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“But it’s a risk I’m willing to take because I’ve been slowly dying waiting anyway.” Axel pulled a small velvet box out of his leather jacket as he dropped to one knee.

My heart started pounding and I heard Aunt Hailey gasp.

Axel popped open the top to reveal a glistening diamond ring. “Scarlett, will you marry me?”

Chapter 25 – Drama

Saturday

I stared at Axel’s face. I was waiting for him to say “just kidding” or something. But he looked so sincere down on one knee. And maybe a bit nervous.

“Say yes,” Axel said. “Be mine forever.”

There was a part of me that wanted to say yes. Because I’d dreamed of this moment since I was two. But this wasn’t real. “Are you...joking?” This had to be a joke, right? A cruel one, but it must be. “Axel, stop messing around. Get up.”

“I’m not messing around.” He stayed down on one knee staring up at me.

I turned to RJ. “Is this some kind of prank? Because it’s not funny, guys.”

RJ shook his head. “This is definitely not a classic Hunter Stevens mess around.”

“Axel, what are you doing?” my dad said firmly.

“Dad, he’s just joking.”

“Actually, he’s not,” RJ said. “I found something the other day, Scarlett. But I didn’t think you wanted to see it because you were into your kiss thief.”

“Your kiss what?!” my dad said.

RJ pulled out his phone. “Axel’s countdown started on the day cued up in this video.” He turned his screen to me. There was a video paused on his phone. “Luckily there was footage from your security feed that day. And this is...rough.” He went to hit play, but Axel stood up and grabbed the phone.

“Don’t play that video!” my dad yelled.

Axel glared at RJ. “I knew someone had been in my room. What the hell, RJ?”

“Parker helped.” RJ pointed at her.

“Parker!” Axel hissed.

“What?” Parker shrugged. “You were being bad dating other girls that were stupid and I hated them.”

“I was trying to make Scarlett jealous so she’d ask me out!”

“What?” I said.

“Because I wasn’t allowed to ask you out,” Axel said. “You asking me was my only loophole to get out of this whole fucking mess.”

“Axel,” my dad said. “Stop talking right now.”

“Why?” Axel said. “So you can let your daughter date Jacob instead of me? What the hell was that, by the way? Fucking hypocrite.”

My mom was staring at my dad like she didn’t even recognize him.

“And I hate to break it to you, Uncle James, but that whole thing was fake. To make me jealous.”

My dad looked really pissed about that. “Excuse me?”

“What?” Aunt Brooklyn asked.