Page 109 of Six Month Wife

She leans forward, all business stripped away now. “You don’t have to tell me anything. But if you want to talk about it, you know I would never judge.”

I nod, the words already rising in my throat. “It wasn’t real.”

Her pen stills. “Okay, define ‘not real,’ because what I saw, you can't fake.”

I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “It was a ruse. The whole thing. A contract. Technically speaking, we’re doing what the article said, minus the salacious details. Only, I didn't trap him. He came to me.”

Bets doesn’t flinch. “Keep going.”

“I needed money. To jump-start Citrine. You’d already done so much for me. I didn’t want to ask for more. And Parker… he had this inheritance clause. It was mutually beneficial.”

“Was?”

“It's a fucking mess now. His dad didn't want him to do this, we had to put on a show, I started to fall for him....”

Her expression doesn’t shift into judgment. Just calm curiosity. “So you do care about him?”

I let out a breath. “I do, but it’s over. There have been several things that have happened in our short arrangement that were red flags. I needed to remove myself for my mental health.”

“I'll be honest, when I saw what was online, I figured it was some jealous ex trying to take you down.”

“Close,” I say, as a hollow laugh escapes. “It was his jealous father trying to control him. I don’t know what he was trying to do, exactly, but he planted the story and wanted me out of the picture.”

“Sounds like a real piece of work.”

“He is.” I pause. “But the worst part is, Parkerknewhe was capable of something like that. He left me blindsided and looking like a complete asshole, putting my entire career and life here on the line.”

Her eyes narrow slightly. “How is that Parker's fault?”

I blink. “What do you mean? Of course it is. He saw the writing on the wall and did nothing to stop it.”

“You said it was his father, right?”

“His father told him how to get out of this, and threatened to do exactly what he did.”

“He knew his dadmightpull something. Doesn’t mean he knew it would happen. What exactly should he have told you, and how exactly is he supposed to control his father?”

I chew on that. She’s not wrong. But it doesn’t make it sting less.

“So what are you saying?”

“I think,” she says carefully. “I think you’re scared. And maybe a little proud. Which is fair. But I’veseenthe way he looks at you, Adair. That wasn’t fake. Don't die on this hill.”

“It was an act, Bets.”

“You two might’ve started this as a contract, but I would bet a lot of money that something’s evolved from that. The way he defends you, watches you—it’s real. Whatever this is with his father, that isn't an indication of anything except he has a shitty father.”

She softens, tilting her head. “What’s he said about all this? What does he want to do?”

I shrug, but the words come out anyway. “He says he’ll do whatever I want. That he’s sorry and didn’t imagine his father would do this. He said he would annul the marriage if I wanted, and I told him I did.”

“So, where are things right now?”

“I haven’t heard from him in days.”

“Haveyoureached out?”

I hesitate. “No. When we run into each other at the condo,” I add with a small voice, “I always make up a reason to have to run.”