Page 42 of Dear Roomie (Classic City Romance #1)

James

M rs. Nicholson insisted on hosting an engagement party for us, promising it would be a “small, intimate affair.” Tanner loved the idea and spent the past seven weeks coordinating with her to get all of the details perfect, and I…I didn’t have it in me to care about venues or color schemes.

It turns out, small and intimate doesn’t mean any less extravagant.

My fiancé’s face shines with pride as he parades me around the trendy riverfront loft, but I’m numb as he introduces me to friends and coworkers I’ve never heard of.

His arm is locked around my waist, keeping me glued to his side while he drones on about things I can’t force myself to care about.

It’s not like I need to care about them; as long as I keep my features locked in a pleasant mask with a demure smile, Tanner is happy.

Tanner is happy, and I am…here.

Present and accounted for.

Although, despite this being my own engagement party, I doubt that my presence was necessary at all.

The guest list is sorely lacking in familiar faces.

To everyone here, I am Tanner’s fiancée—not James, barely even Ophelia—just another piece of the carefully designed decor to sell the illusion of picture-perfect storybook love.

They see what they want to see: childhood sweethearts moving to the next stage in the natural progression of love, the prince who found his princess.

But what they don’t know is that the princess’s heart longs for a knight instead.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” Hot breath brushes past my ear, sending a rolling wave of disgust through my body. My shoulders tense, but that’s the only outward indicator of how repulsive his touch has become to me.

“A surprise?” I can’t fully hide the quaver of dread in my voice. The last few of his surprises haven’t been good.

“Look behind you.”

I do as he asks, bracing for the worst, and my heart skips a beat in my chest.

“Dad…” The word comes out strangled as emotions overwhelm me, and my vision grows cloudy with unshed tears.

The room goes quiet, watching our reunion like we’re here to be their source of feel-good entertainment for the week.

I’m sure a few people have their phones out recording.

A spike of bitter resentment spears through the cloud of my joy.

Even if bringing my dad here was done with the best intentions, there’s no denying that Mr. Nicholson’s campaign will benefit from the positive media.

If I were a stronger person, I’d fight against it and not give them the spectacle they want, but it’s been ten months since I’ve seen him, and I’ve missed my dad.

I pull myself out of Tanner’s grasp and fling myself across the room.

Dad catches me with ease as I all but jump into his arms, and the floodgates holding back my tears open.

“Hey, kid,” he whispers, crushing me to him in a tight embrace.

I cling to him as I sob into the crevice of his neck.

Everything I’ve been bottling up—all the pain and heartache—hits me with the force of a truck the second I’m in the comfort of his arms. To everyone else, this scene looks like a girl who is happy to see her active-duty father, but in reality, it’s a girl looking to her dad to make everything better.

It takes several seconds, but I’m able to regain control over my emotions and, with considerable effort, slip my mask back into place. I pull away from the hug and wipe the tears from beneath my lashes.

Tanner walks over to join us, sticking one hand out to greet my father while wrapping the other around me in that possessive embrace.

“It’s good to see you, sir.”

My dad’s eyes roam over the two of us, the look assessing and critical. The smile that graced his face when I first saw him fades away into a hardened scowl.

“Likewise,” he responds, but his tone says it’s anything but. “If you don’t mind, I’d like a few minutes to catch up with my daughter. Alone.”

Tanner’s fingers twitch, digging into the flesh of my hips for a split second before he releases me.

“Of course, sir.” He flashes one of his plastic smiles and saunters over to one of the many groups of strangers milling around the room.

Dad nods toward a door and leads me out to the deck that wraps around the building and overlooks the river.

Normally, the vibrant mix of orange and gold hues filling the sky would be a sight that would make my heart sing—it’s so close to the color I told Morgan about on the beach—but I don’t feel anything as I step out into the brisk February air.

I walk over to the railing and lean against it, looking out over the shimmering water.

My dad steps up beside me, letting several moments pass by in serene silence as the sun continues to sink further below the horizon.

“Ophelia, what’s going on here? What’s wrong?”

My first instinct is to lie to him, to try to sell him the same story I’ve sold to everyone else—the lie that I’m happy, the lie that everything is fine. That notion dies before the words can even form on my lips. I can lie to the world, but never to him.

“Everything,” I whisper, dropping my gaze down to my hands. The sun’s rays catch on my diamond ring, mocking me with the sparkling reminder of how fucked everything has become.

“Oh, kiddo.” He drops an arm over my shoulder with a sigh, tucking me into the comfort of his side. “I’m gonna need more specifics than that. As much as I’ve always tried to make you believe otherwise, I can’t actually fix everything.”

“I don’t want to marry Tanner.”

Saying those words aloud feels like I’ve dropped a bomb. I brace for the inevitable destruction and the violent aftershock that is sure to follow.

“Okay, don’t marry him,” Dad says like it’s the simplest thing in the world. The lack of anger or judgment leaves me reeling; I had been prepared to face shock waves but didn’t even feel a breeze.

“It’s not that easy,” I protest.

“Of course it is. If you don’t want to marry him, then you don’t, end of story.

” His tone doesn’t leave any room for arguments, but that’s never stopped me before.

He makes it sound so easy, like I could turn and walk away, and everything would be fine.

I want to believe him—everything would be so much simpler if I did—but the oversized diamond is a noose on my finger, dragging me back to reality .

“I already told him I would.”

That’s the crux of the issue. I knew what I was committing to when I told him yes, despite that being the last thing I wanted, and I’ve made peace with what my future entails.

There are too many things in motion for me to back out now.

The engagement announcements have already been sent out to all of the Nicholsons’ friends and colleagues, and there was even a story in the local paper gushing about our “storybook romance.”

The ring seems to grow tighter on my finger. I twist it around to try to relieve some of the pressure, but it does nothing to lessen its choke hold.

“A ring isn’t legally binding.” My dad eyes my fidgeting hands with a deep frown.

“And if you are having any doubts, it’s better for everyone to end things before it is.

It’s probably going to hurt, believe me, I know, but it will hurt so much more if you wait for what should be a breakup to become a divorce. ”

“What about his family? His sisters? How would this look for his dad’s campaign?” My voice takes on a frantic edge as I grasp at the loose strings of my unraveling argument.

“None of that matters. The only things that need to be taken into consideration are you and Tanner, and if you want to spend the rest of your life with him.”

Fuck. He’s right. He’s always right.

The looming, oppressive sense of doom that’s shadowed my every move since I uttered that cursed “yes” is driven back by my father’s guidance.

“I thought you liked him,” I argue, but there’s no weight behind it, not anymore.

“What I like is you being happy, and that look on your face when I walked in there? That was not the face of my daughter when she’s happy. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You aren’t. I’m not happy.” I stand straighter as I admit aloud the things I’ve already known.

“Then that’s that. It doesn’t matter how much you love him—”

“I don’t,” I interrupt with sharp vehemence.

“Don’t what?”

“I don’t love him. Not anymore.”

My dad pulls back to look me over, his face awash with a look of horror. “Why did you say yes, then? Oh God. You aren’t pregnant, are you?” he growls. “I’ll kill that pretentious fucker if he knocked you up.”

“No! I’m not pregnant,” I reassure him. The mere thought of being bound to Tanner in that way sends chills of disgust rolling through my body.

“I’ve known for a while that I needed to end things with him, but it was never the right time.

I had planned to do it after New Year, but then he went and proposed, and there were so many people, and so many cameras, and his family all looked so happy, so I said yes, even though everything in me was screaming at me to say no. ”

“He hasn’t hurt you, has he?”

“No, nothing like that.” It’s not entirely the truth, but I don’t see the point in reopening old wounds. I pause for a moment, debating whether or not I should bring up my other problem, the one that’s been eating me alive since it walked out of the apartment and out of my life.

“I met someone else,” I admit with a wistful sigh. “I know it’s wrong, but every moment I spent with him made me realize how much was missing between me and Tanner, and that I deserve more than to settle for good enough just because it’s familiar.”

“You love him.” It isn’t a question.

“I do. I never meant to fall in love with Morgan, but I did. I love him so much, and I ruined any chance I had at being with him.” My heart aches in my chest at the thought of him, and tears fill my eyes.

“He won’t even look at me. It’s like I’m a ghost living beside him, and it fucking hurts.

I don’t know what to do, Dad. I don’t know how to fix us. ”