AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Are you falling for me, princess? Have you forgotten you’re sleeping with the enemy?” he whispers between kisses. “You make your own destiny,Madame President.”
If only he was right.
Chapter 21
Chris
“What the actual fuck?” I seethe, throwing the newspaper across the room. “Someone get me a phone. A laptop…Anythingwith internet.”
I knew it, fucking knew Alex would do something like this if he went to Hawaii with Jaclyn. It’s only been a few days, but with the way she’s kissing him in the photo, there’s no way he isn’t sleeping with her.
A nurse rushes in. “Is everything all right?”
“No, far from it. When am I going to be discharged? I was supposed to be out a few days ago.”
“Within the hour,” a doctor behind her replies, looking over something in a manilla folder. “We’re waiting on both former Presidents to sign off on it.”
“I need to get out of here,” I growl, sitting up and slingingmy legs to the side of the bed. The nurse tries to help, but I snap, “I’ve got it.”
I stand and do not, in fact, ‘got it.’ My knees buckle, and I fall to the ground, my ass hitting the hard vinyl flooring. The woman doesn’t offer to help me a second time, both staring at me with pity. After struggling for a while, she leaves and returns a moment later with a wheelchair, and I’m able to pull myself up and sit in it. As I’m about to scold them for their terrible bedside manner, one of my father’s secret service agents enters, glances around, and utters something into his headset.
My father walks in and addresses the doctor, “Are there any changes since we last spoke?”
“No, Christopher cleared all tests and will need to meet with a cardiologist in the next week or two to follow up. His primary or a psychiatrist will need to adjust his ADHD medication since it’s what likely caused his heart attack.” I hate that he talks about me as if I’m not in the room.
“Can we have a few minutes alone?” my father requests, nodding at the doctor.
“Of course.” Everyone in the room files out, and my father pins me with an icy glare.
“You have to fix this,” I plead, and his frown deepens. “You and Mom saw the headlines.”
“Alex and Jaclyn are doing exactly what I asked of them; they’re putting on a believable show while you heal. Whydo you think your mother and I insisted you have a few extra days here?”
“She’s fucking Alex! How are you okay with that?”
“I planted the photographers,” he growls. “Jaclyn is a smart woman. She’s supposed to be on her honeymoon, where most people fuck like damn rabbits after their wedding. It would be odd for her to turn her cheek or look like she was attending a damn tea party in public.”
“I need to stop them. This is?—”
“No. You’re going to let them continue the charade until they return from their honeymoon. The media is eating it up; you are painted as a man in love. We put out a press release that Alex was hit by a drunk driver on his way to the wedding and is recovering from the accident. With the fake story, you’ll need to be wheelchair-bound for another week, pretending to be him. From what I hear from the medical staff, that shouldn’t be too difficult. One of my agents has your fake ID and credit cards in his name. You do not useanyof your own until they are back. Is that clear?”
I swallow hard. “Crystal.”
“Good. You’ll lay low at his apartment in Fredrick. Under no circumstances are you to return to Florida until Jaclyn and Alex are home.”
“Fredrick? You expect me to stay inFredrick?”
A small smirk tugs at his lips. “He has a studio apartment there. Quaint.” I roll my eyes, and he huffs asigh. “Now that’s all settled, I’m happy to hear your recovery is underway. Like your doctor said, you’ll need to see specialists in the next month to ensure you’re ready to hit the campaign trail. Your accident ruined more than your wedding; we’ve had to postpone your candidacy announcement. If you want to beat Berger and Thomas in the primaries, you’ll have to make up for lost time as soon as she’s back.”
“Berger isn’t a problem.”
“No,youwill be. You need to win Jaclyn over, or the country will assume you two are in the middle of a lovers' quarrel. She can fake it if she has to, but seeing as she doesn’t know how the accident happened, she should have no problem slipping back into routine with you. You can’t take the presidency without her. Get to know her. Fuck, at least pretend to like her.”
“Woo my own wife? Shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“You’ve seen social media and the articles. You have your work cut out for you.”
Chapter 22
