Page 140 of The Match Faker

‘It was… all a lie,’ Alice mumbled. ‘We’ve been unhappy for years, but I just didn’t want to admit it. Mum and Dad are so happy and Granny and Granddad were married for ages too. I didn’t want to be the one to break the family’s perfect marriage track record.’

‘Shit. I’m so sorry.’

‘In a way I’m relieved.’ Her eyes watered. ‘Pretending that I had all my shit together was exhausting.’

‘What happened? Why are you breaking up?’

‘We wanted different things. He wants to have kids now and live in a little village in the countryside. But I’ve only just made partner and I want to travel and see the world before I have kids. He wanted to just order a takeaway for our tenth anniversary. I wanted to celebrate properly. We had our issues before, but I think the extravagance of the party was probably the last straw for him.’

‘Oh, Alice.’ I rubbed her shoulder.

‘We had a massive argument on the night of your awards. I wanted him to come, but he said he didn’t want to lie anymore. And I was too embarrassed to come on my own. I knew if I said he was working again, you’d get suspicious. Everything’s a mess.’

‘Come here.’ I pulled her into a hug and she sobbed on my shoulder.

All this time I’d had Alice on a pedestal. I thought I was the failure because I hadn’t found the one. I thought Alice had it all, when really she was feeling the pressure to follow in our parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps as much as I was. Just showed that things weren’t always what they seemed.

‘I’m sorry about you and Liam.’ She sat up. ‘I was always jealous of your friendship and the way he looked at you. That’s why I didn’t pass on his message. I’d just broken up with Wade and I was angry. And when I listened to that voicemail Liam sent you, I just… I… I knew he liked you and thought it wasn’t fair. You already had Boris. You didn’t need Liam too. You had two guys interested in you and I had no one and I… I deleted it.’ Her gaze dropped to the floor. ‘It was a shitty thing to do. I know that. I felt guilty the next day when Mum told you he’d left and I wanted to tell you, but I knew how bad it’d look. And the more time went on, the worse it was. So I kept quiet. I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again.’

‘You can be a pain in the arse sometimes, but you’ll always be my little sis.’

Her head jerked up in surprise.

‘Thanks. You’ve always been a good person. I wish I could be more like you. You’re so smart and brave. I’d never have the guts to start my own business like you did.’

I pinched myself. I was still trying to get my head around my parents saying they were proud of me. But hearing Alice apologise and call me brave blew my mind.

Right now I should feel triumphant. But I’d never wanted to be in competition with her. I was genuinely sorry that her marriage hadn’t worked out. She was my little sister, and although we’d had our ups and downs, I wanted her to be happy.

‘You think I’m brave, but I think you are too. For admitting that you’re not happy and doing something about it. Lots of people are too afraid to end their marriage and waste the rest of their lives.’

I remembered Liam saying something similar when we’d first met to discuss the terms of our fake-dating agreement. God. Would there ever be a time that I’d stop thinking about him?

‘I don’t feel brave right now.’

‘You’re strong. You’ll get through this. And when you’re ready to find love again, I’ll hook you up!’ I knew she wouldn’t be thinking about that yet, but I wanted her to know that divorce wasn’t the end.

‘Thanks. Even though Jack and I have been leading separate lives for a while, I still think it’ll be a long time until I get back on the horse.’

‘Take all the time you need.’

‘And what about you and Liam?’

‘Don’t know.’ I shrugged. ‘I love him, but…’

‘If you love him, you should fight for him, sis.’

I paused. This was the part where I was supposed to say I’d tried and he wasn’t interested and it was over. But somehow, my conversation with Alice had triggered something within me. The desire not to give up.

I was sad without Liam, so I had nothing to lose by trying again. I’d call him and see if we could talk. Properly.

‘You’re right.’

‘Well, don’t sit around here! Call him now!’

‘I need to make sure you’re okay first.’

‘Go!’

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