Page 73 of Fake To Forever

The mention of her name immediately puts me on edge. “Theresa? What does she want?”

“You know how much I’ve struggled with them trying to force their way back into Oliver’s life,” he says, his voice tight. “They were threatening to drag me into a long, nasty custody battle. They were going to spin this story about how I kept Oliver from her, how I’ve manipulated the situation. I couldn’t risk it. Not for Oliver.”

I sit there, frozen, trying to piece together what he’s saying. “So… what did you do?”

Christian looks down, unable to meet my eyes. “I made a deal with her. I agreed to marry her.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My breath catches in my throat, and for a moment, I can’t speak.

“What?” I finally manage, my voice barely above a whisper.

He looks up, pain etched across his face. “It’s just a legal arrangement. A way to keep her out of our lives and protect Oliver. She’ll have access to the money, but that’s it. Oliver stays with me—she won’t be involved in his life.”

I stare at him, stunned, my mind racing. “You agreed tomarryher? Christian, how could you?—”

“It was the only way,” he interrupts, his voice desperate. “If I didn’t, she would’ve taken me to court, and I couldn’t put Oliver through that. You know how manipulative she is. She would’ve won, Haven.”

I stand up, feeling the ground beneath me shift. “So, your solution was to marry her? To give her exactly what she wants?”

“It’s not like that,” he says, standing too, reaching for me, but I step back. “It’s not a real marriage. It’s just...”

“Just what?” I snap, my voice rising. “A business deal? A way to keep her quiet? You didn’t even talk to me about this! Is this your MO? Make marriage deals with people to get what you want? Switch out wives like chess pieces when one isn’t useful anymore?”

“I didn’t have time, Haven,” he says, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “She came to me with an ultimatum. It was either this, or risk losing Oliver. I couldn’t take that chance. Besides, you said yourself that you’re not sure if our marriage is real anymore. If you still feel that way, this shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right?”

There’s a bitterness in his tone that gives me pause. Is that what this is really about? The fact that, in a vulnerable moment when I was hurting, I questioned whether there was anything real between us? Irritation pulses through me and I clench my hands into fists at my sides.

“You just decided to marry the woman who abandoned you and your son—without telling me? Without giving me a chance to weigh in?” My voice is shaking now, and the hurt is clawing its way up, too strong to hold back.

“I was trying to protect you,” he says, but it rings hollow.

“By deciding to end our marriage so you can go back to the woman who hurt you and abandoned your son? No, Christian, you were trying to fix everything on your own like you always do. You didn’t think about what this would do to us. To me.”

His face tightens, his eyes pleading. “Haven, I didn’t have a choice.”

I shake my head, the tears welling up in my eyes. “There’s always a choice, Christian. And you made yours.”

The weight of it all crashes down on me—the loss of my mom, the fragile state of our marriage, and now this. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. All I know is that I can’t stay here. Not like this.

“I can’t do this,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “I need to get out of here.”

“Haven, wait—” he starts, but I cut him off.

“No,” I say, my voice stronger now. “You’ve made your decision, Christian. You’ve chosen her, not me. I can’t stay here and pretend like this is okay.”

I grab my bag and head for the door, my heart pounding in my chest. Christian follows me, his hand reaching out, but I pull away.

“Please don’t go,” he says, his voice raw. “Let’s talk about this.”

I shake my head, tears streaming down my face. “What’s the point? You clearly don’t care about me and you never have.”

With that, I walk out the door, leaving him standing in the doorway, the weight of everything we’ve built crumbling around us.

I get into my car and drive to Marie’s, the tears blurring my vision as I go. The pain in my chest is unbearable, but I can’t stay there. I can’t stay in a house filled with lies and decisions made without me.

I need space. I need to think.

Right now, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him.

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