Chapter 15
CINDY
T he hallway stretches longer than it should, or maybe that’s just my anxiety making everything feel distorted. Mother’s heels click against the hardwood while I follow, each step feeling as though I’m walking toward my own execution.
She stops near a small alcove with two chairs and a ridiculously expensive-looking orchid on a side table. Of course she’d pick the most private spot possible. No witnesses for whatever psychological warfare she’s about to unleash.
“Sit,” she commands, and I hate that my body obeys automatically, twenty years of conditioning overriding my adult autonomy.
She doesn’t sit. Instead, she stands over me, hands clasped in front of her like she’s about to deliver a sermon.
After that dinner, the interrogation, the judgment, and the wedding ambush, I’m as stressed as I’ve ever been.
My nerves are shot, my head is pounding, and I can still taste the wine I gulped down trying to survive.
Might as well hear whatever insanity she’s cooked up now.
Get it all over with in one horrible night.
“You may think I’m a fool,” she begins, voice eerily calm. “And it hurts me to think you do. But I bring the family here, create this opportunity for reconciliation, and you turn up with that man, thinking I wouldn’t see right through your charade.”
My blood turns to ice. Every cell in my body goes cold.
Fuck. Were we that obvious? That bad?
“I don’t know what you’re?—”
“A man like that would never be interested in you, Cynthia.” She says it so matter-of-factly. “You’re making a mockery of our name with this pathetic display.”
Something hot and sharp rises in my chest, cutting through the ice. I pull my shoulders back, trying to find some spine in the wreckage of my confidence.
“That’s just cruel, Mother. To not even accept that I could attract a man like Luke.” My voice quivers but I push through. “Or even Holt, for that matter.”
She shakes her head slowly, that pitying look that used to reduce me to tears as a teenager. “What was that about? Kissing someone else? Did you pay him too so you could show us all how these men want you? How desirable you are?”
My hands clench in my lap, nails digging into my palms. “I’m really getting angry now—” I start, but she cuts me off with a sharp gesture.
However, I ignore her. “Look, you invited me to dinner. I didn’t want to catch up, and then you brought everyone to bombard me.
I had no clue you were bringing so many people! ”
“If you’re not going to be honest with me, Cynthia, I will find out the truth.
” She leans forward slightly, and I smell her perfume, the same Chanel she’s worn my whole life, now forever associated with criticism and disappointment.
“That’s the reason I’m staying in town. To find out what you’re hiding from me. ”
“There’s nothing?—”
“And when I find out that you aren’t really with Luke…” She pauses for effect, letting the threat build. “I will drag you back home by any means necessary. You can either stop embarrassing the family name voluntarily, or I’ll stop it for you.”
I’m stunned. Angry. Sick with how small she makes me feel even now, even after two years of freedom. But more than that, I’m terrified because I know she means it. This isn’t an idle threat. Mother has connections, money, and a vindictive streak wider than the Mississippi.
“For your information,” I hear myself saying, voice stronger than I feel. “Luke and I love each other. We’ve even talked about marriage.”
Fuck. Digging myself deeper. But at this stage, I’ll say anything to get her out of my life.
Because she’s the kind of person who would actually stay in town for a year just to prove me wrong.
I shouldn’t care. I’m an adult. I have my own life.
But I also know she wouldn’t be above having someone literally kidnap me if she thought it would save the family reputation.
And I’m exhausted. So fucking exhausted. I just want to be left alone.
“Then it’s easy,” Mother says, and her smile is the one that used to precede the worst punishments. “You have until Halloween at the wedding to show me this is real.”
“What?”
“About two weeks. Prove to me that this relationship is genuine, and I give you my word that I’ll leave you alone for good.” She tilts her head. “I know that’s what you want, nothing to do with your own mother.”
“Maybe—”
“We will disown you, just so you know.” She says it conversationally, as though she’s mentioning the weather. “Your father is furious. But that’s what you want, isn’t it? To be free of us?”
I can’t speak. Can’t breathe. After everything, it comes down to this—two weeks to prove that a fake relationship is real or lose my freedom forever.
“The choice is yours, sweetheart.” She pats my arm, the touch burning through my dress. “Halloween. The wedding. Show me that what you have with Luke is real, or come home where you belong.”
“I-I don’t need to show you any of that,” I stammer, and she glares at me.
“Then expect to see a whole lot more of us in your life here in town or wherever you run, we will find you,” she snaps, her threat clear. She’s not going to leave me alone, is she? Proving to her I’m in a relationship is my way out, though part of me worries she won’t give up even then.
She turns and marches out, leaving me alone in the hallway with an expensive orchid and the ruins of my life.
I’m trembling. My whole body shakes with rage and fear and this bone-deep tiredness that makes me want to curl up on the floor and just give up.
I hate her. God, I loathe her so much it feels like poison in my veins. The idea of leaving town plays through my mind—pack up General Flufferton and disappear, start over somewhere she’ll never find me. Vancouver maybe, or Portland, or, hell, Alaska.
But I’m tired of running. So fucking sick of looking over my shoulder, jumping at shadows, wondering when she’ll show up to drag me back to that life. This is my chance to settle it once and for all. Two weeks of convincing performance, and I’m free forever.
My nerves pull tight at the thought of making this believable. Luke has already done so much. Cut his hair, faced down my family, and offered his house for a wedding. Can I ask him to keep pretending, to sell this lie even harder?
But I don’t just have Luke.
I have three men who live in that mansion.
Who’ve each shown me more kindness in a few days than my family has in years.
Three dangerous, complicated, beautiful men who might just be crazy enough to help me pull this off.
Men who insist I’m their scent match—I don’t know about that yet because my emotions are so out of control that I don’t know what I’m feeling. But maybe that will work in our favor…
So, the question is, how far am I willing to go to sell this lie?
I straighten my back, stand, and walk out of that hallway. I just take Luke’s hand when I reach him and let him guide me toward the exit. His fingers interlace with mine immediately, no questions asked, and we escape into the October night.
The cold air is freedom after the suffocating atmosphere. Luke helps me into Holt’s massive truck, and we pull away from Savor without a word. He drives for a few minutes, then parks under a huge oak tree a few roads down, its branches creating shadows in the streetlight.
We sit in silence for a moment before he reaches over, his hand warm on my knee. “What did she say? Are you okay?”
I turn to face him, and the words pour out. How she saw through our fake relationship, said he’d never be interested in someone like me. The threat to drag me home. The ultimatum—prove it’s real by Halloween or lose my freedom forever.
“That fucking bitch.” His hands tighten on the steering wheel until his knuckles go white. “You could have any man you wanted. She’s just belittling you so you’ll run back to her.” He turns to me, eyes fierce. “Fuck if I’ll allow that.”
I’m shaking now, the adrenaline crash hitting hard. Luke reaches over and pulls me against him, awkward with the center console between us but somehow still comforting.
“So we need a plan,” he says into my hair. “You know I’m in. You don’t even need to ask. Fuck, if we need to, we’ll get married tonight. I’ll get you a big fat diamond ring and prove her wrong.”
A giggle escapes me, surprising us both. Part of me thinks it’s actually romantic, this crazy offer from a man I barely know.
“She won’t believe it if it happens that fast. It has to seem real. She has to see the reality of our romance play out.”
“Well then, I know what we’re going to do.” He pulls back to look at me. “You’re coming to our place tonight, and we’re talking it out. Then stuffing our faces with ice cream.”
I laugh, a real one this time. “I actually would like that. But oh, I need to get General Flufferton, my cat. He’s alone at home.”
“Done.” He starts the car immediately. “Let’s go get your demon cat.”
As we drive, he glances at me. “I’ve met people like your mother. Super manipulative, always moving the goalposts. No matter what you do to prove yourself, she won’t believe it because it’s not about the truth. It’s about control.”
“So why bother?”
“Because we do this for you, not her. We get through the wedding, and if Arrow and Holt buy into it too, which they will, what’s she going to do if we keep you at our side constantly? Can’t prove it’s fake if we never break character.”
“I guess.” I stare out the window, watching Whispering Grove blur past. Mixed emotions churn in my stomach—gratitude, fear, and this horrible guilt about dragging these men into my family’s insanity.
We reach my townhouse, and Luke follows me inside and picks up General Flufferton, who immediately starts purring at the sight of him.
“Pack some clothes,” Luke says. “We’re not letting you stay here alone tonight with your family in town. You need company.”