21. West
Chapter 21
West
I wake up to an empty bed, the sheets cold where Amelia should be. Frowning, I pull on a pair of sweatpants and make my way to the kitchen.
Amelia stands at the counter, her back to me. She’s wearing one of my shirts, the hem barely covering her thighs. Her hair’s a mess, and she’s gripping a mug of coffee like it’s a lifeline.
“Morning, Princess,” I say, keeping my voice light.
She jumps, nearly spilling her coffee. “West! I didn’t hear you.”
“Didn’t mean to startle you.” I move to the fridge, pulling out eggs and bacon. “How about some breakfast?”
“You’re going to cook?”
“I can cook. I want to cook for you.”
She nods, not meeting my eyes. “Sure, thanks.”
As I fry the bacon, I watch her from the corner of my eye. She’s quiet, withdrawn. Not at all like the vibrant woman who danced with me last night, laughing at my jokes and charming everyone she met.
It all felt so real, even though my brother’s convinced it’s just an act.
“Are you okay?” I ask, sliding a plate in front of her.
“Fine,” she mumbles, pushing the food around with her fork.
I sit across from her, studying her face. “Is it the wedding plans? Because we can slow things down if—”
“It’s not that,” she cuts me off, then bites her lip. “I’m just...tired.”
But I know better. Something’s wrong, and it’s not only wedding jitters. I reach across the table, taking her hand in mine. “Amelia, talk to me. What’s going on?”
She looks up, her eyes meeting mine for the first time this morning. There’s fear there, and something else I can’t quite place.
“West, I...” she starts, then stops, shaking her head. “It’s nothing. Really.”
I squeeze her hand, feeling the tremor that runs through her. “It’s not nothing. Not if it’s got you this upset.”
“I'm fine,” she says, still not meeting my eyes. “Listen, I need to meet up with Carly later. Girl stuff, you know, and I hardly spoke to her last night.”
I frown, sensing something’s off. “Everything alright? You seem... different this morning.”
Amelia shrugs, her shoulders tense. “Just tired, I guess. Last night was a lot.”
“I thought you enjoyed yourself,” I say, trying to read her expression. “You looked like you were having fun.”
For a moment, something flashes in her eyes. Hurt? Anger? But it’s gone so quickly I can’t be sure.
“We put on a good show, didn’t we?” she says, her voice oddly flat. “Your brother seemed impressed.”
I blink, caught off guard by her mention of my brother. “What do you mean?”
Amelia stands abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. “Nothing. Look, I should get ready. Carly’s expecting me.”
As she turns to leave, I catch her arm and pull her to a stop. “Amelia, wait. What’s going on?”
She hesitates, then whispers, “It’s fine, West. We don’t have to pretend when it’s just us. Save the act for when we’re in public, okay?”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. Act?
Before I can respond, she’s pulled away and disappeared down the hall. I’m standing in the kitchen, completely baffled by her words echoing in my mind.
Act? Pretend?
None of this makes sense. Before I can stop myself, I’m striding down the hallway towards her bedroom. The bedroom she chose to sleep in last night when we got home.
She told me she was tired.
I push open the door without knocking. “Amelia, we need to talk.”
She’s standing by her dresser, rifling through clothes. She whirls around, eyes blazing. “Ever heard of privacy, West?”
“What’s going on?” I demand, ignoring her comment. “What did you mean by pretending?”
Amelia’s face contorts with anger. “Oh, don’t act like you don’t know. I heard you last night talking to your brother.”
I rack my brain, trying to remember any conversation that could have upset her. “What are you talking about?”
“Stop it!” she screams, her composure shattering. “Just stop! We’re not real. We’re fake and I refuse to marry you, West. Do you hear me? I refuse!”
The force of her words staggers me. “Amelia, what—”
She cuts me off, flicking her hand in the air. The diamond on her ring finger catches the light.
“This,” she spits out, “is the only thing that’s real in this entire farce. And you know what? You can have it back.”
She yanks the ring off her finger and throws it at me. It bounces off my chest and onto the floor.
“Fake engagement is one thing,” she continues, her voice trembling with emotion. “I agreed to that. But a fake marriage? That’s something else entirely. I won’t do it, West. I won’t live a lie for the rest of my life.”
I stare at her, completely lost. “Amelia, my father has succeeded in rattling you, but the wedding won’t be going ahead—”
“Is that one lie too far?” she asks.
“What the fuck are you ranting about now?”
“Ranting!” Her voice hitches before she laughs bitterly. “Oh, please. I heard you talking with your brother. ‘Putting on a good show,’ he said. ‘Even Amelia looks like she’s falling for you.’ Well, congratulations, West. You’re a better actor than I thought.”
The pieces start to fall into place, but they form a picture that makes no sense. “Amelia—”
“Save it,” she snaps, grabbing a bag and shoving clothes into it. “I’m leaving. Tell the press whatever you want about why the engagement’s off. I don’t care anymore.”
As she pushes past me, I grab her arm, desperate to make her understand. “Amelia, please, just listen to me.“
She jerks away, tears in her eyes. “Don’t touch me. It’s over, West. All of it.”
She disappears out of the bedroom, leaving me staring at her engagement ring on the floor. I’m wondering how everything fell apart.
No, the fuck it’s not over.
I rush after her, my heart pounding in my chest. “Amelia!”
She storms into the living room, heading straight for the elevator.
“If you leave, don’t come back,” I warn, panic bubbling beneath my skin.
“That’s the plan,” she shoots back without looking at me, her fingers dancing over the button for the elevator.
I sprint forward, closing the distance between us until I’m only three steps away. “You can’t just walk out like this!”
She glances at me, then presses the button again. “Looks like I can.”
“Please, just talk to me.” I take a step closer, desperation clawing at my throat. “Don’t shut me out.”
“Why should I? You think this is some kind of game?” She glares at me now, fire igniting in her eyes. “This isn’t a performance for your father’s approval or some PR stunt. I have feelings too, West. You should never have taken us from fake to—”
“Real?” I say.
She glances at the floor, biting her lip. “I thought you liked me. I thought there was something happening between us. But to hear you and your brother and then listening to how you’ve never gotten over your ex. At my engagement party—” She sighs, glancing at the ceiling. “Everyone must know we aren’t real.”
“Annika was nothing to me. She was everything to Dom, but everybody thought…” My heart is pounding in my chest. “She was discreet. But she wasn’t mine. My father tried to rile you…me.” I sigh. “I don’t know why he said that, but I’ll find out.”
She swallows.
“I’ve wanted you from the day I first saw you at Henry’s,” I say, the words slipping out before I can stop them. “I’ve never wanted anyone like I wanted you. I never understood it.”
Her breath catches, and for a moment, surprise washes over her face.
“You don’t mean that,” she says quietly, disbelief etched across her features. “You’re just trying to salvage this farce.“
“I do mean it,” I insist, moving closer still. “Every damn day since you walked across the beach. Despite you having a boyfriend, I offered you the job because I knew one day—” I sigh, shaking my head. “I brought you coffee every morning because all I wanted to see was that smile you give me as you take it.”
Her eyes are wide as they flicker around my face, looking for some deceit. “Every fucking day, I would watch your sweet ass sway in my room while your eyes were on me.” I close my eyes. “Oh fuck!”
The truth is sliding out of my mouth just as the elevator doors slide open with a soft ding. She glances over her shoulder and back at me.
“You’re just saying what you think will keep me here,” she retorts, but her voice wavers. “And I’m sick of being the one who gets hurt.”
Her words cut through me like a blade, twisting my gut. I’ve never wanted to hurt her, but here I am, standing in the aftermath of my own mistakes. And I can’t do anything but tell her the truth as she prepares to walk away.
“Amelia, you have to believe me.” My voice drops, thick with urgency. “I would never play with your heart like that.”
She crosses her arms, disbelief written all over her face. “Then why does it feel like that? Why does it feel like you’re just another guy who can’t decide what he wants? Another guy who treats me like a transaction.”
Each accusation hits me harder than the last. It’s true—I never wanted to cause her pain, but now I realize that’s exactly what she expects from me.
My throat tightens as the realization washes over me. She thinks I’m just another player in this game we’ve created together, but the truth is so much deeper.
I run a hand through my hair. “You think I don’t care? That this is some joke? Or worse, that you are someone I can just let go of after a year? You mean everything to me, and you always have.”
She shakes her head slowly, disappointment evident in every movement. “Then prove it.”
Prove it?
The fear of losing her grips my heart tightly, but how do I show her that I’m not like Felix? If I let her walk out that door now, it might shatter whatever fragile connection we have left.
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” I say, stepping closer again. “You won’t feel pain from me ever again—”
“Words mean nothing without action,” she interjects.
I swallow hard, feeling helpless and desperate at the same time. “I know,” I admit quietly, letting my defenses drop for the first time since this conversation began.
Her gaze softens for just a moment before she turns away again, fixing her eyes on the elevator doors.
“What do you want from me?” she asks quietly now. “I thought we had something special.”
I want to scream out that we have, and I know how far off course I’ve led us both. Instead, all that comes out is a whisper. “I want you to trust me.”
She sighs. “I did trust you.”
Did?
My frustration surges again as I step between her and the elevator door.
She shakes her head. “I thought I could do this, but I can’t.”
“You can’t be with me?”
A ripple runs down her throat. “I don’t want to be hurt again. When you offered me the deal, I thought it was perfect, but now—”
“You’re not going anywhere, Amelia.” My frustrated tone sounds like a growl. “You’re staying here with me because I want you to. And because I know you want to be here. You were never a deal to me.”
The weight of my words hangs between us as she stares at me, searching my face for something more.
“I was never a deal?” she questions. “Then why did I sign an NDA?”
“Because for the first time in my life, I wanted to be real with someone. I trusted you not to talk about me, and what you’ll learn about me, but…” I swallow. “I also had to protect the business, and what you’ll learn in the coming months.”
She nods slowly as realization dawns on her. “You’re planning a takeover.”
“So, I knew I never needed a fake engagement. I knew I only had to put my father off for a few months, but…”
She narrows her eyes, waiting.
“I used it as an excuse to get close to you,” I admit. “East was still finding me someone in the entertainment industry who would fit the bill. But in a serendipitous moment, you landed in my lap…or more specifically, on my couch.”
“Serendipitous.”
“Or fate. You broke up with your boyfriend, slept on my couch at work. I needed to find someone quick. I admit that I was worried about it being so soon after you broke up with Felix. But…” I take a deep breath. “I decided it was fate.”
“Fate–” The word lingers on her tongue.
Our eyes meet and I nod. “Yep, fate.”
She smiles. “You don’t know what you’re saying,” she whispers finally, but there’s still uncertainty etched on her face.
“I know exactly what I’m saying, and so do you.”
Her mouth opens, letting out a small gasp.
“Now let me show you,” I urge, holding out my hand.
Take it and let me erase every ounce of doubt lurking in your mind.
I stand there; hand outstretched, desperate for her to take it. She looks at me like I’ve just grown a second head.
“Fate?” she says again, like she is considering it herself.
“Yes.” I take a step closer, feeling the air crackle between us. “You’re the first person I have slept in a bed with, and I hated sleeping without you last night.”
Her eyes widen at my admission.
“I hated that you weren’t in my bed in my arms.” The words tumble out before I can hold them back. “Every second I lay there, I wanted you next to me. Not just for show, not for sex, but because I want to feel you beside me.”
She opens her mouth as if to respond, but no words come out.
“Instead, you chose to hide away and lock me out.” My voice hardens, frustration boiling beneath the surface. “Do you have any idea how much that stings?”
Amelia’s expression shifts. “It’s getting complicated. We’re getting complicated.”
“Complicated?” I step even closer until there’s barely any space left between us. “This isn’t complicated! It’s simple—I want you. All of you.”
I grip her shoulders, and she flinches but doesn’t pull away.
“Now,” I continue, my voice dropping low and fierce, “I’m taking you to the bedroom.”
“What?” she gasps.
I don’t wait for her answer; instead, I grasp her waist and flip her over my shoulder and storm upstairs to our bedroom. Laughing as she hammers her fists on my back.
“West…” Her voice lifts. “What are you doing? We’re still arguing.”
“We’re not arguing. You want real.” Inside the bedroom, I lift my foot, kicking the door behind us.
I step toward the bed, dropping her onto her back and straddling her. “You think we’re playing roles here?” My voice drops even lower. “We’re not fake. There’s no act.”
She swallows hard but holds my gaze steady with one that’s fiery.
And damn if that doesn’t fuel my desire even more.
“Now tell me,” I say softly, “that you want me.”