Single Dad Fake Fiancé

by Brooks, Summer

  “What did she say to you?” I pressed, though I had a feeling what it might be about.

  She snapped, sliding my hand off her shoulder. “Does it matter?”

  “To me, it does.”

  “I think I need some air.”

  “Talk to me,” I insisted, holding her wrist once again when she reached for her coat hanging by the door.

  She sighed, snatching her arm away as she crossed her arms together.

  “You never told me the real reason you and Sophie divorced.”

  I lowered my eyes to her, my heart thumping against my ribs. I knew this day would come, as much as I hoped it wouldn't.

  “Is that what your mom was talking about the other day?”

  17

  Jessica

  The look on Arthur’s face when I confronted him about what his mother said the other evening gave me all the answers that I needed.

  “Are you going to leave me?” He asked, sadness peeking through his eyes.

  “I am,” I said, sliding my arms into the sleeves of my winter coat. “Not for good, if that’s what you mean. I really do need to get some air. I feel like I’m gasping for it right now.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, putting his hand on my forearm but quickly removing it once I glared at it. “I know what this seems like, but it really isn’t what you think it is.”

  “It isn’t?” I snapped, crossing arms and shifting my weight to one side. “You cheated on Sophie while you were married to her.”

  I had to pause because I’d started to shiver.

  Tapping my foot on the floor, I continued, “You knew about Tyler. You knew what he did to me, to Lily. How he destroyed our family. And now I find out that you’ve done the same thing to someone else?”

  “It’s not what you —”

  I moved my arm away when he came toward me again.

  “Can you at least listen to me? Can we talk?”

  I shook my head, not once finding the strength to look into his eyes. I didn’t think that I would be able to stay firm in my resolve to stay mad at him if I did.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because…,” he paused, moving closer to me. “There was nothing to tell. I didn’t technically cheat on her. I mean I did, but not really. I didn’t sleep with anyone else, if that makes a difference.” He was stumbling for words.

  “So you… kissed someone else? That’s considered cheating too.”

  “No, not even that. I just had feelings for someone else.”

  Now he had my attention.

  I let him loop his hand through my forearm and drag me toward the couch. But I didn’t want to sit. There was no way that I could relax, knowing that he’d kept something so big from me, even though I’d opened up to him about my past.

  I wondered how I would have felt if Tyler had fallen for another woman while being married to me. Somehow, that reality was way more heart-wrenching than him having a meaningless one-night stand.

  “I don’t think there’s anything you can say that will make this better.”

  He swallowed. “Give me a chance.”

  I shook my head, then finally sat next to him on the couch, the same place where Sophie had sat earlier.

  “Fine. I’m listening.”

  Arthur told me about the disconnect that he and Sophie had felt while married, how incredibly hard it was for them to come to terms with the fact that they’d made a mistake.

  “For me, I think it was more like a panic reaction,” he said. “Like, I just wanted to form a connection with someone. Maybe subconsciously I knew it was the only way to get out of the marriage that I knew neither of us really wanted to be in. Maybe I did it on purpose, just to sabotage this thing that was never meant to be. I don’t know.”

  Well, I didn’t know either. I didn’t know how to move past this. Arthur hadn’t given me a single reason to doubt him up until that point, but the reality was that he’d been purposefully keeping this information from me all along. Avoidance of the truth is the same thing as lying, in my book.

  The worst part was that he knew it would be a big deal for me, considering my past, and he kept it from me anyway. He led me all the way to moving in with him, and apparently just hoped I'd never find out. If he was able to lie about this, then I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to want to trust him again.

  “Now, if you’re done,” I stood. “I’ll see you later. And I don’t think I’ll be coming home tonight.”

  He filled his chest with air and kept it there with his eyes closed. I could tell that he was frustrated with me, disappointed that I’d failed to see his point of view.

  With a clenched jaw, he looked away.

  I approached the main door, tears welling up my eyes.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stepped over inches of dirty snow right outside the building, then speed-walked in the direction of my sister’s place.

  I knew I’d be bothering her over the weekend. Her and Bradley had been particularly busy since they’d started planning their wedding, which was now one month away.

  The wedding that I didn’t have a date for anymore.

  So much for thinking that Arthur and I were going to make it. That we were actually going to want to get married two months from now. All it took was one visit from his ex-wife and things came crashing down for us.

  I’d always been a forgiving person, for as long as I could remember. The only thing I couldn’t bear to tolerate was a lie.

  As I walked under the falling snow, still about a mile away from Heather’s place, I remembered the day that I’d found out about Tyler. How I’d lived in denial, not letting him know that I knew. I waited for him to tell me himself, to come clean, but he never did — not even on the day that Lily was born.

  It wasn’t until I held my daughter in my arms that I found the strength to tell him that I knew. I looked into his deceiving eyes and told him that I wasn’t a fool, that I’d known all along. All those times that I went through his phone to read his texts, looking for clues and feeling like the most pathetic loser in the world.

  I still remembered vividly the moment that I confessed and then watched him leave his family for a woman that he’d barely known for a few months… all while his wife had been pregnant.

  I wiped a tear off my cheek. I could hardly feel my nose when the back of my hand brushed against it. It was so cold and walking all this way might not have been the best decision. I wasn’t thinking when I left the apartment. All I wanted to do was get away from that place, from him.

  I rang the doorbell outside Heather’s door, then tapped my knuckles on it.

  Her housekeeper answered. She recognized me and moved to the side to let me in immediately.

  “Jess?” I saw Heather the moment I entered. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”

  She noticed the distress across my face when I walked closer.

  “Honey, what happened?” She asked, pulling me into an embrace and rubbing my back.

  We stood there for a while, and she let me get everything out of my system.

  “Go make yourself at home. I’ll bring us some green tea.”

  I nodded, moving my head around to explore her fancy penthouse. I’d been here hundreds of times but never got tired of seeing the designer furniture, all modern and posh.

  If someone were to compare our lives, they would never be able to guess that we were related in any way. Especially now that Heather had broken the Clayton Sister Curse and was living like a queen.

  For a moment, I thought that I had broken the curse as well.

  “Here,” she sighed, sitting down and handing me a cup of tea.

  “You look like a vampire. Did you walk all the way here?”

  I nodded miserably, and that was the end of her teasing.

  “What happened? Did you have a fight with Arthur?”

  I shook my head.

  “Are you going to speak? Or do I need to keep trying to guess?”

  “Can I st
ay here tonight?” I finally asked her.

  * * *

  I woke up feeling like I was in a five-star hotel with silky smooth sheets under my skin. I slept in Heather’s pajamas and I was going to have to tell her that I also was going to need to borrow a business outfit to wear to work.

  Dragging my feet to the kitchen, I waved at Bradley who was just getting out the door, probably to one of the fancy restaurants that he owned all over the city. I wondered if Heather told him anything. I wouldn’t be mad at her if she did. I was crashing in their house, after all.

  Besides, if they were going to be married, then I would have to get used to my secrets being passed on to Brad. Husbands and wives were supposed to tell each other everything.

  Back when I used to be married to Tyler, I would have a lot of trouble keeping secrets from him. That was so ironic to think about now, since I later found out that all he’d done in our marriage was keep secrets from me.

  “Morning,” Heather chirped, expertly making a deliciously smelling coffee.

  I told her that I didn’t want one. “I’m thinking I might just stay in today.”

  “Like, not go to work?”

  “Yeah. It’s not like I even have a change of clothes.”

  “We’re the same size,” she arched her brow. “You’re wearing my pajamas.”

  “Whatever,” I mumbled.

  “I know what this is about,” she gave me a half-smile, then slid a bagel into a toaster.

  “This is about… nothing. I just need the day off.”

  “Bullshit,” she retorted. “You know you’re going to see Arthur at work. Hasn’t he been spending most days with Henry? I think I remember you telling me that.”

  “What… ever,” I snapped, this time saying it out loud.

  I couldn’t argue with her point. She was right. It’s the reason I didn’t want to go to work.

  “And now it’s not even like Henry wouldn’t notice your absence,” she winked. “Things have changed. He’s going to know if you take the day off.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why the hell are you so… jolly? I’m not saying that you need to wallow in sadness because of me but I feel like you didn’t even listen to what I told you last night.”

  Silence.

  “I did, Jessica,” she said, her smile disappearing. “I listened to every word and I get it. You’re mad that he didn’t tell you the entire thing and honestly, I would be too. This… this issue runs deep with you… and with me, so I get it, believe me. But I also know that Arthur is a good guy.”

  “Really now?” I chuckled. “A good guy? You’re the last person I expected to hear this from.”

  “Well,” she shrugged. “Bradley convinced me of it. I, too, have a tendency of hanging on to things like you do. We're sisters, remember? Cut from the same mold.”

  “I don’t hang on to things,” I snapped again, now feeling like I made a big mistake by expecting my sister to get it.

  “You’re right,” I tossed my hands in the air. “I should go to work.”

  “Oh, come on Jess,” she whined. “Don’t be mad. You’re just being super sensitive right now.”

  “Yeah, no shit I am,” I mumbled, walking upstairs to the guest bedroom.

  “I think you’re going to need an outfit,” I heard her yell from the kitchen. “Unless you want to see the love of your life in your sister’s ugly pajamas.”

  “Shut up!” I yelled back, then paused before saying the rest.

  “And yes, please. Could you please come up here and hook me up with something?”

  18

  Arthur

  I reached Henry’s office first thing in the morning. The last thing I wanted to do was sit at home and think about how everything had gone to shit so quickly. I dropped Megan off with Sophie’s mother before driving to Go Dot. Normally, I would bring her with me — Henry loved playing with his niece whenever he could get the chance, but today wasn’t going to be one of those days. He wanted to introduce me to one of his high profile clients, someone he thought I should be acquainted with if I were going to take over after him. My cousin wasn’t much interested in running this business anymore, but he did want to make sure that all of his hard work didn’t just go down the drain. He needed to ensure that his “baby” would be well taken care of after he’s off to some island with Lauren… or whoever he’d rather go with.

  I felt an intense burn whenever I closed my tired eyelids. I couldn’t get any rest the entire night. I missed Jessica horribly, but I'd tried to push those thoughts away and focus on work, to no avail. Her face would come back to haunt me whenever I closed my eyes. I drove to the office that morning, not caring that I would have to pay a significant amount for parking. It was cold and my chest hurt when I thought about our broken relationship. I was regretful about the fact that I’d kept the truth from her. Maybe I should have just been upfront about it from the beginning. But then, what were the odds that she would have even considered to give this a shot if I had?

  It might not have been such a bad thing if that was the case. She’d have learned the truth about my marriage with Sophie and then ran in the opposite direction before either of us could get attached. At least I wouldn’t have had to deal with a day like this. And at least I wouldn’t have had such amazing memories with her that were now eating away at my insides.

  Yet, as upset as I was over what could have been, I was also a little mad at her. Actually, extremely mad. She’d just wanted to leave immediately without even trying to listen to me and my side of the story. And even while she did so briefly, a part of me thought that my words bounced off of her. She wasn't really listening. She had already made her mind up. She didn’t really understand anything, or even tried to. All she cared about was the word “cheating,” and focused on how I’d betrayed my ex-wife. Not once did she really bother to dive into what the circumstances might have been at the time, what I was going through.

  And yes, I hadn’t even really cheated. It could have been much worse. I came clean, unlike her ex-husband.

  I smirked, thinking about how proud Henry would be if he heard me say that. He’d been telling me since the day Sophie and I separated that I was being hard on myself, beating myself up for something that I actually didn’t do. I could have had sex with Christina that night at the bar if I really wanted to, but even the shittiest marriage in the world couldn’t get me to stoop that low in my search for freedom.

  “Really now?” Henry arched a brow, petting a puppy in his lap. “You know you don’t have to knock around here. This place is soon going to be yours, baby brother.”

  I sighed. “I wouldn’t have if I knew that all you were doing is playing with a dog. I thought we had a super important meeting this morning?”

  “First of all, this is not just any pup. His name is Rascal and he’s mine. Secondly, the client canceled on us. Sucks, but oh well.”

  I laughed, settling into my seat. “You got a dog? Wow.”

  My shock arose from the fact that Lauren hadn’t let him get a dog for years and Henry had wanted one so bad that it never stopped bothering him.

  “Care to explain how this happened?”

  “Simple,” he shrugged. “I chose Rascal over Lauren. I’m leaving her.”

  My eyes went wide.

  “Leaving her? After all these years?”

  Even through the visible shock on my face, I couldn’t hide the fact that I was relieved for him.

  Though, like everyone else in our family, I was hoping that they’d magically figure out a way to be happy together. None of us wanted to see Henry unhappy.

  “Yes,” he said, tapping Rascal’s nose. “Isn’t that great?”

  I sighed. “Sure.”

  That’s all I could really get myself to say. Henry was visibly getting old, his grey hairs and wrinkled forehead revealing his age quickly. But apart from his physical appearance, there was nothing about him that said he was almost fifty-five. Henry was a child at heart, he always had been, and I�
��d witnessed how Lauren had slowly killed that side of him over the years.

  So, I couldn’t for the life of me pretend that this news was bad.

  “Anyway, what’s going on with you and the blondie?”

  “Can you not call her that?” I snapped. “Her name is Jessica, and to answer your question, things with me and her are as bad as they are with you and Lauren.”

  “Huh…,” he bobbed his head. “Well, in that case, things are definitely worse for you. I’m not the one who’s about to be thrown out of this country. You are. So make things right with her, will you?”

  “It’s not that simple. She… I mean, she had a talk with Sophie and everything just went to shit.”

  “Whatever it is. You need to make it right.”

  “I don’t know how,” I shrugged. “Not sure if I even want to.”

  His eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he looked at me like I’d spoken gibberish.

  “You’re kidding…right?”

  “Not really.”

  Henry shook his head and sighed, before bending and putting Rascal on the floor.

  “What’s the point, anyway?” I continued, barely believing the words that were escaping my lips. “Sophie and I are divorced. You and Lauren are divorcing. Isn’t this how it always ends? I don’t think I want to go through it…again. Even if it means leaving the States.”

  “That’s not you talking,” he said, fiddling with a pen on his desk. “That’s the cynical monster in you that’s taken a hold of you. The monster that’s negative and stupid.”

  “Oh, shut up, Henry,” I snapped. I wasn’t in the mood to listen to his cryptic bullshit. “If the meeting’s really canceled, then I would like to leave.”

  “Wait,” he held up his hand and I sat back down. “Since you brought up my marriage, I want to make some things abundantly clear to you.”

  “Things like?”

  “You’re right to say that the marriage has come to an end. But, you’re wrong to think that it always ends this way. I mean look at your parents, for fuck sake. When Aunt Julie injured herself, Uncle Michael was by her side the entire time. And that’s after how many years of being married?”