Page 19 of Fake Engaged to the Enemy

“You can trust me. Okay? So what happened?”

Wordlessly, she holds her phone out to me.

I take it and flip it around to see the image it displays.

My stomach drops.

The picture is as clear as day. Two people kissing.

The woman looks like Catherine. They have the same profile, the same color and style of hair. Her face is turned just far enough away that I can’t know for certain.

Crimson’s face, however, is perfectly visible. And it’s obvious that they’re lip locked.

What in the world?

She says she isn’t dating him.

Does that just mean she’s pussyfooting around the truth? It’s not dating because it only happened once sort of thing?

I turn off the phone.

A heaviness sits in my chest. No wonder she thinks I’m calling off our fake engagement.

If we were engaged for real, I’d have serious second thoughts about the whole thing.

Right now, though…

I take a deep, calming breath.

“What’s happening in this picture, Catherine?” I ask her.

Catherine wipes her eyes. “It’s not what it looks like. That isn’t me.”

“Then who is it?” I demand. “Because it looks like you.”

“Yes, it looks like me. But it’s not. As though the truth is any better,” she says, bitterly.

“Cat—”

She shakes her head, her hands clenching into fists. “I’m not talking about this anymore. Either you believe it’s not me or you think I’m a liar. So what is it?”

I’m surprised by how emphatic she is.

Clearly, whatever happened is making her miserable.

As she watches for my response, shaking, I can’t help but think about the day I knew our friendship was over.

Her face is blotchy from sobs. The front of her shirt soaked through with tears.

And her eyes.

Her eyes bore into me, expecting nothing.

It made me feel like I was personally responsible for every terrible thing that happened to her.

Right now, as she levels her chin and stares at me, I know she’s telling the truth.

She won’t tell me what really happened.

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