His Little Wife Lie: A Billionaire Fake Marriage Romance

by Storm, Sloan

  Griff rubbed his chin while he listened to me. "But, that's why I'm here. You've got it all wrong, I…"

  "Hah! Oh I see, I've got it all wrong?"

  "Those pictures, those texts, I didn't send them. I swear! This has all been a big set up. Please believe me."

  He had to be kidding. "Why should I believe you? You tricked me into getting engaged. Tricked me into believing our marriage was real. But most of all, you tricked me into loving you!"

  "The marriage, the way I feel. They aren't tricks, Sneaks. Why are you saying that?"

  I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket. How about a little reminder, you dick?

  "Why? Why?" I held the phone up in front of my face, the images facing his. "Do you need to see the pictures again? The texts?"

  "How many times do I have to tell you?" He was getting exasperated with me. Good! "I didn't send them!"

  Whatever. This conversation was pointless. "I'd like you to leave now."

  "No, I won't. Not until you hear what I have to say."

  "Not interested."

  Before I could reach the door to close it, he stepped inside. "I know what it looks like. I don't blame you for the way you feel. You have every right to be angry with me about the things I've actually done wrong. But this, this shit that went down in Vegas… That's not on me. I will prove it to you."

  "Just go." I backed away. "Go."

  "Okay. All right." He nodded, giving me space.

  Blowing out a shaky breath, I reached for the door to close it.

  "Listen." Griff cleared his throat. "For some reason, Papa gave me another chance. I don't know what you said to him, but whatever it was, it moved him. I appreciate it."

  Gave him another chance? That pretty much seemed impossible based on what I told Papa, but hey, I'd learned not to put anything past a Foster.

  "Good for you."

  I almost had the door closed, putting an end to my misery.

  "Sneaks," he whispered. "I'm telling you the truth. Please."

  Our eyes met. The color of his bright blues dulled. There was sincerity in his voice, a look of pain on his face. What if he was telling the truth? Even so, what kind of life is this? Every time things seemed to be going well, it was only a matter of time before the next disaster.

  It just wasn't worth it.

  Right?

  "Don't give up on us. I'm fighting like hell. I will never give up until I have you in my arms."

  I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me hurt again. No way.

  "Please don't contact me anymore."

  While I closed the door, I watched the expression on his face change to nothingness and then, the tears came to mine.

  I sank to the floor, drowning in them.

  31

  Ten Years (Griff)

  Heartbroken?

  To be honest, I wasn't sure. That's not a word I ever thought I'd use to describe myself. It just wasn't in my vocabulary. Or my DNA. To be honest, I never put much stock in the idea of a soulmate.

  To me, women were always a numbers game. Love 'em and leave 'em, like the old saying goes.

  So, it was ironic that the one I tried the hardest to prove myself to, eluded me the most. Shit, even if by some miracle I could convince her there were sinister forces at work trying to destroy what we had, I wasn't so sure our relationship would ever be the same again.

  And, in a way, I couldn't blame her. Was all the craziness surrounding my life even worth it to her?

  To any woman?

  Goddamn it.

  "Mr. Foster, sir?" Gretchen snapped me out of my pity party. "Can I get you anything?"

  It's rare for me to drink, but after the past few days, I needed something to take the edge off. Getting my dick wet was out of the question, so I opted for the bottle instead.

  "Yeah." I nodded. "Vodka. And a glass."

  She headed to the back of the plane, and my thoughts drifted once more. Like the puffs of white clouds passing by my window at twenty thousand feet, memories of holding Sneaks in my arms floated in and out of my conscience, torturing me.

  Things… Well, they didn't look real fucking good, let's put it that way. There was no room for error. I mean, if I had any hopes of getting her back, there were some huge hurdles to get over before she might listen to me again.

  First on the list, tracking down Tabitha.

  While she seemed eager to turn a trick that night, I'm pretty sure the payday she got for what she did to me was well worth it. But even assuming I could get a hold of her, I still had another huge problem - convincing her to tell Sneaks what she'd done. Yeah, good luck with that. With every second that passed, I realized how well I'd been played.

  Gretchen reappeared. "Would you like me to pour, sir?"

  "No, I’ve got it."

  She set the bottle and glass down, and I poured a healthy shot, hammering it back. Fire raced down my throat, sending liquid serenity straight to my gut. After slamming the glass down, I looked up at her and noticed something unusual. It's almost like she had a glow about her.

  "Something going on with you?"

  "Why do you ask?" A big smile came to her face.

  "I don't know." I shrugged, the liquor spreading its warmth into my bloodstream. "You seem different today."

  "Sorry!' She twisted her upper body back and forth like a shy school girl. "I guess I'm just excited, tomorrow is my tenth wedding anniversary."

  Tenth wedding anniversary? Jesus Christ. She's younger than me and already married for ten fucking years. Not only that, but until Sneaks came into my life, I used to think that anyone who was married that long was an idiot. While she looked at me, I touched the outline of the engagement ring in my pants pocket.

  Things change.

  "Ten years, huh? That's something else. Congratulations."

  Right about then, I realized something about myself. Was I the most self-absorbed mother fucker walking the planet or what? This woman had been working for me for almost five years, and I literally knew hardly anything about her.

  "Do you guys have any kids?" Even when the question came out of my mouth, I couldn't believe I'd never asked it.

  "Yes, two." Gretchen's face lit up again. "A boy and a girl. Daniel is nine, Melissa is seven."

  Two kids? Damn, I knew how much traveling I did. She went everywhere with me. Who the hell is raising the kids? Before I could ask, she gave me an answer.

  "It's not easy, but we've got help, both of our parents live nearby. We're very lucky that way."

  An image flashed in my mind. I'd never experienced anything like it before. It's Sneaks, but she's not alone. There're a few kids around her. A couple of boys, a girl, maybe it was the other way around. It didn't much matter.

  I crushed the glass in my grip, wrapping my fingers around it while I poured another shot, slamming it back. What the hell is getting into me?

  "Mr. Foster? Is everything okay?"

  Is everything okay? No. Everything wasn't okay. It was completely and utterly fucked beyond belief. But that was my problem, not hers. Gretchen had a happy marriage, healthy kids.

  I wasn't about to rain on her parade.

  "Yeah, everything's fine."

  She smiled at me and started to walk away.

  "Gretchen?"

  "Sir?"

  "If you'll let me, I'd like to pay for your anniversary dinner tomorrow night. Anywhere you'd like, it's on me. And if you can talk the parents into watching the kids, I'll put you guys up in the presidential suite at the Excelsior for the weekend."

  "Mr. Foster!" I'd never seen her so excited. "You don't have to do that. Really."

  I smiled at her. "I know. I want to. All you have to do is say 'yes'."

  She said she'd have to talk it over with her husband, but it sounded incredible. After giving me a series of thank you’s, she disappeared to the back of the plane.

  One more shot oughta do it.

  After drinking it down, I looked out the window again.

  S
omewhere out there was the woman who ruined what I thought was the perfect life. That is, before I met her. Now, I had a new vision of what my ideal existence should be, and it all started with Sneaks.

  If it was the last thing I did, I'd make it come true.

  32

  Can't Go Back (Lily)

  It had been about a week since I last saw him. Not sure where the time went, really. Well, I guess there were those two days straight where I stayed in bed… Mom popped in to try and comfort me, bringing me some of my favorite food even though eating was the last thing on my mind.

  Since her 'white night' Carl came back into the picture, Mom put in her two weeks' notice at the creamery. I was glad she still had a week left when she walked into my room for what had become a pitiful lunchtime ritual.

  Mom would encourage me to get out of the house…

  Take a drive.

  Go see your friends.

  Go for a run.

  Staying cooped up in here all the time wasn't good for me.

  And on and on it went.

  I mean, I knew she was right. After Griff left for the last time, I'd slipped into a funk, feeling sorry for myself. Minutes turned to hours and hours to days. Before long, it seemed easier to sit there in the comfort of my misery instead of struggling against it.

  "Lily, this is ridiculous," Mom said, sitting on my bed and patting me on the leg. I hated to admit it, but she was right.

  "I'm going for a run." I didn't need to hear the speech again. "Don't worry about me."

  She rubbed my thigh while getting up to leave. "I'm your mom, I'm always going to worry about you. Speaking of that, you know how much I hate it when you go to that trail by yourself. But, just this once, I won't nag you about it."

  I smiled at her. "Thanks."

  While I watched her leave my room, I was glad I made the decision. I mean, even if it was the worst run of my life, it would still be better than sitting around feeling sorry for myself.

  I'm quite sure Griff wasn't wallowing in self-pity.

  Later that afternoon, I arrived at the trailhead and parked. Unfortunately, my mood hadn't changed much. If anything, it had gotten worse, and I'm not even kidding.

  Everything fucking bugged me.

  First of all, it was way too cold.

  On top of that, it was drizzling. The weather app said it would clear up, but it hadn't. I'd forgotten how unpredictable it could be around here. Even for the short time I was in Portland, I liked the weather there better.

  Uh! Fuck Portland!

  Shaking my head, I bent down to tie my shoe, giving one of my laces a firm tug. Of course, it broke!

  "Shit!" I flung what was left of the lace from my hand. "Unbelievable."

  Calm down. Even though it'd been a week since I saw Griff, he still had control of almost every waking moment of my life.

  I was done giving it to him.

  With that, I stood and took a deep breath, sucking in the cool forest air. No sooner had I done it than I felt faint, like I might pass out. I collapsed against my car, gripping on to the rusty patina for dear life.

  "What the hell was that?"

  Tiny Me had the answer. Of course.

  Well, that's what you get for a few hours of sleep and almost no food for a week.

  Even though I hated to admit it, she had a point. If I wanted to get a workout in, I needed to get moving.

  The positive self-talk didn't last long though, my mojo waxed and waned. Early on, I fought the urge to quit. For some reason, it was even colder and wetter on the trail. My mind had all the best reasons I should turn back, offering them up to me with each step.

  It's too cold.

  It's too wet.

  You're too tired.

  You're too hungry.

  I bent but didn't break because no matter what excuse I might've had to quit, there were two words that kept my feet firing…

  Griff. Fucking. Foster.

  Okay, three words.

  With each strike of my foot to the path, I relived everything he'd put me through. All of the memories together were enough to fuel me, taking my mind off the pain of the ascent. Before long, I reached the top of the trail and came to a stop, taking in my favorite view.

  Even though I knew my time would suck, I looked toward my wrist when the lightheadedness returned with a vengeance.

  "Holy shit." I rocked backwards, my legs gave out, and I hit the trail like a bag of dirt.

  What in the hell is going on?

  If it was lack of food or sleep, pushing myself probably wasn't the smartest thing. I sat there for a few minutes looking down into the valley until the feeling subsided. Once my near fainting spell passed by, my mind got on to more urgent matters.

  I remembered seeing Griff on the trail for the first time when he came to save me. How had he gone from a knight in shining armor to, well, whatever he was now? The disconnect roiled my insides.

  Liquid heat pooled at the edges of my eyes. I felt my throat start to tighten. No, no, no! I was done. No more crying over him. Not now. Not ever.

  And then.

  I did.

  Honest to God, I didn't think I had any tears left to spill, but there they were again, streaming down my face and dribbling onto the dirt path between my legs. For a good minute, I heaved gulps of despair, every breath clawing at my heart like an attack from a vicious beast.

  The grief left me for an instant, and it was then a new emotion began to swirl. I stood from the trail and brushed the flecks of damp gravel off my butt. Clenching my fists, I bit my lip.

  That mother fucker, he'd ruined this place for me.

  Running the fastest I ever had, I took off, knowing this was the last time I'd ever return to the trail.

  By the time I came home and showered, Mom arrived from work and headed straight to my bedroom. I'm sure she wanted to check to see if I actually left the house. After I'd made similar promises in the past week and not kept them, I couldn't blame her.

  "Oh." She stopped in the doorway, surprised to see me sitting there with wet hair. "Um, did you go out for your run?"

  "Yeah." But I wasn't in any mood to talk about it. Not the run, not the trail, not anything! I jumped from my bed and headed toward the bathroom. My feet hadn't traveled a half dozen steps before my legs turned to jelly.

  Unconsciousness consumed me.

  * * *

  "Lily." I came to while Mom whispered, caressing my face. "Carl, go get some more washcloths. Run them under cold water. Hurry."

  Through blurry eyes, I blinked several times and looked up at her.

  "Oh my God," Mom gasped. "Are you okay?"

  I wasn't sure. I mean, I thought so. My head felt weird, though. Thick. Fuzzy.

  "What happened?" I muttered.

  "What happened? I'll tell you what happened. You got off the bed and passed out. You're lucky you didn't hit your head on the nightstand. What's going on with you?"

  Good question. I didn't have an answer. Since coming home from the run, I'd had a decent meal and even grabbed a quick nap. I felt fine showering. Hell, I felt fine when I stood from the bed.

  "I'm not sure what's wrong. I started feeling bad at the trail, but it went away. Not sure if I'm just tired or what."

  Mom's fingers stretched across my forehead. "Hmm, no fever."

  "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll be fine."

  "Mm, hmm…"

  I didn't like the tone. "What?"

  So, like most girls, I dated boys in high school, a few in college. The 'relationships' always ended the same way. As soon as he realized he wasn't getting any…

  Bye! Bye!

  But, that never stopped Mom from having the conversation with me. It was awkward to say the least. Maybe she felt like she'd done her duty. I really didn't know and didn't care. Once we did though, the topic of intercourse never came up again. In fact, it'd been at least five years since we had a talk about anything remotely having to do with sex.

  Until now…

  "I take it
you're no longer a virgin."

  Uh! "Mom! What the hell? Why would you ask me something like that?"

  She gave me a casual shrug. "Same thing happened to me when I got pregnant with you."

  Pregnant!

  "Cut the crap." Mom leaned in my direction. "I can tell how you're acting, how much all of this has affected you. I'm not stupid. You've been sleeping with him. Am I wrong?"

  I'm not sure if shame was the right word. That's what it felt like, though. Yeah, shame. Oh, and of course the soul crushing regret that haunted me every day since I gave Griff my virginity.

  So that. Plus shame. It was pretty awesome.

  And just when I thought we'd reached a finger wagging low point, Mom upped her game. "It's time for a pregnancy test."

  "What!" I staggered to my feet. "No way. Mom, I am not pregnant."

  Mom's unfiltered onslaught continued. "Did he use a condom?"

  Oh. My. God. "I'm done with this conversation. I…"

  "I don't care if you're done with it or not!" She grabbed me by the wrist. "Condoms. Yes or no?"

  I thought about lying but reconsidered. After all, there was no reason for it. So, I told her the truth. We hadn't.

  "Oh, Lily." Mom dropped her head in her hand. "What were you thinking?"

  I don't need this right now. "What difference does it make? There's no way I'm pregnant!"

  "There's only one way to find out for sure." Mom wasn't about to give up.

  "And I already told you… I'm not taking a test."

  "Uh huh. If you're so sure you're not, why are you resisting it so much? Are you in love with Griff?"

  I knew where she was headed. If I told her I was, she'd want to know why I'd come home. The fact that she suspected I might be pregnant was bad enough. Only one conversation would be worse. That's the one where I told Mom about how he cheated on me at his bachelor party.

  Yeah, no interest in going there.

  "Fine," I said, accepting my fate. "If it will satisfy your curiosity, I'll take a pregnancy test. You have to buy it though, I'm not doing it."

  Before she left, Mom reminded me how smart my decision was, telling me she'd be back as soon as possible.