My Fake Wedding Was the Start of Their Real Prison novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: Ten Years

"It isn't my letter," I said.

Brett glanced around the floor.

Twenty people were pretending to read email.

"Walk with me," he said. "Five minutes. You owe me that much."

I didn't owe him anything.

But I wanted to hear what he'd say when he thought I was still the girl next door.

"Five minutes," I said. "Outside."

We took the elevator down without talking.

He reached for my elbow when the doors opened.

I moved it.

Caelen was leaning on the rental car across the plaza with his arms folded.

He saw us and straightened.

I shook my head once.

He leaned back against the car and stayed there.

Brett looked at him.

"Who's that?"

"My boss."

"He's watching you like a dog watches a gate."

"That's his job. He thinks everyone's a fraud." I sat on the edge of the fountain. "You've got four minutes."

Brett sat beside me.

Close. The way he always sat.

Our knees used to touch on the curb outside our parents' houses.

"Remember the fort?" he said. "Behind your garage? We were seven. You said we'd live there forever and I'd be the dad and you'd be the boss."

"I remember."

"And the night your dad died. I drove all night from Santa Barbara. I sat in your kitchen till five in the morning."

"I remember that too."

"We're family, Sadie." His eyes were wet. "Whatever this is, we're family. Families don't send each other's fathers to prison."

I looked at the water in the fountain.

"Whose idea was the wedding?" I asked.

He went quiet.

"Brett."

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

He rubbed his face with both hands.

"Spencer had a problem," he said finally. "He'd told his investors about the letter. Kelsey signed it so they'd have something to show. But the auditors were coming at year end. They'd want the real thing."

← Chapter 9 · All chapters · Chapter 11 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend