Page 33 of Fake To Forever

Pulling into the driveway, I sit in the car for a moment, staring at the front of the house. It’s quiet, too quiet, and the weight of the ring in my pocket feels like it’s pulling me down. I have to keep it together, for Oliver’s sake, for my own, but the thought of marrying Haven—of making her my wife in anything but name—is starting to feel like a line I’m not sure I should cross.

With a sigh, I force myself out of the car, closing the door behind me, and make my way back inside. The house is as still as I left it, the air heavy with the same tension that’s been building all day. I check my phone again, hoping for a missed call, a text, anything.

There’s nothing.

The ring burns a hole in my pocket, a reminder of the decision I’ve already made, and the one I’m still waiting for her to make. Walking into my office, the room feels smaller than it did this morning. My thoughts keep drifting back to her, to the way she looked last night when I asked her to marry me. There was surprise, yes, but there was something else too—something I can’t quite put my finger on.

Could this really work? Could we make it through this together without getting hurt? Deep down, I’m not as confident as I was when I first made the proposal. I’m already in too deep, and the longer this goes on, the harder it’s going to be to keep my feelings in check.

***

The silence in the house is so thick, I can almost feel it pressing down on me. For the last few hours, I’ve tried to do just about anything to distract myself. Including getting into some tv show that Garrett told me about a few months ago. Something to do with ex-cons and biker gangs. Though no matter how much I try to distract myself with work and a stupid tv show, I can’t stop thinking about her.

So much so that the ring I bought her has been passing through my fingers for the last twenty minutes, making me wonder if I’m a fool for buying it.

The sound of the doorbell is like music to my ears. My heart skips a beat, and I wonder if I imagined it, but then it comes again, more insistent this time. I stand up, the ring slipping from my fingers, landing softly on my desk as I hurry out of my office towards the front door.

When I open the door, Haven is standing there, her eyes wide, her expression unreadable. She looks like she’s been through a storm—her hair is a little tousled, and there’s a look in her eyes that’s a mix of determination and something else I can’t quite place.

“Haven,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “I wasn’t expecting you…”

She steps inside without waiting for an invitation, and I close the door behind her, the click of the latch echoing in the quiet house. We stand there for a moment, just looking at each other.

“I… I’ve been thinking,” she starts, her voice shaky. “About your proposal.”

I nod, waiting for her to continue, my throat suddenly dry. The words I want to say are caught somewhere between my chest and my mouth, and I’m terrified of pushing her too fast, too soon. I need her to say yes, but I know she has a right to say no.

“Okay… it’s not what I ever imagined,” she says slowly. “Marriage was never something I really thought about, let alone one like this. But… given everything that’s happening, with my mom, with Oliver… I think it might be the practical thing to do.”

I swallow hard, forcing myself to stay calm and not let my emotions take over.

“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice low, searching her face for any sign of doubt. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re being forced to do this..”

She looks down at her hands, twisting them together nervously before she lifts her gaze back to mine. “I know. But you’re right. This could help both of us. My mom, she… she wants to see me settled, and I can’t ignore that. And for you, with Oliver, I can see why it would make a difference. So, yes. I’m sure. It’s practical, and I think it’s the right thing to do. Plus, this is like a business agreement. We both will benefit from it.”

I should feel relieved and be grateful that she’s saying yes, that she’s willing to do this. Instead, all I can think about is the way she’s hesitating, the way she’s trying to convince herself as much as she’s trying to convince me. It makes me wonder if we’re both about to step into something we can’t handle.

“Okay,” I say quietly, nodding. “Okay. We can make this work, but I want you to know, Haven, that this isn’t just about convenience for me. I care about you. A lot. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure this doesn’t become something you regret.”

She smiles faintly, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I appreciate that, Chris.”

A moment of awkwardness passes between us as she stands before me. As much as I was hoping she was going to say yes, part of me feels guilty and I don’t exactly know why.

“I should probably get going,” she finally says, turning towards the door. My hand quickly reaches out, grasping her arm to stop her in her tracks.

“Before you go… I have something for you. Follow me.” I turn and head for my office, her soft footsteps following behind me as I make my way towards my desk. “I got something for you today. It’s just a formality, but you still need one regardless.”

Her eyes widen as she looks at the ring, and I’m worried that I’ve overstepped, that this is too much. To my relief, she reaches out and takes it, her fingers brushing against mine as she does.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers, turning the ring over in her hand. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Neither was I,” I admit with a soft chuckle. “I was hoping you would say yes, but I knew there was a chance you wouldn’t.”

She slips the ring onto her finger and to my surprise it fits perfectly, and seeing it there makes everything feel a little more real and a little more terrifying.

Haven looks up at me, and for a moment, neither of us says anything.

“We’ll make this work,” I say at length, more for myself than for her. “One step at a time.”

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