ANGELA
The scalding hot water cascaded over my skin, but no matter how hard I scrubbed, I still felt dirty.
Disgusting.
I couldn’t believe how Xavier had spoken to me. I couldn’t believe what he thought of me—that I was after his money and his family’s name.
The idea of using someone like that was enough to make me sick, and yet that was exactly the type of person he so wholly believed I was.
That was when the irony hit me.
I was after his money.
If it wasn’t for the Knight fortune, I never would have agreed to marry Xavier Knight.
But I wasn’t doing it for selfish reasons.
I was doing it to save my dad’s life.
But does that make things any better?
After turning off the shower, I wrapped a towel tightly around my body. Anything to help hold me together.
I dried off and slipped into my pajamas robotically, my mind far away.
As I collapsed into bed, my eyes fell on a framed picture across my room. It was a photo of me, Danny, Lucas, and my dad.
We all looked so happy.
Dad looked so healthy.
The photo was taken just last Thanksgiving. Danny had burned the turkey and Lucas had made way too much stuffing, but it was perfect.
We’d all squished into the old, worn-out couch in the living room and watched football with no worries about the future.
I put my head in my hands.
How has so much changed in just a year?
Dad had always been such a pillar of strength. After mom passed away, he’d taken on the role of both parents. He was the one constant, a steady rock in the storm of life.
And now he was in the hospital, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to—
My phone buzzed. It was my best friend Em:
hey girl
u up for some 🍣🍣🍣 tn?
I stared at the little sushi emojis, the tiny unassuming picture saving me from my thoughts.
The last thing I wanted to do was go out in public. My blankets whispered seductively to me, tempting me with the promise of darkness and silence.
But maybe going out was exactly what I needed. Even if it was to escape my thoughts for an evening.
To get away from the memory of Xavier staring daggers into me with his ice-blue eyes…
K, meet you at the usual in 40
yaaaasssss 🐟
“You’re too good for Curixon anyway,” Em said, popping another piece of salmon sashimi into her mouth.
I dipped my own tuna nigiri in soy sauce, humming noncommittally. “I still don’t get it,” I muttered. “I had such a good feeling after my interviews.”
“Well, it’s their loss.” Em snatched up a plate of salmon sushi from the conveyor belt in front of us. She was quickly amassing a little tower of empty plates beside her.
I chewed on my food, not tasting it at all.
If only Curixon had panned out. Maybe I wouldn’t have ended up getting engaged to a hateful billionaire…
My eyes roamed lazily over the slow-moving conveyor belt in front of me. I had so many choices, but none of them were even slightly appealing.
Em placed a salmon roll on my empty plate. “Anyway, we didn’t come here to mope.” She smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but feel my spirits rise a little. “Happy Pre-Giving.”
“Happy Pre-Giving,” I replied, and we tapped our sushi pieces together before eating them.
Every year Em and I had our own pre-Thanksgiving meal before we went back to spend it with our families.
“Anyway,” Em said around a mouthful of food, “did you hear about the commotion in Central Park earlier today?”
“Hmm?”
“Apparently some mega-rich couple held a fancy prewedding photo shoot. They even blocked off an entire section so no one could get close.”
I choked, trying my best to not send sushi bits flying over the conveyor belt.
Em slid me a glass of water. “I know, right? How crazy is that?” She sighed, wistful. “Imagine being so rich and in love that you could reserve Central Park.”
I chugged down some water, then cleared my throat. “Yeah, i-imagine that…”
I couldn’t exactly tell her that that was my prewedding photo shoot.
Nor could I correct her.
Sure, Xavier was mega rich.
But we were definitely not in love.
The look of hate and disgust in Xavier’s eyes flashed into my mind again.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Angela? Are you okay?”
I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts. “Of course,” I lied.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost…”
“J-just a little tired, I guess.”
Em stared at me, her eyes searching mine. I’d never been a good liar. And Em knew me better than anyone.
But I couldn’t have told her the truth if I wanted to. I couldn’t tell anyone. Not even my family. They’d probably find out eventually. It was impossible to hide such a high-profile marriage forever.
But they could never know the truth about my deal with Brad Knight.
I was literally contracted to lie.
And so I did.