To Love: A Fake Relationship Romance (Such a Bad Idea Book 1) by Daniella Brodsky

Author:Daniella Brodsky [Brodsky, Daniella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DB Co.
Published: 2020-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Five

AIDEN

“That’s quite a burden you’ve been carrying around,” I say to Olivia after she finishes the last of the salmon. “You think your parents would be happy to know you’ve been living your life in a way to ensure that it’s least painful for them? I mean, my father would, but it doesn’t sound like they’re from the same species.”

She lets out a sigh that could inflate a pool. “Aiden, you just don’t understand what it’s like knowing you’re putting your parents through hell every single day, that their entire lives have been hijacked by you and all your health needs. And finally, when I’ve gotten to the point where I can give them some breathing room, have taken the burden from their shoulders, I’ll have to say, ‘Hey! Just kidding! I can’t take care of myself. Look at how badly I fucked everything up.’”

She sniffs loudly and I can tell she’s fighting like anything to hold back tears. I admire that. She’s not looking for a shoulder to cry on, though I would give my life to be that shoulder any time she needed it.

I lean in close over the nearly empty plates, take her hand in a way that is anything but fake. “Olivia—” she meets my gaze, “did you come to Australia so that your parents could have a break? Am I right in saying you didn’t even love Corey, just thought this was the perfect way to free them from the burden of you?”

“Though I’ve never even admitted this to myself, yes, Aiden, that is absolutely why I came here. And you know what? It was easy to be angry at Corey for it not working out. But the truth is it wouldn’t have worked out anyway, unless I stayed with someone I wasn’t in love with.”

She can see the surprise on my face, I’m sure. Because she waves her hands and says, “See? Data Girl is an inconsistent bag of ironies! Makes no sense at all outside of a spreadsheet! There you have it! The truth! You can, and probably should, just go right back to pretending. Now you have a real reason to want nothing to do with me.”

I stand and come around to her side of the table, gently pull her off the stool so she’s standing, then I get down on one knee. “Complete opposite actually. Just makes me want you more. I was going to do this today during the Q&A, but that just didn’t seem like the right time with the whole Poppy debacle.”

She smiles and shoots me a look that says, ya think?

“But now, seeing this real you, I think we should take this whole fake relationship to the next level. Will you be my fiancée?”

Her eyes bulge. She doesn’t know what to make of this, especially since I just told her it wasn’t a fake relationship and now I’m using that terminology—the one she seems able to deal with before she can trust herself to know it’s real—and that’s exactly my plan.

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