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The need to pat myself on the back is a more welcome feeling than the one from a few seconds ago. I’m even more surprised that feigning that Dash means more to me wasn’t as foreign or tough as I pondered. Or that instead of it leaving a bad taste in my mouth, all it left was a strange warmth in my bones. Maybe we’re both natural liars and I can do this after all.
Pretend I’m madly in love with a man who infuriates me.
Pretend I’m his devoted wife when we can’t even stand each other.
Pretend he’s my forever when we already have an end date.
“You’re right, kid,” says my dad, shocking me and Mom. “But you have to understand that it’s a lot for us to process since you’ve sprung it out of nowhere. Your mother has been dreaming of this day to come, just not quite like this. It’ll take time to accept it.”
“I know, Papa.” My shoulders slump. Still, he’s not suspicious so that has to count.
The small trace of softness vanishes from his face as he turns to Dash. “How long have you been seeing my daughter?”
Fuck. My mind blanks and panic swells in my chest because I know we’re not prepared for an interrogation. Something we could have avoided had he not decided to make his surprised grand entrance.
I gasp silently when his large hand curls around my thigh to seize my nervous tapping, away from my parents’ eyes. The tips of his fingers dangerously and indecently close to my pussy.
It distracts me from my rapidly beating heart as I focus on his voice. His words, yanking the ground from beneath me and tilting it on its axis.
“Seeing isn’t the word I’d choose.” His gaze softens. “I’ve been in love with Bianca for as long as I can remember. Though it took her a while to finally see me and confess she feels the same.”
I stare at his profile speechlessly when my mother asks, “When did you two meet?”
“Seven years ago.”
“For the first time, yes,” I add before he can mention Niall and reveal more. “We stayed in touch until he moved here and I couldn’t deny I wanted him.”
“So this is a whirlwind romance?” My mom’s lips purse in distaste. “Your marriage doesn’t stand a chance. I don’t approve of this.”
“Approve?” I jerk back, aghast. “It’s my life. My future.”
“You won’t have my blessing.”
“Meera.” My dad sighs, laying his hand on my mom’s curled fist on the table. “Let’s all calm down.”
The rough scrape of the chair pushing back on my right stills all of us. I whip my head to the side just in time to see Dash get up, eyes thunderous while the rest of his face remains impassive.
My mouth drops open when he tugs on my hand until I’m standing in the crook of his arm and declares, “We’re leaving.”
Chapter Nineteen
DASH
Jesus. What the hell am I doing?
Bianca had made the plan sound like a piece of cake, except she forgot to mention her parents are complete assholes. No wonder she is willing to have a sham marriage.
I should walk the fuck away from this dysfunctional family without another look back.
The rational side of my brain, warning me that this is an unnecessary complication. That it was a mistake coming here. I shouldn’t give a fuck and stick to my decision that I told Bianca last night.
But I just fucking can’t.
She has got her claws inside me yet again. It’s etched so deep, that there’s no pulling them out, consequences be damned.
Because when it comes to her, I’ve never been rational. It isn’t even in the spectrum of feelings she makes me long for. Only a twisted obsession that aches to consume her alive and me with it.
Her vulnerability triggers a deep seated impulse to be her hero when I’ve only ever been the villain.
