SWNOVELS Chapter 10
Chapter 10
-MILLIE-
“What?” I had to be sure.
“You heard me.”
Of all the favors he’d ask, that didn’t cross my mind. Though I’ve been trying to push it aside, S** was lingering there in my head. It’s f ucking shameful, Damian wouldn’t even bat an eyelash on me. Why did I even assume he’d want to sleep with me? But be his pretend girlfriend?
“Why?” my voice hitched. My brain tried and failed to find a logical reason for his request.
“I have my reasons, and you need me, he stated in a businesslike tone.
“I need you?” my brain’s chips are short-circuiting. I couldn’t keep up. First, he asked me to continue pretending to be his girlfriend, and now he says I need him.
His intense gaze made my skin tingle. “Your ex-fiance cheated on you with your friend, right? And this girl, Natalie, kept gaslighting people that you were the one who plagiarized the content for your vlog”
That was public knowledge. A few sent me hoax sympathy, but none of them actually believed I didn’t do it. Damian surprisingly does. “You don’t believe her?”
“Anyone with eyes would see who between the two of you works hard for those vlogs,” his statement caught me off guard.
“You’re following me?”
His l*ps pressed on a hard line. He didn’t look impressed.
I had to be sure because I was not following his account. Searching his name on the tab of my followers, I want to take back my question. He was indeed following me.
I frowned. “Did you follow me just now?”
“That’s not my point, Millicent,” he groaned, tossing back the rest of his wine. “Think about it. This is the sweetest form of revenge. I’m willing to be your rebound from the di ps hit ex of yours.”
He had a point.
Before going to the lake, I scrolled through some of the comments, and my followers were indeed celebrating this blooming relationship between Damian and me. Of course, there were tons of negative comments too. Some said I cheated first, pushing Hunter to choose Natalie over me. At the end of the day they were all just speculations. Assumptions I would have straightened out with a public apology by now if my brain is not lagging in this conversation.
I took a few calming breaths, willing my pulse to slow down. In the span of twenty-four hours, I’ve made enough mess to last me ten years. Adding another to the list will screw me for good.
“Why are you willing to help me? What’s the catch?”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sounded annoyed when he replied. “There’s this girl I need to get rid of, okay? And she saw our picture.”
I knew it. I bat back the urge to slap my fist on my palm for dramatic effect.
“She got jealous:”
He hummed a yes. This girl must be important to Damian. If this was just any fling, he wouldn’t need to lie. He’d just get rid of her or ghost her. He and his friends were notorious for that scheme back in high school. Flirt, f uck, and dump.
III
Chapter 10:
“I’m not just your girlfriend I told Felicity we were engaged.” Knowing Felicity, she’s probably cooking a big reveal to some of my bashers, or worst, Natalije.
“Then we’ll be engaged.” He didn’t miss a beat.
A sound caught between half, and cough choked me. “Are you serious?”
“Why not?” His nonchalance was refreshing, as if being engaged was nothing but a mere business deal to him. “Everything will be for a show. Then after a year, we’ll part ways amicably as friends. No one will get hurt. It’s a win win.”
I frowned. He put a lot of thought into this, didn’t he? “Our parents will get hurt, Damian. Mom was over the moon when Hunter and 1 broke the news of our engagement to her. And now she went radio silent after hearing about Hunter and Natalie. I don’t want to put her in that situation again.”
It’s one of the many reasons I turned my phone off. Mom certainly saw the picture I posted last night. I was scrawling a good story for her.
Damian’s resolve did not falter. “She got hurt because Hunter cheated on you. If you say we fell out of love, she’ll understand.”
When he put it that way. I had no reason to argue. Mom was very understanding, and I forgot Damian knew her from all those Sunday lunches we had with Candice’s mom and his dad.
1 pulled my lower l*p between my teeth. I was already full, but I reached for a cannoli, needing distraction from this
conversation
“How long do you propose we pretend?” I bit my cannoli, sweetness flared on my palate.
Am I really considering this! Holy hell. There’s just so much going on that I can’t think straight.
“One year.”
Twelve months of being engaged to Damian. I’d be living one of my biggest fantasies hidden in my diary. The only downside was that it had an expiration date, and it was not real.
I finished my cannoli, rested my elbows on the island, leaning forward. “You thought of everything, didn’t you?
“Of course,” he stated firmly, sounding smug. “I wouldn’t ask you this favor if it won’t benefit the two of us. And I won’t ask for anything that will jeopardize you and your career. In fact, this is a way to save it… save you.”
So this is the businessman, Damian Black. Candice had mentioned once or twice that he exceeded his fan
of him. I could see why.
“This girl, do I know her?” his shoulder went rigid for a split second.
“No.” I waited for him to continue, but he was adamant. He poured wine into his glass and kept silent.
“If we’re doing this, I need to know who she is,” for so many reasons. Curiosity was on top of my list.
He considered his answer until a knot on the back of his n*eck loosened. “Her name is Sonja Blanchet,” a pause. He to tell me more. “She’s married to one of Dad’s business partners,”
My mouth formed the shape of an O. Now that explains a lot.
“I broke things off with her, but she followed me all the way from LA; that’s how persistent she is. With you in the picture she’d leave me alone.
Damian rose from the barstool, tucking his hands in his pocket. We need each other, Millicent. I’ll be in New York on Wednesday. I hope you’ll have an answer by then”
III