Page 75 of Fake To Forever

Marie holds up a finger and explains, “If you can get her to confess to blackmailing him and record it, you’ll have leverage over her. You can use the recording to secure Oliver’s custody. Cut her off at the knees! She can’t make threats if she can’t actually back them up with the custody battle.”

I stare at Marie, stunned. It’s a wild idea, but… but it could work.

“How am I supposed to get her to talk to me?” I ask, shaking my head and reminding myself that this won’t be as easy of a solution as it seems.

Marie snorts. “Please, if I know anything about mean girls, it’s that they love to rub their victories in the faces of those they’re targeting. If you confront her, I have no doubt she’ll talk. She won’t be able to help herself.”

The more Marie talks, the more sense this idea makes. Besides, what do I really have to lose?

“Okay.” I nod. “I might as well try, right? I don’t want to lose Christian. Not like this.”

“That’s my girl!” Marie hoots. “Let’s go get that bitch!”

Christian might think what he’s doing is what’s best for all of us, but I’m going to make sure Theresa never darkens our doorstep again. I’ve found a happily ever after with Christian, and I’m not giving it up without a fight.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fix This

Christian

I’m sitting in my office, staring at the blank space on my desk where my phone usually sits. I’ve been ignoring it for the last hour, knowing that any call or text that comes through is going to add another layer to the mess I’m already in. My mind’s been spinning ever since I agreed to Theresa’s damn deal, and I can’t seem to make peace with any of it. Haven, Oliver, the weight of everything I’ve lost and stand to lose—it’s all crashing down on me, suffocating.

The sharp knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. Before I can even respond, the door flies open and Garrett storms in, his face red with fury.

"Christian, what thehellare you thinking?"

He doesn’t even wait for me to answer before slamming the door behind him. I stand up from my desk, bracing myself. I already know where this is going.

"Garrett, I?—"

"Don’t," he cuts me off, his voice shaking with barely contained anger. "Marie just told me everything. She told me you’re planning to annul your marriage to Haven and marry Theresa.Theresa,Christian! Are you out of your mind?"

I rub the back of my neck, frustration building inside me. "I didn’t have a choice. You don’t understand?—"

"Don’tyoutell me I don’t understand!" Garrett yells, stepping closer, his fists clenched at his sides. "Haven is my sister. You think I don’t know what this is doing to her? She’s wrecked, man. And you’re just going to walk away from her? For Theresa, of all people?"

The guilt I’ve been trying to suppress flares up, twisting in my gut. "I’m not doing this because I want to. Theresa threatened to pull some bullshit in court to take Oliver. She’s got leverage, Garrett. If I don’t agree to her terms, she could win, and I can’t let her have that kind of control over him."

He shakes his head, disbelief in his eyes. "So your solution is to marry her? To give her what she wants? What happened to fighting for what’s right?"

"You don’t know what kind of damage she could do," I argue, my voice rising. "She’s manipulative. She could spin this entire thing, make me look like the bad guy, and drag Oliver into it. I can’t risk losing him. Iwon’t."

"So you just sacrifice Haven?" Garrett’s voice cracks as he says her name, and the hurt in his eyes cuts me deep. "You marry the woman who’s been nothing but poison to your life, and that’s supposed to make everything okay?"

"It’s not that simple!" I snap, slamming my hand down on the desk. The sound echoes in the room, but it doesn’t do anything to cut through the tension. "Theresa didn’t give me another option. She was going to take me to court, and her lawyers are good, Garrett. You know how these things can go. It’s not about what’s right—it’s about who can spin the best story."

Gerrett looks at me like I’ve betrayed him, like I’m not the man he thought I was. He steps back, shaking his head slowly. "You’re supposed to be fighting for Haven, not cutting her out. She’s already lost so much—our mom, the life she thought she was building with you. And now this? She deserves better than this, Christian."

His words hit me like a blow to the chest. He’s right. Haven does deserve better. She deserves a hell of a lot more than the mess I’ve dragged her into, but I can’t see a way out of it. Not without risking Oliver’s future.

"I’m trying to protect everyone," I say, my voice quieter now, almost desperate. "I’m trying to make sure Oliver doesn’t end up caught in the middle of something ugly."

Garrett’s eyes flash with anger. "And what about Haven? You think she’s just going to be okay with you throwing your marriage away like it meant nothing?"

I open my mouth to respond, but the words don’t come. The truth is, I don’t have a good answer for him. I don’t know how to fix this. I’m trying to do what’s best for my son, but in the process, I’m losing the woman I care about most in the world, and I know it.

Garrett steps closer, his voice low and dangerous. "If you go through with this, Christian, you’ll lose her. For good. And you’ll lose me too because I’m not going to stand by and watch you destroy my sister’s life."

His words hang heavy in the air, and for the first time, I see the real cost of what I’m doing. Garrett isn’t just Haven’s brother—he’s my best friend, and the way he’s looking at me now, like he doesn’t even recognize me...it makes me realize just how far I’ve fallen.

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