Page 50 of Falling for My Billionaire Fake Date

Chapter thirty-two

Aurora – The Reunion

“Do you intend to freeze yourself to death as a form of explanation? Whatever the answer you seek, it’s not in the space you’re staring at, Jake.”

Jake whirls sharply at the sound of my voice. He must feel it’s a vivid imagination. But there I am, staring at him with an unreadable expression on my face.

Hopefully the two cups of hot coffee in my hands match the warmth in my eyes.

Jake startles at the sound of my voice. He jumps from the bench he’s been sitting on while blankly staring at nothing. The weather is below freezing, and he’s the only crazy idiot sitting out here in the park around the corner from my house. I’ve been standing for over two minutes, watching him, sort of like a creepy stalker.

We stare at each other, soaking in our appearances. Jake looks like he hasn’t slept in months. He has dark circles around his eyes, his beard looks scruffy, and his hair has lost its usual shine.

“You look terrible,” I voice my thoughts, and he barks out a laugh. I smile a little bit at that.

“You going to take this?” I ask him, stretching a cup of coffee towards him. He looks back at me with an uncertain expression in his eyes, still not saying a word.

“It’s not poisoned, I promise,” I say, trying to make a joke, but he is still hesitant to talk, although his eyes widen comically.

“No, I didn’t mean that, Aurora. I promise,” he says quickly, taking the coffee from my hand, almost snatching it.

I sigh and go back to sit from where he stood up. He sits beside me, almost on the edge of the park bench.

“Stop that,” I say softly.

“Stop what?” he asks with an expression of fear or panic on his face. It’s like I’m some sort of spooked puppy, and he’s afraid to make the wrong move, so I won’t run away.

“Stop being so extremely careful around me. You’re acting like a stranger, and it’s beginning to tick me off,” I tell him.

He looks down at the cup of coffee in his hand.

“I didn’t do it, I promise! It was all a misunderstanding!” he bursts out, and I turn to look at him.

He looks scared and he’s crying. I feel a twinge in my heart.

“I know you didn’t do it, Jake.” He jerks his head up to look at me, and I nod. “They all told me what had actually happened. Well, with embellishments and more curse words than needed from Ryan’s point of view, but yeah . . . I got the gist of the story.”

“Iam so very sorry,” he whispers brokenly, and I shake my head.

“It was not your fault, Jake. I know that, and I believe that,” I try to reassure him.

There is a long pause, and he speaks up again.

“She’s gone. For good. Not from my end this time, but Bella sent her away,” he says softly, and I nod at the information.

“So I heard. And with a thunderous slap—Ryan’s words, not mine—that would have dragged it out to a knock down drag out girl fight if not for Ethan’s intervention,” I say, surprised at the fact that Bella slapped Sophia and sent her away.

“Alex is gone too. I came out of dad’s hospital room for mom to tell me he was gone. Probably ran to Sophia,” I say, willing to clarify the situation about Alex too.

I never thought I’d see the day Bella would get so mad, to the extent of slapping another person.

“She has regrets. Not about sending her away, or the slap. She told me she regrets taking Sophia’s side for so long and turning a blind eye to everything that now seems to be obvious right in front of her.” I relay what Bella told me, how she explained her own point of view of what had happened.

I shiver slightly, and Jake moves towards me. He silently asks for my permission, to which I nod my approval. He puts an arm around me and tucks my head into his shoulder, shielding me from the cold.

“Do you want to go somewhere warm?” he asks me, and I murmur a no, snuggling towards him.This is perfect -us right here, right now.

He laughs and kisses my forehead. I feel a tingle go down my spine, warming me all over. I miss this. I miss him.

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