Page 77 of How To Fake A Fiancé

“W-what are you doing?”

“Giving you what you want. You said you wanted to be alone, right? Well, you got it. I’m out of here.”

He thinks leaving is what I want. There was a time when that was true, but now, I watch him with horror.

He stops moving, breathes a heavy sigh, and slowly turns to face me. “Kami, try to picture for me in your mind what your life will be like twenty years from now. What does that look like to you?”

I look away from him, shaking my head, tears falling from my eyes uncontrollably. I can’t say anything because I don’t know what to say.

“If the picture is of you alone,” he continues, “then so be it.”

He starts to walk into the bathroom when I grab his bicep. I cling to him with a hard grip.

No. Don’t walk away. Not like this.

“No. That’s not what I want. I don’t want you to go.”

Turning his body toward me, he towers over my petite figure. He sends me a hard and direct stare. “Then what do you want?”

I shake my head. “It’s not that simple.”

“What do you want?” he repeats the question.

“Well, I don’t want you to leave,” I tell him.

He stares at me unfazed. “What do you want?”

“I told you, it’s not that simple,” I snap.

“What. Do. You. Want?”

I take a deep breath, putting all fears, anxieties, and insecurities aside. WhatdoI want? I want sanity, stability, and for once to feel like no one is going to abandon me.

I can’t answer that question, even though it’s burning in my mind. “I’m scared to say.”

“Why?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do know.”

I inhale a sob. “I-I’m scared of everything.”

“What do you mean by everything?”

“This.” I point between us. “I’m scared of what could happen, of trusting myself, and I’m scared of watching you walk, never feeling for the rest of my life how I feel when I’m with you.”That confession slips from my lips. “So please, don’t leave.”

Ian leans his face toward mine. “So what do you want?”

“I want…you.”

“And what is it about me that you want?”

I know what I think, but I can no longer hide what I feel. “Everything. Your smile, your warmth, your light. My world is cold, unfeeling, and meaningless without you. I want you because of your optimism, your patience, and kindness. You give me sanity in a world full of chaos. I don’t know how, but when you’re around, everything just makes sense.”

Slouching my shoulders and losing my posture, I collapse onto the bed. Everything I’ve had pent up for so long now feels nonexistent. Everything I ever felt is out in the open.

Crouching beside me, Ian hooks a finger under my chin and wipes away my tears. I look into those hazel eyes I can never resist.

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