“Well, it was a six-year business agreement.”
“Six years! What kind of idiot agrees to marry a complete stranger for six years?”
“That was a condition of the trust. In order to get all our money, we had to stay married for six years. And if I divorced her before the six-year mark, I’d have to pay all the money back.”
“You have plenty of money now. Why didn’t you just divorce her, pay it back, and walk away?”
“I’m where I’m at now because of the money from this fake marriage. It seemed rude not to follow through on my end of the deal just because I’m no longer desperate.”
“So you’d rather lie to the woman you love than go back on your word to Camila?”
I stand, placing my hands on Shanna’s shoulders. “I made a decision when I was twenty-two, before I even knew you. It might’ve been a dumb decision, but it helped get me where I’m at today, to a place where you and I can have an amazing life together.”
“But you lied to me.”
“That was wrong, but just so you know, I lied toeveryoneI love. Nobody knows about this marriage except for me and Camila.”
Her eyes darken with disbelief. “I’m sure she told someone. I bet Selena knows.”
“She hasn’t told anyone. She couldn’t risk her dad finding out that the marriage was fraudulent and revoking her inheritance.”
“Her dad?”
“Yeah, some rich guy from Scottsdale who had some kind of affair with her mom.” Shanna’s eyes narrow even more, as if she doesn’t buy what I’m saying. “Seriously! He owns an airline and is using this inheritance as a way to pay off Camila to keep her quiet.”
“I don’t know.” She wiggles out of my grasp, turning away from me. “I just can’t get over the fact that you lied to me.”
“Shanna”—I reach for her—“I love you. You know I love you.”
“I don’t know anything.”
“The whole thing is over in six months. Let’s not blow up our entire relationship when none of this will matter in a few months.”
“And what if the marriage gets out there before the six months are up? What if people start finding out?”
“They won’t. Nobody knows.”
“Now that you and Camila have the same circle of friends, it could get out there. Then what?”
I lift my shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to pay the money back.”
She steps back, picking up her purse. “I just need some time to figure out what I want to do.”
“Wait. Don’t leave.” But she’s already making her way to the front door. “If you leave now, you’ll just stay mad. Let’s talk through it until you feel better.”
“Why don’t you go talk through everything with your wife?” And with that, she swings open the door, walks out, and slams it behind her.
I think that went about as well as could be expected.
The first thingI did when I woke up the next morning was grab my phone to text Shanna.
Hess
I feel terrible about last night. I’m sorry that I hid things from you. Can we get together and talk? I hate leaving things like this.
But even hours later, my message was left onunread.
Camila
