Page 18 of The Wedding Hoax

“Simi!” my mom whispered with a snap. “What’s going on here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play innocent!” she pressed. “You’ve either lost your mind or there’s something you’re not telling me. One minute, you’re saying he’s not your type. Then the next, he’s telling me that you two are engaged? What the hell is this?”

“We’re getting married so you can afford your surgery!” I blurted out the truth just as Harry stepped back into the room. I couldn’t stand the idea of having to lie to my own mother about anything. “Harry needs to get married by his fortieth birthday to stay on as CEO of his family’s company.”

“So he’s paying you? To get married to him?”

“It’s a good deal for all of us,” I sheepishly replied. “It’s not like we couldn’t use the money, Mom. And Harry’s really good at his job. It’s not fair if he has to step down just because he’s not married in time.”

“And you’re telling me this handsome young man couldn’t find a real wife of his own?”

“That’s mostly my fault.” Harry let out a small laugh. “I’ve been married to my job for a long time. I haven’t done the best job in the romance department.”

“I don’t like this, Simone. I don’t like this one bit.” My mom frowned. “I think you should call it off.”

“Mom, I can’t just call it off. I already signed a contract, for starters—”

“You shouldn’t have to do things like this for money. Or for me,” she pleaded. “I want you to get married to someone because you love them. Not because you’re trying to take care of me.”

“It’s already decided, Mom.” I reached out toward her, resting my hand over hers. “Can you try to be supportive of me? Even if this isn’t what you want?”

“I can try, Simi. I can try.” She sighed, turning her palm up toward mine. “I just hope this goes the way you want it to.”

7

SIMONE

Planning a wedding in a week’s time went about as well as could be expected.

Thankfully, I had a lot of help. Harry hired me no less than three wedding planners, who presented me with various choices I just had to sign off on. Still, it was a stressful experience. Especially since I hadn’t seriously thought about getting married since I was dating Jace last year.

Since he broke my heart into a million pieces and just walked away.

“You look like a vision.” Ruby was standing in front of me, eyeing my custom designer gown. “I can’t believe Harry got this made for you in a week.”

“Friends in high places, I guess.”

“More like friends literally everywhere,” Taylor joked as she handed me a glass of white wine. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, Simone? Because I’m not, and I’m just going to be in the audience watching it happen.”

“I’m ready. I love him.” I sipped my wine as I looked over at Ruby, hoping that she bought the lie. “I always knew that it was going to be Harry. Always.”

“Such a fairy tale.” Ruby sighed, followed by a smile. She then looped her arm around Taylor’s. “Come on. We need to get to our seats. Let the bride finish getting ready for her big day.”

“Okay, okay.” Taylor’s words came out anxious. “But Simone, I promise, if you need anything, even if it’s a ride out of here, just tell me, okay? There’s nothing wrong with being a runaway bride.”

“Well, the running away part might feel problematic to Harry.” Ruby chuckled as she pulled Taylor out of the room. “So let’s try to stay put. Shall we?”

I weakly smiled as they disappeared out of my view.

What the hell was I doing?

Fake marriage or not, things were starting to feel pretty damn real. I hadn’t considered just how much lying was going to be required in this arrangement, despite our whole relationship being based on a lie. I was genuinely worried that I was going to crack at any minute, ruining everything just because the guilt was eating me alive.

“Fuck.” It was all Harry said when I finished walking down the aisle, soon turning toward him.

“Really?” I whispered. “That’s all you have to say to your soon-to-be bride?”

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