struggled to hold them back, not wanting to cry or look weak in front of anyone, much less her.
With my admission, she leans forward and pats my knee.
“I don't think all the blame was yours now. Some people are really good at tricking you, making you comfortable, making you let your guard down. Trust me, I know.” Something in the way she says the words tells me that she's been through some awful moments in her life.
“Just remember that what you've been through is not who you are. Those things are over now. Consider them lessons learned instead of weights pulling you under.” She offers me a sweet smile and I want to pull her into a hug.
But that's just it. She is wrong. My problems are still weighing me down, dragging me under, and eventually they'll probably drown me. It's just a question of when, not if.
There is no escaping Logan. I'm not going to give him any control, but I know eventually he will get back into my life. He will cause problems and he'll probably split me and Nathan up. For some reason, that thought really bothers me, and I have to remind myself that this is a fake engagement, not a real one.
“How much do you know?” I ask, curious what she's figured out or heard.
“To know that you're the victim of a swindler. And because I know something about you, and we're on very unequal footing right now, I'd like you to know that my family was also taken in by a swindler, and it ruined our lives. It almost cost my husband his life. My sons saved us.” I can see the pride in her eyes as she speaks and I think about Nathan.
“Nathan really does like to save people, but in a way that makes them feel like they're saving themselves.” Everything that he's done for me has been to bolster me, to lift me up, to give me the boost I need to make the right decisions in my life. He's there. A rock, a port in the storm. Somebody that I can trust and turn to. Somebody that will always have my back no matter what. And now, talking to his mother, I doubt that it's just him putting on a front.
When I told him that my ex is a manipulator who will try to con him out of money, he could have just decided to hunt him down and pummel him or threaten him or whatever it is rich guys do to the thorns in their side. Instead, he told me he'd help me. He'd offered support and advice. He wasn't going to step in and solve my problems for me, he was going to stand shoulder to shoulder with me while we solved them together. That’s a special kind of man.
“Exactly; you understand him.” She glances around the room before her gaze comes back to me, and I try not to wince under the weight of her stare.
“I know you're ashamed of where you're at, but I'm proud of you. You’ve come so far, dear.”
Her words have me welling up with tears once more, and I struggle to fight them back. Never in a million years did I expect this, especially not with the way she'd opened the conversation.
