AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I feel a lump form in my throat. “That’s not why I asked her to be my fake fiancée, Roger. I didn’t want to use her like that—”
“Fake fiancée?” The sudden interruption comes from behind me, and I quickly turn to see my brother standing there.
“Carson,” I say, my heart thudding in my chest as I work to quickly find the words to explain myself. “It’s not what you think.”
Carson stares at me with an expression of disbelief. “Well then you better start talkin’, cause I don’t know what the heck is goin’ on here,” he says, crossing his arms as he waits for an explanation.
“I’ll call you back later, Roger,” I say quickly before hanging up the phone. “Look, it’s complicated,” I begin, my voice sounding weak even to my own ears. “I don’t know what you heard, but—”
“What I heard,” Carson interjects, “is that you have a fake fiancée. So you better start talkin’ about who the heck this woman really is and why you felt the need to bring her here.”
“She’s Callie Walker—a writer—from Arkansas. Everything I’ve told you about her is real ... except for the engagement part. I just ... I was dreading coming down here for Sawyer’s wedding, and I just happened to meet Callie at a coffee shop in Arkansas, so I asked her to come down and pretend to be my fiancée.”
Carson’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “Pretend?” he repeats, his voice laced with confusion. “Wade, what the heck is goin’ on? Why did you ever think you needed to pretend to have a fiancée for the wedding?”
I take a deep breath, feeling a sense of shame wash over me. “I just didn’t want to show up alone,” I admit, my eyes dropping to the ground. “I wanted to have someone by my side, and Callie was willing to play along. It was just supposed to be for the wedding, but then with Dad’s heart attack, things got complicated. I never intended for it to get this big.”
Carson shakes his head, a look of disappointment on his face. “You’re always so selfish, Wade,” he says sadly. “Here I was, so proud of you for finally growin’ up, takin’ responsibility for your son, and finally steppin’ up and bein’ there for our family during this tough time.” He pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing. “But now I see that it was all just another act. You can’t keep livin’ your life like this, Wade. You have to start thinkin’ about the consequences of your actions.”
“I know, Carson. And I’m sorry. I never intended for things to get this outta control,” I say, feeling the weight of my brother’s disappointment heavy on my shoulders. “I just don’t know what to do now.”
“Well, for starters, you need to tell the truth, cause I refuse to be a part of this lie for even a minute longer,” he says.
“What lie?” Emma pops her head out from behind him. “What’s going on?”
Here we go.
“Wade and Callie aren’t actually engaged. This was all staged ‘cause he was too afraid to show up here empty-handed.”
Emma’s expression changes to one of shock. “What? Wade, is that true?” she asks me.
I nod, unable to meet her gaze.
“What have I missed?” Hunter peeks his head out from the door, looking between the three of us with confusion. “Why are ya’ll out here actin’ like ya saw a ghost?”
“It’s nothing, Hunter,” I say quickly, not wanting to involve him in this mess. “Let’s just go back inside and enjoy the rest of the night.”
But Carson shakes his head. “No, Wade. We need to deal with this now. You can’t keep runnin’ away from your problems and hurtin’ the people you love in the process.”
I take a deep breath, feeling overwhelmed. “I know,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “I, uh, paid Callie to be my fake fiancée.”
“Fake fiancée? You can do that?!” he asks, his eyebrows raising in surprise.
Before I can say anything else, however, Callie appears from behind them. She looks at me with a sad expression before speaking. “I’m so sorry,” she says in a small voice.
My heart drops. “Callie, I’m sorry,” I say, finally meeting her gaze. “I never meant for this to happen.”
“I know,” she says softly, her eyes filling with tears. “But it’s too late now, and I’m just so, so sorry.” She quickly turns and walks away before I can say anything more.
The weight of my guilt presses down on me like a wet blanket as I watch her go. Everything in me wants to chase after her, but I also know I owe an explanation to my entire family.
“What’s going on out here?” My mom is standing in the doorway, a bewildered expression on her face. Dad is walking up slowly from behind her.
I take a deep breath, knowing that it’s finally time to be honest with everyone—about everything.
It’s time to face the music.
Chapter Twenty-Six
