Page 46 of Forever Fake

A vise closes around my lungs and suddenly I can’t breathe.

I knew I was in over my head.

I’m his pawn and he can do whatever he wants with me, he just proved that.

Blake laces his fingers through mine and leads us off stage. As soon as my feet hit the floor, Arianna, Sophia, and my cousin Ravenna are on me. I can’t avoid them any longer.

“You know what to do,” Blake murmurs in my ear before letting me go and disappearing into the crowd. My jaw drops in outrage.

Of course he’d leave me to deal with this on my own.Asshole.

My sisters each loop their arm through one of mine and practically haul me out of the main ballroom. Ravenna follows us, her expression worried. They take me to Arianna’s private suite of rooms. The door clicks shut behind us and they circle me, waiting.

Sophia, my oldest sister, blurts, “What in the hell is going on, Gin?”

I cringe under their scrutiny. I’m supposed to lie to them, feed them the story that Blake wants, but I can’t. Especially now, when all three of them are staring me down. They know me too well. I can’t deceive them the way I can other people—and I don’t really want to either.

Swallowing hard, I move toward the sofa and sit down. They follow, still staring at me with a mixture of concern and expectancy.

I throw up my hands. “All right! I stole from him and he’s blackmailing me into being his fake wife for the next year.”

“Oh, Gin.” The pity’s clear in Arianna’s voice. “We were afraid it was something like that. You’ve been avoiding us for weeks. We knew something was wrong.”

Ravenna whistles low. “However, stealing from one of the most powerful men in the city wasn’t exactly our guess of what happened.”

“Gin, how could you?” Arianna’s accusing tone has me rolling my eyes.

I shrug. “It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Plus, I didn’t think I’d getcaught.”

Sophia sighs, the heaviness of that sound draws my attention to her. “Well, you were caught and now you have to deal with the consequences.” Her brow pinches. “Is he hurting you in any way, or are you all right?”

“I’m okay.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” she says. “He’s Roman’s best friend, so I’ve spent some time around him, but they’ve had a falling out recently and I don’t know the cause of it. I thought Blake might be hurting you.”

I shake my head and force a smile. “No. Our situation is complicated, but he’s not cruel. Rude, yes. Abusive, no.” I slouchin my seat. “One thing though… none of you are supposed to know the truth. If he finds out, he might call this whole thing off and press charges against me. So just pretend like I convinced you all that I’m in love with Blake and we’re having a whirlwind affair. The wedding’s in August by the way.”

Sophia and Arianna exchange a loaded glance. Ravenna covers my folded hands with hers.

“Does this wedding have a date?” Sophia asks.

“Not yet. I haven’t done any planning for it. I don’t know where to start.” Coming clean to my sisters and cousin helps to settle my nerves. A weight is lifted from my shoulders.

Arianna offers me a genuine grin. “I do know where to start. Let me help plan your wedding. That should convince Mr. Baron that we’re buying your love story.”

I perk up at that. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

The look my sisters share is one I know well—exasperation. But in all honesty, Arianna and I have never had an easy relationship. She’s always chiding me about something.

“Of course! We do love you, you know.” Arianna straightens her already perfect posture. “You might be trouble incarnate, but you’re also our baby sister. We’ll do anything for you when you’re in trouble. All you have to do is ask.”

My eyes burn and I have to swallow past the lump in my throat before I can speak again. “Thank you. I love you, too.”

Ravenna squeezes my hands. “Everything will be all right.”

The vise around my chest loosens. My sisters and cousin are the most amazing people I know and I’m so grateful for them.

“We get to plan a wedding!” Arianna’s gaze lights up.

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