BAD BOY ROMANCE: FAKE FIANCEE ROMANCE: Breaking Bad (Jealous Friend Alpha Male Temporary Counterfeit Romance Secret Love Thriller) (My Fake Fiancé Obsession Romance Bad Boy Love Collection Romance)

by Dagny Rand

  “Not today. I talked to them yesterday and they were headed off to some rowdy warehouse party. They’re probably still passed out.”

  Leann thought about that as she stepped out of Ryan’s grasp and went to get her food from the kitchen. She could not remember the last time she had talked to her sister. They usually talked at least every other day. The last time she recalled was the day she introduced her to Susan. She made a mental note to call her in a little while to check in with her. Leann took her plate and sat down at the table. Ryan and Susan went back to playing the game. She noticed that Susan had repositioned herself a bit farther from Ryan this time. She got up and sat on the couch, while he stayed on the floor. She quieted down a bit too. Leann tried not to think anything of it. Just as Leann got up and began to clear her plate, Susan said, still looking at the screen, “Oh, Leann, I decided to take that job with your company. Stacey and Susan set me up so I can start this week.”

  “Oh, wow! That’s great. Where will you be working?”

  “I’ll be working with you in your department.”

  “That’s awesome. I’m happy for you.”

  “Yeah, I’m on my way. I’ll be like you in a little bit.”

  “Ha ha ha!”

  Leann laughed and continued to clean up the kitchen. There was an alarm going off in her head. Leann was trying not to be paranoid, but something didn’t feel right. There was something happening and she didn’t understand what it was. She had always been sensitive and she could sometimes let her imagination get away with her, but it was something about the vibe she was getting from Susan that made her feel uncomfortable. She tried to shake the feeling, but it was a presence in the condo with her. She decided she needed to get out and get some fresh air. She wished Natasha had gotten back to her so she could hang out with her, but she would just have to find something else to do. Maybe she should just go out by herself for a while. All she knew was she needed to get out of the condo.

  She went into her room and put on a jogging suit. She decided while she was out she may as well go to the gym; she hadn’t been able to that week. She grabbed her gym bag and keys to get ready and go. She walked out into the living room and just as she was about to say bye, Susan turned around and asked, “Where are you going?” Ryan paused the game and turned around too. Leann felt caught, as if she had been sneaking out. She put a smile on her face and said, “Oh, I’m just going to go run a few errands. I’ll be back a little later.” She tried to sound casual.

  “Oh, do you want me to come with you?”

  “No, that won’t be necessary. You two just stay here.” As she said it, it felt wrong. She felt like it would be a bad idea leaving the two of them there, but she did not want to stay. She hesitated for a moment, but proceeded for the door. Ryan got up to give her a hug and a kiss. She accepted them half-heartedly and walked out. In her mind she felt she was being ridiculous, but the alarms inside of her were going off. All of the little things that she had been finding strange were starting to add up. She hoped that she would be able to go to the gym and sweat it out. She got in her car and began to drive away. Just being in control of the car seemed to settle her.

  She went to the gym and had a great workout. Then she went to a few stores, dropped off somethings at the post office, and picked up some dry-cleaning she had almost forgotten about. On her way home she stopped by her favorite sweet spot and grabbed some junk. She got herself an ice and stopped for gas before finally pulling back up to her condo. She sat outside for a minute, hesitant to go back in. She remembered her mental note to call Natasha. She picked up the cell phone to call. She realized she hadn’t turned her ringer back on. There were texts, calls, and emails waiting for her on the screen. She noticed Ryan’s name and called him back. He answered, “Hey, baby. Where you been?”

  “I went to the gym and took care of some other things. What’s up?”

  “Nothing. I was just worried about you. I left the condo to go check on Uncle John. I’m going to stay with him tonight to give Kira a break. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Bye.” Leann hung up and called Natasha. The call went to her voicemail. She hung up, got her bags, and went up to the condo. When she walked in she found an empty living room and kitchen. She thought for a minute that Susan was not there. Then she heard the bathroom door open and saw her walking down the hall. She had on a dress with makeup and jewelry. But on closer inspection, Leann realized that she was not just wearing a dress and jewelry, she was wearing HER dress and jewelry. She stood there blinking for a few moments. Then she said, slowly, “Um, hey. Is that my dress and jewelry?”

  “Oh, yeah, girl. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t really have anything nice enough to wear and you keep telling me to help myself to anything.”

  “Oh, no. It’s okay. Is that my perfume too?”

  “Yeah. You always smell so good.”

  “Thank you. You look nice. Where are you going?”

  “Oh, your family invited me over for Sunday dinner.”

  “Oh, right. I almost forgot about that. I better get dressed.”

  Leann ran back into her room to get ready. Her family had a huge dinner every Sunday night. She must have been really tried to have forgotten. She put on one of her new outfits and put on some light makeup. She hurriedly found some shoes and grabbed her purse to go. She almost forgot Susan was out there waiting. As soon as she came to the living room Susan got up and headed for the door. They went down to the car and rode to her parent’s house in silence. Leann put in the code and they went through the gate up to the house. When they got there, Leann had barely stopped the car before Susan was climbing out. Leann grabbed her purse, got out and followed her to the door. Susan stopped to ring the bell, but Leann stepped around her and walked right in. Her parents never locked the door on Sundays.

  Leann walked into the kitchen just as her mother and the housekeeper were putting in the final touches. She gave her mother a big hug and kiss before turning to Rosetta, the long-time housekeeper, and giving her a hug as well. She turned around to introduce Susan, but her mother was already approaching her. They hugged and chatted like they were very familiar. Leann stood and watched in surprise. Apparently Natasha and Stacey had brought Susan around in her absence. Most of the family had already met her. Since she did not have to make introductions she went to find her seat. Just then Natasha and Stacey walked in, loud as ever. Natasha entered the room and said, “Hey Leann.” Leann turned around to greet her, only to realize that Natasha wasn’t talking to her. She was talking to Susan. Since when was she going by Leann? All of the time she had known her, she had never heard her called that. Susan was one thing, but Leann was another. She tried to shake it off.

  She got up and went over to talk to Natasha and Stacey. They were talking animatedly with Susan. She waited patiently for a lull in the conversation to jump in. She said, “Hey all. I’ve been texting and calling you.” Natasha and Stacey turned to her. They looked agitated. She tried to think of what their reason could be. She thought maybe they were upset that she had put Susan off on them, but she couldn’t help it. She had to work to get the deal done. Natasha threw her a tight, “Hey” and turned back to Susan. Stacey said nothing at all. Leann was extremely taken aback. She had never had any issues with either of them. She stood for a moment trying to think of something to say, but came up with nothing. She walked back over to her seat and sat down sadly.

  The family dinner was as lively as usual. That is for everyone, but Leann. She sat there quietly eating her dinner and watching. She couldn’t understand it, but it seemed like everyone was treating her differently. She didn’t get it. On the other hand, everyone seemed to love Susan, or Leann as everyone was now calling her. She laughed and talked just like one of the family. Leann felt all but forgotten. She thought it was silly; she had wanted Susan to feel a part of the clan, but not at the expense of her. She kept telling herself she was over-reacting.

  That is until her Aun
t Rita said, “I cannot wait until my party. It is going to be amazing. The best of the best.” Leann sat in confusion. She hadn’t heard about any party. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t really heard from her family since she had left work. That may not be odd for other people, but for the Ford clan that was major. They were in constant communication. Leann piped up, “Aunt Rita, I didn’t know you were having a party.”

  At that everyone at the table turned to look at her. Before Aunt Rita could say anything Natasha stepped in and said, “Well, now I guess you know how it feels.” Leann could only imagine the look on her face. She had no idea where that had come from. She wasn’t keeping any secrets from her family. She said, “Tasha, what are you talking about?” Stacey intervened and said, “We hear you like to keep a lot of things to yourself.” Leann’s bewilderment continued. What the hell was going on here? She was completely confused. What were they talking about? Everyone at the table was staring at her. That is except for Susan. She was staring down into her lap. Leann began to think that Susan had been telling her family things about her. She tried to think of what she could have possibly said. It had to be lies, because there was nothing that she could have told them truthfully that they had not heard from her. She was completely in the dark and she hated it. She wished that Ryan was there with her.

  She sat there for a moment, feeling like she was in a nightmare. She cleared her throat, trying to loosen the lump forming there and said, “What do you mean? I haven’t kept anything from you guys.”

  “Oh really? So what is this about you quitting the family business once you marry Ryan?”

  “What? I’m not quitting. Where is this coming from?”

  “Apparently it’s coming from the place you keep everything from us at. I guess it should be no surprise that Little Miss Leann isn’t as perfect as she seems.”

  Leann felt very hurt. Not only was she being attacked, but no one was coming to her rescue. Her hurt slowly turned into anger as she became outraged. How could her family believe something from someone they had just met over her? The final straw was when Susan finally looked up and said, “You guys, don’t be upset. I only told you those things because I thought you knew. I’m sure Leann wasn’t trying to deceive you. You know how it is. There are just things you don’t tell your family.”

  Natasha turned around and said, “No! There is nothing you cannot tell your family. Leann should know that.”

  At this Leann jumped up out of her seat and went to stomp out of the room. Before she left though, her anger reached a boiling point and she launched at Susan saying, “How could you do this? All I’ve done is help you and this is what you do? You try to turn my family against me? You lousy…” Leann flew at Susan. Her family got up to grab her and block her from getting to Susan. Once again, Leann felt like she was on the outside looking in. The tears were falling down her face. She broke out of their arms and ran out of the door to her car. She could barely see, but she put the car in drive and rode off.

  Leann was completely rattled. She could not believe what had just happened. She wanted to stop and pinch herself to wake up. But it was all too real. Her family had just turned on her for someone who she thought was one of her best friends. She was having a complete out of body experience. She wanted to call her daddy. She knew if he had been there things would not have happened like that. Unfortunately he was away on business. She knew there was only one person she could turn to: Ryan.

  She drove down the highway towards Uncle John’s house. Her mind was racing. She kept playing it over and over again to herself. She truly could not believe it. She welcomed Susan into her home and into her family and she completely flipped everything on her. The betrayal was so awful. And she had been concerned about leaving her with Ryan. Apparently that was the least of her problems.

  Before she knew it Leann was pulling onto Uncle John’s block. She found a park and got out of the car. She had not even thought to call Ryan before she came. She just knew that she needed to be with Ryan right now. She rang the doorbell and waited. She felt unsteady on her feet. It took a while for him to come to the door, probably unsure about the uninvited visitor. As soon as the door opened, she fell into Ryan’s arms. He had to catch her and all but carry her over to the couch. He held her in his arms and rocked her as she cried. She could not even get the words out to tell him what had happened. It seemed she wouldn’t have to. Still holding her close, he said, “Your mother just called and told me what happened.”

  Leann jolted upright and looked him in his eyes. Before she knew it, she was stumbling backwards on her feet. She could not believe it. They had gotten to him too. She felt like she was losing her mind. Everything was turning against her. She felt completely alone in the world. She looked at Ryan. He was looking at her carefully, clearly trying to read her expression. She turned away from him. She began to walk towards the door. He said, “Leann…” He took a step towards her. Leann shook her head and backed out of the door.

  She ran back to her car and immediately drove away. At first she wasn’t sure of where she was going to go. But she realized that she was pointing her car towards home, which is probably where she needed to be. She would go in there, pack up Susan’s things and put them outside of her door. She must have been speeding because before she knew it she was coming to a screeching halt in her parking lot. She parked and went up to her condo, barely conscious of what she was doing.

  Leann put her keys in the door and opened it to a nasty surprise. Susan was sitting on her couch waiting for her. She could not believe the gall of this woman. She must really be crazy. Not as crazy as Leann felt, though. Leann closed the door behind her and stepped inside. She felt a wild energy radiating through her body. She stood waiting. She refused to be the first to speak. She wanted to hear what Susan had to say for herself. After some heavy moments of silence, Susan stood up and took a step towards Leann, but only one. There was a look of sympathy and remorse on her face. Leann’s mood did not change. She continued to wait.

  Finally Susan said, “Leann I am so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I was just talking to Susan and Stacey and the next thing I know things were out of control.”

  Leann stood there looking at her. She felt the apology was weak. She wanted answers. She demanded, “What did you tell them?” Susan maintained her expression and went on, “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and I would never do anything to hurt you. It’s just, I wanted to fit in and be a part of the family. I talked about the only thing I knew we had in common; you.”

  “What did you tell them?”

  “Leann, this week has been so amazing. I have had the time of my life. Please forgive me.”

  “WHAT DID YOU TELL THEM!!!” Leann had lost patience. She was tired of listening to Susan’s so called explanation. She wanted the truth. Susan kept on, “Leann…”

  “Stop calling me that! That’s what my friends and family calls me.”

  “Okay, Leann. Please…”

  “If you’re not going to tell me the truth then just get your stuff and get out!”

  At first Susan maintained the same expression. She was clearly trying to convince Leann of how sorry she was. Leann did not relent. When Susan saw no change in Leann’s stance or expression, hers began to change. Leann watched as Susan’s face turned into something almost morbid. Her expression became something grotesque. Leann felt a pang of fear burst through her anger. It was as if she was witnessing a transformation. Susan lost all pretense of sympathy and remorse. She had almost a snarl forming on her face. She took another step toward Leann. Leann forced herself to stay still.

  Susan said, “You’ve always been like this. A self-righteous goody two shoes. Miss Perfect, pristine little Leann. Miss Everything. Everybody loves you, you have it all. The family, the career, the man. I don’t have anything. Nothing. My parents never wanted me, my grandma only took me in for a check and I never had any friends. I had to struggle and scrape every step of the way to get to college
and you just strolled in there like it was nothing. Nobody even paid me any attention. I was Leann’s roommate. Leann’s friend. Even after you left.”

  Leann stood there listening in utter shock. All of this time she had thought that Susan was her friend, but she had clearly been wrong. The pain of it was too much, not to mention how stupid she now felt. She could barely stand to hear anymore.

  Susan was not done yet. She said, “I tried to be nice about this, I really did. I was going to let you at least stick around, but I see you’re not going to let that happen. You want to know what I told them? I told them whatever I could think of to smear their perfect image of you. And Natasha and Stacey were more than happy to hear it. They knew what it was like to have to compete with the perfect Leann. As soon as I started talking, they were all ears, more than willing to believe whatever I told them. About the sleeping around in college, the abortions, and the drinking. About how badly you talked about them behind their backs and your plans to push them aside and take over. You’d think how nice you’ve always been would count for you, but actually it went against you. It seems fake and people have always been waiting for you to mess up. I gave it to them. That’s your flaw. You are too perfect. You make the people around you feel bad about themselves. You’re not right. You’re not right for Ryan. You neglect him. I’ll be so much better for everybody. When I’m you, I’ll be much more relatable.”