Fake Fiancée

Chapter 33: Goodbyes

Last night’s sleep had been wonderful, but the moment my eyes fluttered open to see a bright new day, panic rose in me. Today was the day. Steve had given me three days and today was the third. I was leaving Curacaoand more importantly, Henry, today. It felt like Dooms Day, the end of time.

Luckily though, most of my possessions were packed into my suitcase already, so for most of the day, I would be able to spend it with Henry.

He was still asleep beside me and I inched closer, wanting to soak up more of him. Everything about him overwhelmed me, but at the same time, managed to make me feel at home. It was funny how about a month ago I was totally disgusted by the thought of even talking to Henry and now we were inseparable.

My eyes drifted shut and I concentrated on the feel of his smooth cheek and jaw, his steady and calming heartbeat and his arms, which were encircled around me like a safe, cosy cacoon.

I laid there in silence until I felt him stir a few minutes later. For some reason, we always seemed to wake up within a few minutes of each other, even if it was three in the morning. I found it so strange. It was as if our subconscious could sense when the other one was awake.

“Good morning pancake,” Henry greeted, his voice thick with sleep.

I smiled as his arms tightened around me. “Good morning to you too, Mr Peanut.” I felt his chest rumble as he chuckled softly and decided that I liked it very much.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

He nestled his nose into my hair and I sighed softly. “Me too.”

I still hadn’t told him about how my revelation from last night. My decision was border lining on breaking our relationship off. Was it selfish to break up with Henry because I didn’t want a life inHollywood? How complicated things were. When I had agreed to pretend to be engaged to Henry, I had expected to act like a perfect couple in love then leave without any regret, and here I was beating myself up. I knew that he would be so heartbroken if I decided to end our relationship, but I knew I couldn’t handle the spotlight for the rest of my life. Honestly, it sounded like a death sentence.

Right now, I was lucky. We were in Curacao, away from LA, so less people knew or despised me. I knew for sure that if I flew back, I would be classed as an outsider. A fake. A whore. A gold digger.

You get the idea.

As I met Henry’s smouldering gaze, I knew that he would stick up for me, but I still didn’t want all the drama which came with being famous. My decision was becoming clearer by the second.

Suddenly, both Henry and I heard a gentle knock on the door. I immediately tensed up, even though it was stupid to. It wasn’t like Mr Parker or Natasha would be there … right?

Henry kissed my forehead tenderly before slipping out of the bed and shrugging on a black singlet he found resting on the back of a chair in the corner of the room. I blew a strand of hair out of my face from frustration of being intruded upon by someone and grudgingly pushed myself out of bed. I wondered who would want to visit Henry and me at this hour. It was probably Steve.

“Lainie?” I heard Henry call from the other room, where the television and settees sat. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the bedroom to see what Steve wanted to talk about, but the problem was … my uncle wasn’t the person who was standing next to Henry.

“Arianne?” Confusion and happiness swept through me. I was confused because I had no idea why she was here so early in the morning and happy because I was glad to see her. “What are you doing here?!”

She laughed lightly and came forward to envelope me in a hug. “Lainie! I’ve missed you so much!”

Henry cleared his throat, making us break apart. “I guess I should get going then.”