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Her words sting, but I'm not about to stop unless she asks or tells me to.
“I accept that it's fake, but with your permission, I want to continue acting like it's real. That way we continue being believable.” I'm the one telling lies. This might be fake to her, but it's real to me. I'm in love with her. There's no one on this planet I want more than her, and I want to make her happy. I want to make her my wife for real.
Clearly that's not an option, so my plan now is just to enjoy her. As long as she's a part of my life, I'm going to treat her the way I want to treat her, which is like she's the most important person in my existence. She presses her forehead to mine as I fill her in a smooth thrust.
“Don't stop,” she whispers.
Don't worry, love, I won't.
When we wake, both of our phones are trilling, chirping, and ringing like crazy. My heart sinks and somehow I sense that something important has happened. The night before was heaven, and I have no idea what could possibly ruin our day. Still, given the amount of noise and traffic both our phones seem to have, something has clearly gone wrong in the space of the time we've spent sleeping.
Stacia rolls over to face me, her eyes sleepy, and her expression concerned.
“Who would be calling at this hour on our wedding morning?” she asks, as if I can answer the question for her.
I have no idea, but I'd like to strangle whoever it is. They ruined my idea for a perfect morning. Waking her up with breakfast in bed, hoping for another intimate session, enjoying Stacia and every second we have together.
After the time we've spent together, one thing is for certain, I can definitely imagine happily spending the rest of my life with her. Even now, the soft gasping sound of her moaning my name as she comes is stuck on repeat in my ears. I want nothing more than to ignore the phones, put them on silent, and climb on top of her once more.
She answers her phone, then bolts upright in bed. I can hear her ex’s excited voice on the other end of the phone as the phones go silent.
I have no doubt he was the one making everything go crazy. But why?
I pick up my phone and turn on my recording app that's delicate enough to pick up very quiet conversations.
“He's not your dad. He doesn't love you. It was all fake. I learned that it was fake. I know that it's not real.” Logan sounds unhinged like a small child who's learned the truth about Santa and belligerently can't wait to ruin it for everyone.
I see Stacia wince, and her concerned gaze meets mine.
“Don't try to lie or deny it. I know it's the truth.” Logan’s arrogant pride leaves me wondering who the hell clued him in. As far as I know, Stacia and I didn't tell anyone our deal, which only leaves one option. He must have hacked her phone somehow and gotten a hold of her text message conversations where we'd discussed the plan.
“And I'm going to tell everyone you know, everyone who knows you and every news media outlet that will listen to me if you don't give me... uh.... uh... a million dollars!” He’s like an over excited Chihuahua, bouncing around barking loudly without really instilling any fear in anyone.
But that's just it. I should be afraid. Everyone's about to find out the secret. My parents are going to be hurt. My ex fiancée is going to be upset. And the world is going to know that I did something shady, underhanded and hurtful. But it doesn't bother me as much as the realization that this moment might cost me Stacia.
“Fine, don't say anything, then I'll just go make some phone calls.” Logan seems to wait a second, and Stacia’s stunned gaze meets mine, as if she just has no idea what to say. I don't think either of us really considered the possibility of getting caught, and now that we are, I don't have a game plan.
“Really nothing to say, you guys? I guess you're OK with everybody finding out the truth then.” Logan lets out a harsh, barking laugh.
Stacia seems frozen in place, a terrified look in her eyes, as if she's once again being victimized by this jerk who controlled her life for so long and stole so much from her.
“Or you could just pay me, which would be easier.” Logan seems to be losing steam and confidence in his threats.
I'm just sitting here wondering how to help Stacia through and what to do if he really does break our secret wide open. There's no way I'm going to pay the bastard - that would just incentivize him to keep doing the same thing. Where would it end? When would he stop? Never. He would just milk me for money forever.
Her ex finally seems annoyed and ends the call.
Stacia hasn't moved and I pull her into my arms. “It’s OK. No matter what, we'll figure it out.”
She seems numb, and that worries me more than anything that her stupid ex could try to do to us. A few moments later, my phone rings. It's my mom and brother, both on the same call.
For moment, all we do is say hello, and then nobody says anything.
Until my mom decides it's time to break the silence. “So we just received a very strange call and series of messages from a man who claims you two are faking everything.”
I opened my mouth fully, ready to admit everything and take any burden off Stacia's shoulders. But to my surprise, she snaps to attention and starts speaking in a calm, measured, even voice.
“It was me. I begged Nathan to marry me, to help me keep my ex away. That if he thought that I was taken, he'd give up and stop chasing me. It just seems to have made him worse. Nathan tried to save me and I just dragged him down.” She's staring at me while she speaks, and my heart is melting in my chest as she tries to protect me with every word she says.
