Maxim Chen, founder and CEO of Apex Innovations. Net worth estimated at over two billion dollars. One of the youngest tech billionaires in the country. Known for being reclusive.
There are photos. Professional headshots, paparazzi shots. And they're all definitely the man currently sleeping naked in the bed behind me.
I'm not dating Max the mountain man wildlife consultant.
I'm dating Maxim Chen, tech billionaire.
And he's been lying to me about it since the moment we started talking.
I set his wallet back exactly where I found it, hands shaking. The betrayal hits like a physical blow. Everything we've shared has been built on a lie.
He made me fall for someone who doesn't exist.
I grab my dress and slip into the bathroom to get dressed. When I emerge, Max is awake, sitting up in bed with a lazy smile.
"Good morning, beautiful. Come back to bed."
"I need to go."
His smile fades at my tone. "What's wrong?"
"You tell me, Maxim."
I watch the color drain from his face as he realizes I know.
"Chantay, I can explain."
"Can you? Can you explain why you've been lying to me for two weeks about who you are?" My voice is steadier than I feel. "Can you explain why you let me fall for someone who doesn't exist?"
"I didn't lie about who I am. I just didn't tell you everything."
"You told me you were a wildlife consultant named Max who lives alone in the mountains. You're actually a billionaire tech CEO named Maxim who probably has houses all over the world."
"The mountain cabin is real. The animals are real. My feelings for you are real."
"But Max isn't real, is he? Max is just a character you created to play with the stupid girl who accidentally sent you a photo."
"That's not what this is." He's out of bed now, pulling on his pants. "Chantay, please let me explain."
"Explain what? That you thought it would be fun to catfish some random woman?"
"No, that's not... I never meant for it to go this far."
"How far? The part where you flew to Atlanta? The part where you took me to dinner? Or the part where you fucked me while pretending to be someone else?"
He flinches. "I wasn't pretending to be someone else. I was being myself, just... not all of myself."
"Right. The convenient parts. The parts that would make me fall for you without asking questions about your real life."
"My real life is complicated, Chantay. It's not something most people can handle."
"So, you decided to handle it for me? You decided what I could and couldn't know about the man I was falling in love with?"
"You're in love with me?"
The hope in his voice makes me want to scream. "I was in love with Max. But Max doesn't exist, does he?"
"That's not true."
