Page 90 of The Wedding Hoax

“I know how you think about us,” my mom cut me off. “I know that we were hard on you growing up, you and your brother. And I know that we asked too much of you. We made you feel like you had to be perfect. And I always knew that you liked to keep your distance from us, Harry, but—”

My mom got all choked up before she went on. “I hope you know how much we care about you, even if we haven’t done our best. We were trying. We really were. We may have made some mistakes, but please, don’t punish us for them. Not forever.”

“We want to be part of your life, son,” my dad added. “That’s all we’ve ever wanted. Please. Don’t lock us out.”

“Lock you out?” I held up my hands in defense. “I’m not trying to lock anyone out. Like I said, I’ve just been busy.”

“We talked to Paul. He said you haven’t come into work in a week, that you’ve insisted on working from home?” Mom said, her eyes locked on mine. “That’s not usual for you, Harry. It sounds like you’re avoiding something.”

“Oh my God. It’s like I’m talking to a wall.” I groaned in pure frustration as I took a seat on the edge of my hotel bed. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. Sorry for missing your calls. I’ll check my phone more often.”

“If you’re fine, then where’s your wife?” Mom pressed. “Does she even know where you are? Or does she think you’ve been sleeping at the office?”

“Simone’s not my wife.”

“What?” My dad rushed toward me. “You two are splitting up?”

“We never were really a couple,” I admitted. “Simone and I only got married so I could get the company.”

“Harry!” Mom gasped. “Are you serious?”

“I am. I’d only met her a day or two before I asked her to sign a contract and agree to marry me. She was a new hire at my company and we clicked. We clicked so much that I thought it’d be enough to convince other people that there was something real between us.”

“Why would you do something like that?” My dad scrunched up his face in confusion. “I don’t understand. So, you were lying to me that day in your office? When you said you already had someone in mind to marry?”

“Yes.” I shrugged. “Because you told me it was the only way to keep my position as CEO. I was willing to do whatever it took to run LA Now because I’m good at it. Because I love my job. And the thought of you handing it over to Sean just because he had Ruby?”

I let out a harsh laugh. “You told me that I was going to lose everything I cared about, and you’re seriously surprised that I was willing to fight for it?”

“You were never going to lose LA Now.” My dad sighed, then took a seat next to me on the bed.

I blinked. “What?”

“It was always an empty threat,” he admitted. “We knew that you were the best choice to run LA Now. Your mother and I were just getting concerned about you. We knew that you weren’t spending time on your personal life, and we were worried that one day, you’d regret it. That you’d look around and have no one.”

“I would’ve had a successful company. That would’ve been enough for me.” I sank my head into my hands. “None of this had to happen. If you hadn’t insisted on me being married by my fortieth birthday, maybe I could’ve taken things slow with Simone. Maybe we could’ve had a shot at something real.”

“I’m sorry.” My dad placed a comforting hand on my back. “You’re right. We shouldn’t have tried to control what you did with your life. That wasn’t fair for us to do. We just wanted you to give love a chance, but it sounds like we should’ve just waited. Simone was already on her way to you.”

“And I’m so happy she found her way to you, son.” My mom sat on the other side of me. “Still. Did something happen between you two? Even if your marriage is fake, why wouldn’t she be here with you? Why are you two not together right now?”

“Because I messed everything up.”

“What happened?”

“Simone’s pregnant,” I answered, my head still in my hands. “And instead of being there for her, I decided to accuse her of being a gold digger who was trying to scheme her way into our family.”

“You did what?” My mom gasped again. “Harry! That’s the worst thing you could’ve said to her!”

“I know.”

“You’re lucky if she talks to you ever again!”

“I know, I know.” I sighed. “I was the one who told you that I messed everything up, remember? I know how bad this is.”

“I think you could still fix it.” Dad patted me on the back. “It might take some elbow grease and a whole lot of luck, but anything’s possible if you two love each other.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t even know if she loves me. I don’t know how she really feels about me, and after the whole gold digger thing, I imagine she’s not in the mood to have a conversation about how we feel about each other.”

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