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I let out a long swoosh of air. “I really don’t want to talk about him, Marcie.” I can’t suppress the irritation in my voice. “Agnes already tried.”
She bites her lip, clearly hesitating. But she decides to speak her mind anyway. “Look, I don’t know what happened between you guys, and you don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business. But you two are married, so I think you should know he’s been calling me nonstop asking to talk to you. Whatever he did, he regrets it. Badly. I’m pretty sure he was crying too. Now, I’m not saying you should go and forgive him, but I just thought you should know.” With that, she stands up and walks toward the door. “That’s it.”
I let out a groan. “I’m so sick of people trying to defend him. Don’t tell me you’re on his side too.”
She gives me a pointed look. “Of course I’m not on his side. You’re here, aren’t you? I’m just saying that you guys could talk. I’m sure you’d figure it out.”
“He tricked me into marrying him,” I blurt out, and I regret it instantly. Part of me hopes she didn’t hear me, but she stops dead in her tracks and swings around.
“What did you just say?”
Damn it. Why did I open my big mouth? Even if he betrayed me, the NDA still stands. “Nothing,” I say. “Forget it.”
“Jane.” She sits back down on the bed, a concerned look on her face. “You can talk to me. I’ll never share any of your secrets. I promise.”
Well, I already got myself in this deep. Might as well tell the truth now. Who knows? Maybe it’ll help with the lump in my throat that’s preventing me from breathing. “You can’t tell anyone. And when I say anyone, I mean not even your sisters, your brother, your parents. You understand?”
She frowns slightly, then pats my leg. “Yes, of course.”
“I mean it, Marcie. There’s a lot of money on the line if this gets out.” Not to mention it would ruin Colton’s reputation. No, screw him. That’s the last of my concerns.
“Jane, you’re scaring me.”
“Promise me.”
She nods. “I promise.”
My eyes dart to the door. “Are we alone?”
“Yes. Dean and Jules are both out.”
I take a deep breath before letting the words flow out. “I was hired to be Colton’s wife for two years.”
She gasps, throwing a hand over her mouth.
“I went to an audition and got the part. Basically, I had to pretend to get engaged to him, then marry him and stay married for two years. In exchange, I would receive a big check at the end, and all my living expenses would be paid for the duration of the contract.”
Her face falls. “So, it was all a sham? The engagement party, the dress shopping, the wedding. Everything?”
My heart tightens, and tears pool at the corners of my eyes. “I’m so sorry I had to lie to you,” I say. “You were so excited about being my maid of honor, and it felt so real.” I start sobbing again, and Marcie crawls next to me to hug me tight. Looks like I still have a little left in me.
“I don’t understand,” she says, shaking her head. “You guys seemed so in love. The way you looked at him, talked about him. I just can’t believe—”
“That’s because I fell for him,” I say between sobs. “Hard.”
“Oh . . .”
“I wanted to pull the plug on the whole thing to avoid getting my heart broken, but we had—well, have, I guess—a contract. I couldn’t pull out without owing him tons of money. And a part of me thought he might fall for me too.” I bury my face in my hands. “Oh, gosh. I know how stupid this all sounds.”
She pulls my hands down from my face and squeezes them in hers. “It’s not stupid, Jane. It sounds like love. We get carried away and hopeful because of it. That’s normal. It’s not your fault he didn’t fall for you. He must still care very deeply, given the phone calls I got.”
I shake my head. “No, that’s not it. He actually loves me too. Yay, me,” I say bitterly, and tears start falling down my cheeks again.
She pats my shoulder. “I don’t—”
“I told you it was messed up.” A harsh laugh bubbles out of me. “At the hospital, he admitted he loved me too. But he’d been lying to me. The reason we had to be married—something about getting foreign investors interested in his company—was void before the wedding began. Which means we didn’t actually have to get married.”
“Oh, I see. But you wanted to get married?” she asks, her face still scrunched in confusion.
