Page 121 of The Fake Dating War

“Wait.” Leo takes another healthy chug of the wine. “Say what? Speak slower.”

And so I do.

And when I finish, he glares at me. “You could have lived with me! I have a spare room!”

“That you’ve been turning into a nursery.”

“I’m upset.”

“Sorry.”

“If you haven’t already been through so much, I’d yell at you more.” He groans. “As punishment, I must hug you now. Endure it.”

We get to our feet. He wraps his arms around me.

There’s a suspicious wetness in his eyes that I notice when he pulls back.

“We can hug for longer?” I offer softly. “I’ll endure it.”

“No, it’ll overwhelm us.” He dusts himself off. “You’re going to make this up to me by accepting furniture. No, don’t make that face. No excuses. I’ve got some of Wyatt’s old stuff in a storage unit. Things I’ve been trying to get rid of for ages. And—” He pats me on the shoulder. “Now it’s going to make me look good. I’m helping my poor, sad little friend who needs it. She’s got nothing. What a hero I will be.”

“This is such emotional blackmail.”

“Don’t be so judgy. I’m blessing your apartment with a couch.”

“Is it hideous?”

“Just very basic,” he says with a shudder.

I hide my smile. This… This feels normal when almost everything else doesn’t. Friendship is the buoy you can rest on when waters get choppy. It’s so dependable I could cry. I can’t believe I’m so lucky.

“I still have questions,” says Leo. “Like…Mr.Davies hasn’t told anybody why you haven’t won the bonus, even though you’re clearly in the lead with your portfolio.”

Yeah, I haven’t told him about my parking lot nights.

Before I can answer, Esha and Gurinder walk in with cans of white paint. She reads my expression and immediately deflects blame. “Bebe bought these. She’s the one who sent money to our parents for you, who then sent it to me. Something about reparations for your leech of an ex-husband.”

“She didn’t have to do that.”

“She harasses as much as she empowers. Take the money guilt-free. I did.”

“You got some, too?”

“For my wedding gift.”

That does make me feel better, plus it’ll take care of the Grinch walls.

Gurinder is chatting to Leo. That’s when I remember I haven’t made official introductions yet. I do, which, right after, my sister looks at Leo and asks, “You know everything now?”

“Actually,” I interrupt. “There’s something I haven’t told everyone.”

They brace themselves, and it makes me feel bad.

I’ve withheld so much that anything could be another depressing update. A whispering part of me thinks I should stop. That there’s been enough embarrassments already, and I can handle the rest of it on my own…

But another—strengthened—voice interjects. This is part of my story, and they care about me, and being honest hasn’t made the embarrassment flame worse, but has dulled it, oddly enough. This process hasn’t been easy, and it doesn’t mean I have to stand naked with every mistake on display, but hearing what I did for the bonus completes the story.

When I tell them, my sister morphs into an armchair psychologist. “You were obsessed with fixing your marriage, and then you were obsessed with the bonus. Lots of intensity going on, Reema.”

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