Page 89 of Single Dad's Fake Bride
I leaned back on my hands, letting the morning breeze wash over me. This moment felt precious and fragile—Mom engaged and present, Eloise happy and animated, the three of us together watching the sun climb higher over the water. For once, everything seemed peaceful.
But I'd learned not to trust moments when life appeared to be working out. They usually preceded something falling apart.
The thought of sleeping with Harrison surfaced, unbidden and overwhelming. His hands on my skin, the way he'd whispered my name, the careful tenderness afterward. It had been more than physical—at least for me. But physical didn't make it real. Physical didn't guarantee he wouldn't wake up one morning and decide the complications outweighed the benefits.
I was a substitute teacher from a broken family, married to a man who owned an elite academy. The gulf between our worlds hadn't disappeared because we'd shared a bed. If anything, it felt wider now, and I had no idea where it left us.
What did Harrison think about all of this? Was he regretting it? Or was I just a plaything he'd throw away as soon as myusefulness expired? The uncertainty gnawed at me, made worse by the job situation. Without my position at the school, I had even less standing in his world.
"Time to head back," I said when my watch showed seven thirty. "Harrison will want to get you to school soon."
We gathered our things and made our way up the path, Eloise walking between Mom and me, still describing various marine animals she'd read about. The normalcy of it made my chest ache. This was what family looked like—three generations together, sharing discoveries and quiet moments.
But it wasn't real. Not completely. This was still an arrangement, no matter how intimate Harrison and I had become.
When we reached the house, Harrison was in the kitchen making coffee, dressed in a charcoal gray suit that made his eyes look almost silver. Professional. Distant. The warmth we shared when we were alone in the bedroom might as well have happened to different people.
"Good morning," he said, glancing at my jeans and sweater. "Aren't you running late?"
"Actually, I don't have to go in today. The principal called—said they didn't need me."
Harrison's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make sense. Mrs. Kaup isn't returning until the end of the month."
"Maybe plans changed." But even as I said it, doubt crept in. The principal's tone had been oddly formal, almost cold.
Harrison was already reaching for his phone, stepping into the hallway for privacy. I helped Eloise gather her school things, trying not to eavesdrop on his increasingly tense conversation. The worry in his voice made my stomach clench.
When he returned, his face was carefully controlled, but anger simmered beneath the surface.
"Sadie, I need to speak with you privately."
My stomach dropped. Eloise looked between us, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere.
"Go brush your teeth, sweetheart," I told her. "Your dad will take you to school in a few minutes."
Harrison led me to his study and closed the door. When he turned to face me, his jaw was tight.
"You weren't asked not to come in today. You were terminated."
"Terminated? Why?"
"The school has a strict policy about fraternization between staff and administration. Someone reported that we were involved."
Heat flooded my cheeks. The humiliation was complete and immediate. "But we're married."
"The marriage happened after you were hired. The policy states that any romantic or physical relationship between staff and the headmaster is grounds for immediate dismissal, regardless of subsequent legal arrangements."
I sank into the chair across from his desk. My job, my independence, my connection to Eloise's world—gone. It meant I wouldn't sub there again, and there was a large chance they'd give me a bad reference for future jobs too.
"I'm going to fight this," Harrison said. "The policy is archaic and doesn't account for?—"
"No." I stood, gathering what remained of my dignity. "Don't make this worse by turning it into a spectacle."
After Harrison left with Eloise, I returned to the kitchen where Mom was finishing her tea. The coffee Harrison had been making still sat in the pot, its aroma suddenly overwhelming. My heart was already so torn up, and the scent made it all worse. My stomach lurched violently.
I rushed to the sink, retching until nothing came up but bile. The nausea had been building for days, but I'd blamed it onstress, on the uncertainty of my situation. Now it felt different—persistent, triggered by specific scents.
"Sadie?" Mom's voice carried concern. "Are you all right?"
