Page 108 of The Fiancé Hoax

I swallowed down my feelings so I could get through this.

“I'd like us to stick to the contract. I need you to go to the trial on Monday wearing the ring and play the part. But we can't do anything more than that. And after the judge’s decision, we have to return to the way things were before.”

“You mean you want me to leave.” Tears were rolling down her face now, and she wiped them away angrily. “You're kicking me out of your house. As soon as I've fulfilled my obligations to you, you want me gone.”

“I'm not kicking you out, Felicity. I'm just saying we should stick to our agreement. Things have gotten messy. My kids are confused. And that’s my fault, not yours. I should have done everything differently.”

“Like not get close to me?”

I swallowed. I didn't know how to answer that. The truth was I didn't regret getting close to her. Not one bit.

I didn't want this to end. But I couldn't tie her down when her business and life were starting to take off.

I’d made too many mistakes in my life. Some of them had come close to breaking me. I wasn't the same man I once was.

Felicity deserved better.

She deserved someone whole.

“I care for you, Felicity. A lot. But I need to prioritize my daughters now.”

She sat in silence for a long time, her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes were downcast, looking everywhere but at me.

“I'm sorry, Felicity. I never wanted to hurt you. But I think this is the best for all of us.”

I reached across the space to grab her hand, but she snatched it away. “You mean this is the best for you, Cooper.”

She sprang to her feet and glared at me. Her face was hard and angry. She’d never looked at me like this before, and it made pain shoot through my chest.

“So that's all I was to you,” she said quietly. “Just a business deal.”

“No, Felicity, that's not true. Not at all. If that were true, I wouldn’t be telling you this right now. I’m doing it now, before the trial, because it would be a dick move to wait until it was over.”

But she wasn't listening to me. She charged out of the room and grabbed her things from the table in the foyer.

I followed her. “Where are you going? You can't leave now.”

“Don't worry, Cooper,” she said over her shoulder. “I won't violate the terms of your agreement.”

“That's not what I meant,” I said. “You shouldn’t be driving when you're upset like this.”

“Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll be at the custody trial. And I'll sleep in your house every night until then, per our agreement. But right now, I need some air.”

She opened the front door and walked into the night. Even in her angry state, she closed the door gently so she wouldn't wake the girls.

I thought about running after her and convincing her to stay.

I thought about telling her what an idiot I was, how I was lying through my teeth when I said I didn't want something more from her.

I thought about confessing that I was doing this for her, so she wouldn't be tied down to a screwed-up guy like me.

But I didn't run after her. I just let her go.

She was the best thing to ever happen to me, other than my daughters. And I had driven her off.

I went to my study and poured myself a glass of whiskey.

If I couldn't be with Felicity, at least I could be numb.

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