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Remy
Ican’tstoppacingaround my whole apartment, because the nerves for tonight are damn near overwhelming. I need tonight to go well, just to take one of the horrible worries off my shoulders. If Mom can justseethat Zoe and I are together, and she can just accept our engagement, then I can concentrate on everything else swirling rapidly around me.
The press have accepted it. The stories showing Zoe and I all look great. The internet is mostly positive as well, but I have learned over time never to expect too much of it. There arealwaysgoing to be people who have horrible things to say. Some people want to be nasty about me and my age, about me using my billions to get myself a younger woman who’s much too beautiful for me. Others are nasty about Zoe, calling her a gold digger and worse… but the majority is good, and the public really seems to believe in the engagement.
It's only my mom now, so today is absolutely massive. Itneedsto work out for us.
Itdoeslook like Zoe lives here though. I think we’ve done a good job of that. There’s clothing in my wardrobe, toiletries in the bathroom, photos on the wall… we’ve made it look great, but this is my hawk-eyed mother. If there is something to find, then she will find it.
“It’s going to be fine,” Zoe calls across the room to me. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this.”
She should be the one panicking actually, but somehow tonight she’s remained calm and in control. I guess because we’ve talked this through until the bitter freaking end, covering absolutely everything that we need to, and how to cope if things go wrong. I shouldn’t be panicking that it won’t seem like a real relationship when the chemistry is oh so real, and we keep accidentally basically ending up in bed together. But I still am. I can’t help myself.
Maybe I should be the one playing with Wyatt, because Zoe is having a great time with him. She doesn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders like I do. This really does seem to be because of my son as well, and not just because our “relationship” is working out well for her.
“You’re right,” I reply, even though Zoe isn’t listening any longer. She’s back to the game, smiling and laughing with my son. “We can get through this. We have to.”
I stare out the window once more, taking in my view of the city, trying to focus on the bigger picture here rather than just the strain of this damn dinner. I’m honestly starting to wish that I’d just cancelled it, or not allowed my mother to talk me into it in the first place. She did this to manipulate me, and I let her get away with it just because I know she wants what’s best for me and for Wyatt. When am I going to learn that she can’t always win?
The knocking at the door alerts me to the fact that Mom is here. I meet Zoe’s eyes, spotting a spark of fear there. We share that! But it’s too late for me to back out now, so with a deep sigh I head for the door and open it, unlocking what’s bound to be a crazy can of worms.
She can’t still distrust Zoe,I try my hardest to convince myself.Look at her, playing with Wyatt and making him smile. Why would Mom cause any more issues here?
Actually, that’s a question I don’t need answering. Not yet. I’m sure I’m about to find out. I unlock the door and plaster a smile on my face to greet my mother…
“Mom?” I dart my eyes between her and a guest. What the fuck is happeningnow?
“Oh, yes, you see I brought a guest with me,” Mom laughs, clearly extremely happy with herself. “Because it’s been a long time since we’ve all been together. I thought it might be nice to have your best friend with us as well. You don’t mind, do you?”
I have no choice but to shake my head as her and Freddie step inside my home, even though I’m overwhelmed with horror. Not because I don’t want Freddie here, but because his presence does complicate things. There’s no escaping that. I know Zoe will freak out as well.
How the hell are we going to make everything look real enough to convince my mother, and fake so Freddie doesn’t realize there’s something actually happening here. Now, Zoe and I aren’t just trying to hide something that accidentally happened years ago, which may possibly have been forgiven if we ever got found out because it was forever ago. Now we have to try and hide us now. We have to disguise the fact that we can’t keep our freaking hands off of one another.
Mom has done this on purpose. She knows exactly what she’s doing. This is her ploy to try and make Zoe crack, so I guess we have to double down and play this even better. Determination surges through me because it’s almost become a stupid game of chess. I won’t let Mom beat me. Not when it comes to my own life.
Iknowthat she’s helped me out and made life a lot easier since Lisa passed away, but there are limits, and this bull shit has really pushed me to the freaking edge. My fists curl up angrily by my side as I realize that this is a battlefield now. I need to get Freddie alone at some point so I can make sure that he’s on my side. I’m sure he will be, since he knows what’s happening here, but I can’t help worrying how far my mother has spread her manipulation.
“I’m going to get drinks,” Zoe declares, much too brightly. “Remy, do you want to help me?”
Anxiously, I follow her into the kitchen where I feel the same energy burning off of her too. She mouths words at me, which I don’t pick up on until I get near enough.
“What are we going to do?” she whispers quietly as we make drinks almost on autopilot. It actually does look like we’ve been living together for a while because we’re in sync. “Freddie changes everything. He’s mad at me already, he hasn’t been the same since the photos…”
I rest my hand reassuringly on top of hers, to try and calm her down. “Freddie knows what we’re doing and why. He’s on our side here, don’t forget that.”
She nods, but I don’t sense certainty. If Zoe isn’t sure that Freddie is on our side, then what the hell are we going to do? How can I turn Freddie back around to us?
“I’ll get him in a moment,” I whisper as she grabs hold of a couple of drinks to being back in with us. “I’ll talk to him, don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
The atmosphere is colder now, this new turn of events has done just what I’m sure my mother thought it would. She wants to see the cracks between Zoe and I. She wants us to fall apart so she can be proven right. And Freddie really might be the person to help with that.
I lean down to kiss Zoe, to reassure her that way, but she snatches away before our lips can connect. Damn it, of course we can’t actually kiss. Not in front of Freddie. What might have been a great little gesture in front of my mother is much more complex now.
“Come on,” she says with a pink flush staining her cheeks now. “Let’s do this.”
We find Mom fussing over Wyatt as Freddie scrolls aimlessly through his cell phone. He doesn’t look like he particularly wants to be here, which has me wondering why he came. Is thisjustbecause of my mother, or is he still angry too? We’ve talked a little ever since the press photos leaked, but I guess Zoe is right. It hasn’t been the same since that night. I’ve been all caught up in everything, but it’s true, our friendship has suffered because of this plan.
Even though tonight is messed up enough, I need to try and see where Freddie and I stand as well. Great, just another stressor to pile on. Like I need that!
