Page 56 of Faking it With A Grumpy Billionaire

“Did he suggest ending things between you?”

“No, he . . . umm . . . he might have done worse,” I said as I watched Lydia adjust herself on the couch as though to understand me better.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I . . . umm . . . I went over to his place that evening, and then I walked into his living room and . . .” I paused as I tried to pull my emotions together. This was not the moment to resume crying again. “I . . . umm . . . he was . . . umm . . . with another woman. They were making out when I walked in on them.”

“Oh my god,” Lydia said with her mouth wide open and short of words. “I’m so sorry, Liz.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize, Lydia, please. You did not do anything wrong, and to be honest, I don’t even have to be angry at him. It’s not like we were a real couple or anything.”

“Liz, don’t do that.”

“No, Lydia, I need to be honest with myself. We need to be honest with ourselves.”

“All we had going on was a charade. It was a contract, and I was stupid and foolish enough to think that he was interested in me.”

“Don’t say that, Liz. No, don’t! Will was wrong for what he did.”

“You think so? Because I don’t think so. We are not dating or in a relationship, so I don’t think so,” I lied, trying to convince myself that he did no wrong.

“Still, he just confessed his feelings to you. Why would he do that and then go be with some other woman? Liz, he is my brother, but with the way he messed up, I’m not going to support him over you.”

“You know what, Lydia, I think I’m done with this contract, and I would like to call it off. I’m tired of constantly feeling like I never belong. I’m tired of these feelings that I can barely understand. I don’t want them anymore. It was a mistake on my end. I made a mistake by believing there was a future for us. I was getting ahead of myself, living in a fantasy world that did not exist, Lydia.”

“Elizabeth,” Lydia spoke softly, short of words with nothing to say. “My heart aches for you, especially considering the fact that you never wanted to do this to start with. It was me who convinced you to get into this fake relationship with Will. I’m sorry, Liz. I’m so sorry you had to go through all this.”

“No, it’s fine, Lydia. Like I said, this is in no way your fault. I mean, it’s not like you made him do what he did.”

“It’s not my fault, but I convinced you to get into the fake relationship in the first place. If I had known you were going to get hurt in the process, I never would have convinced you to.”

“Lydia, it’s fine. I mean, there is no way you would have known, right?”

“Oh, come here.” Lydia pulled me into a hug as she patted my back softly, reassuring me that it was all going to get better.

To be honest, now that I had spoken to Lydia about my heartache, I felt lighter. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from my chest, and now I could think clearly about what I wanted to do next.

“Thank you, Lydia.”

“For what?”

“For being here. This means a lot. And now I know what to do next.”

“Which is?”

I looked at her, detaching from her embrace. “Give me a minute.”

I stood up from the couch and went to my room. I knew what I was looking for. There it was, resting in one of my jewelry boxes on my dresser table. Taking out the engagement ring Will had given me, I looked at it up close, noticing how the diamond shone so brightly, sparkling in front of me. I suddenly remembered the night he had given it to me. He had told me it was for the charade so that people would not question the authenticity of our engagement.

Admiring it one last time, I took in a sad breath as I knew I had to let it go. There was no way I was going to continue with the contract with Will. Yes, I was no longer angry at him, but for the sake of my peace of mind and to preserve the little pride and ego I still had left, it was best I called off the engagement. Holding the ring firmly, I walked back to the living room.

“Here, please give this to him. I’m sure that explains everything.” I handed over the ring to Lydia, who looked at it confused at first before finally understanding what it meant.

“Are you sure, Liz?”

“There is nothing to be sure about. I don’t want to continue with the charade. It’s only going to affect me even more.”

“All right then. I will do just that,” Lydia said softly as she looked at me tenderly.

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