Page 71 of The Substitute Fiancée

Samantha

Friday, December 19 is my last day of school before the Christmas break.

I’ll be spending the next two weeks at Alexander’s place. I still have trouble wrapping my head around it. It feels too soon—we’re only at the beginning of our story. But the idea of spending Christmas alone doesn’t appeal to me. Mara and Emelyne are heading south to be with their families, and for the first time in a long while, I haven’t been invited to my parents’ holiday celebrations. Their rejection hurts, but I’m learning to live with it.

After classes, Gilles picked Emelyne and me up at the apartment and helped move my things to the penthouse—especially my easel and some drawing supplies. Alexander even entrusted me with the keys to his kingdom. I think he’s trying to make up for my parents’ behavior, but he doesn’t have to. That was their choice. Not his.

Emelyne stops in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, admiring the city view, then turns back toward the apartment, scanning it with a critical eye.

“There’s something missing.”

I smile.

“A Christmas tree.”

Her face lights up.

“Exactly!”

The idea excites us. An hour later, the scent of pine fills the apartment. Emelyne helps me set up the tree, and we head back out to buy decorations. Unfortunately, time slips away, and she has to meet Mara at the train station so they don’t miss their train.

The apartment falls silent again after she leaves, but I’m not sad.

I start decorating, eager to see Alexander’s expression when he discovers the tree.

At my parents’ place, Kristel was always the one in charge. Her privilege. A themed tree, copied straight from a magazine photo. Perfect. Impersonal.

I want something else.

I begin with the garlands. Different shades of blue and violet create a deep backdrop, almost nocturnal. I hang a string of lights whose delicate flicker reminds me of starlight. Then come the ornaments in warmer tones—red, orange, gold—growing more intense toward the top. I mix textures: velvet, glossy glass, semi-transparent finishes.

It’s a little like how I imagine the tree in the Garden of Eden and its forbidden fruit. Dark and mysterious, yet bursting with life.

When Alexander comes home, his exhaustion vanishes instantly.

He pulls me into his arms, almost lifting me off the ground.

“Thank you. You’re the only one who would think of something like this.”

His voice is soft, grateful.

“You deserve a little magic too.” I say simply. So do I.

Just then, the doorbell rings. I grab some cash and go open the door. The delivery guy is there with an enormous pizza box.

I hand him thirty euros.

“Keep the change. Happy holidays.”

As we eat, Alexander watches me with that hesitant expression I’m starting to recognize.

“My parents are inviting us on the twenty-fifth at noon for Christmas lunch. Oliver, Marion, and their kids—Elias and Laure—will be there. I told them I’d talk to you first. What do you think?”

My heart tightens.

“Won’t it be awkward for them to see us together? After all, you were with Kristel for over three years. What did you tell them about us?”

“I told them everything.”