I exhale. “Neither did I.”
“Then why are we even considering this?” Callum raises his voice, and I don’t blame him. “It’s so fucked up.”
“Because walking away means losing everything.” I step away from the mantel and feel the tension in my shoulders, the weight in my chest. “The company’s leveraged. Our personal assets are tied to the estate. If we walk away, we lose everything to some distant cousin or whoever is next in line, who will actually agree to this nonsense.”
Silence.
Callum turns back to the window.
Evan sits up. “What if we found someone we already trust?”
Callum laughs, bitter. “Like who?”
“Someone who won’t screw us over.” Evan taps the armrest once. “I mean, we could even pay her for the trouble.”
Ben shakes his head and half-smiles. “You need someone trustworthy, believable, and desperate enough to agree to a year of pretending to be in a relationship with all three of you.” He pauses. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, asshole.” Callum’s light smile in return takes the edge off of his words.
Then Ben laughs. “I mean, hell, the only person I’d trust in that situation is Tania.”
Callum’s head snaps toward Ben. Evan blinks.
I don’t move.
Ben keeps going. “I’m serious. She’d never screw you over. She’s family. And she’s off-limits, so there’s no risk of anyone actually falling for her and making it messy.” He grins like it’s the funniest thing he’s said all day.
Evan laughs and shakes his head.
I don’t.
Because Ben’s right.
Trust issue? Solved.
Tania wouldn’t betray us. She’s known us most of her life. She’s loyal. Honest. Grounded.
Public believability? Solved.
She’s beautiful. Educated. Comfortable around wealth without being defined by it. No one would question it.
Legal optics? Solved.
The executor needs proof we’re stable and committed. That we’re unified. And pretending to be in a relationship with Tania could fix this whole dilemma.
Ben won’t agree to this. That’s the only problem that matters.
But my brain won’t stop running the calculation.
I glance at the sectional. Tania’s book is closed on her lap. Her hands are folded over it. She’s staring at the fire silently.
Callum catches my eye from across the room and grins. “You know, that’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
Ben laughs.
“I mean, she’s perfect for it,” Callum continues.
I don’t interject, waiting to see how Ben reacts.
