Page 86 of Fake It For Him

Just as I thought things might get heated, Ross blew past me and intervened, striding into the room and speaking clearly in that booming voice of his. “Pull it together, boys. Finn, I heard you shouting from all the way down the hall. Keep it down, would you?”

“No.” He scoffed. “Did you hear what I was shouting about?”

I’d kept moving, my feet carrying me forward and into the doorway. I hadn’t even been aware I was doing it until Finn spotted me, his muscles bunched tight. He narrowed his eyes when they landed on mine.

“You! You’re a fucking imposter. You’re just as bad as those women who were using my sister. You’re a fucking joke and⁠—”

“Do not speak to her like that,” Calan seethed, his hands tightening into fists at his side as he rounded on his brother. “She saved Freya and she saved me, too.”

“Yeah, but she’s being paid for it!” he ranted, turning on Calan with his hand trembling as he squared off with him. “Jesus, Calan. Why is there always a hidden agenda with you? Why can’t you ever just be fucking honest?”

“I’m trying to⁠—”

“No, you’re not. As always, you’re just trying to cover your own ass. You bought this girl’s time and made her lie to us. She’s nothing more than a whore and⁠—”

Calan roared as rage twisted his features. He grabbed Finn’s collar and Finn lifted his arm, clearly ready to give Calan a fresh black eye. They almost came to blows, but Ross managed to pull them apart.

“Calm down. Both of you,” he snapped, then turned to Calan, his eyes flickering with cold fire. “What the hell is he talking about?”

Calan opened his mouth, but as he dragged a hand through his hair, he spotted me—and someone standing behind me. His gaze zeroed in on whoever it was and he visibly paled. I turned and saw Freya. My stomach plummeted to the center of the earth.

All the color had drained from her cheeks and her lips were parted, eyes shining with tears. “Is this true? He paid you to be here?”

Hot tears pressed at the backs of my eyes. My entire body shook as I stared back at her, unable to say anything for the longest time. It felt like long, icy fingers were wrapped around my neck, trying to choke the life out of me.

There were so many things I could say. So many things I wanted them to know, but as the tears started streaming down my cheeks, I realized they wouldn’t care. Calan and I had betrayed them. Lied to them. And the best thing I could do for him and his family was to get out of here and let him blame it all on me.

Hopefully, he could make them understand and save Freya’s wedding. As for me, I wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t family, and the longer I stayed, the worse it would get. Finally, I managed to find my voice even as my heart splintered into a million pieces in my chest. “I’m so sorry, Freya. I should never have come.”

With that, I rushed past her, sobbing, as I wrapped my hands around my midsection and fled.

45

CALAN

I should’ve seen this coming. What the fuck was I thinking, opening up and telling the truth like this?

I’d let myself feel safe with my brother for five seconds, deciding to bare it all at Freya’s wedding in the hopes that Finn and I really could start the new year with a clean slate.

Idiot.

Everything in me turned to stone as Ella started sobbing and ran out. For the first time in my life—even more so than it had four years ago—it felt like my world was falling apart around me. It felt like I’d just lost everything that was important to me and it was like I could see it all going up in flames.

And yet, the only thing I could focus on was the empty spot where Ella had just stood. The crushing weight of guilt, desperation, and heartbreak kept me rooted to the ground but only until it finally sank in that she was going.

Going, going, gone.

The realization freed my limbs and I took off after her, ignoring everyone else as I broke into a run. My father yelled after me, but I still didn’t stop. “Get your ass back here, Calan!”

If I could’ve, I would’ve, but I couldn’t. For the last four years, I’d wanted nothing more than to repair my relationship with my family, but right now, nothing seemed more important than catching up to Ella, making sure she was okay, and explaining myself.

If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have had a shot at making things right with my family anyway. She was the reason I’d had a chance at all. The reason I’d had a few weeks of peace and reconciliation with them—all of which I’d just tossed a stick of dynamite into.

Ultimately, however, it wasn’t her fault that I had just gone and fucked it up. I’d gotten ahead of myself, wanting to come clean to Finn so I could get his help with what to do next. Since I had zero experience with relationships, I’d figured Finn might have some ideas about how to tell Ella how I felt.

Obviously, that had blown up in my face, but even so, as my footsteps thundered against the polished concrete beneath my feet, I knew I had to do something. We were way past the point of that something being elegant, moving, or even eloquent, but anything was better than nothing at this point.

I pushed open the wide double doors at the main exit, finally spotting her crossing the grounds, making the trek along the lantern-lit path next to the small, man-made lake. Clearly, she was heading back to our guest house.