Page 127 of By His Play

“Brilliant,” I mutter.

“I was right, wasn’t I? This isn’t real?”

Brax has sent me a few messages since the news broke, but I haven’t been very forthcoming with answers. I’ve been too focused on Effie. But he saw through it the instant the news hit the headlines.

“No,” I confess. “It’s not. Effie’s grandmother’s dying wish was for us to get married. So Effie?—”

“Made her dream come true. That’s cute.”

“Yeah,” I agree; the concept is really fucking cute. But the reality is a bitter pill to swallow. “It made Grams very happy. But the goddamn nurse leaked the story, and here we are.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, I’m not about to walk down the aisle, that’s for sure.”

Brax laughs. “You could do a lot worse than Effie, man.”

Don’t I fucking know it.

My eyes lift to the house, or more specifically to where the bedroom hides behind the bushes. She’s lying there naked with my cum running out of her.

Yeah, she’s even more perfect than even I was aware of.

“Maybe so, but I couldn’t commit to her for life.”

“Understandable. You can barely look after yourself most days, let alone someone else.”

“Speak for yourself,” I laugh before falling quiet.

“You still there?” he asks after a couple of seconds.

“Yeah.”

“You gonna be back here for the photoshoot Tuesday?” he asks, clearly having had the same reminder that I did earlier.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“And Effie?”

“I’m hoping she’ll come back with me. She’s been here too long. Her life is waiting for her.”

“Kat has been trying to get hold of you,” he suddenly says, making me groan.

It’s not news. I’ve seen and ignored her missed calls, voicemails, messages, and emails.

I just…don’t want to deal with her or this, or anything, right now.

“You’re gonna have to deal with it. Especially if you leave her there. That’ll invite even more questions.”

I drop my head into my hands. “I know.”

“Speak to Kat. She might have the answer.”

“She’ll want me to throw Effie under the bus to make me look better.”

His pause doesn’t fill me with joy.

“I get that, Kieran. I really do. But at the end of the day, she lied. She might just have to face the consequences. She?—”

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