My Fake Fiancé

Chapter 8 : Possessive?

For the next couple of days, the tension in my house remained high as usual. But Jamie would call me every night and ease my mind. This guy became my personal therapist. Alex and Anya joined the conversation once, but mostly it was just me and Jamie. And each day I would fall asleep to his voice. It was bliss.

We talked about a lot of things. Movies, shows, tourist destinations, and a lot more. Some of my tastes are quite opposite from his. He liked war and fighting movies. I liked crime thrillers and horror. He liked to visit sunny beaches, while I wanted to go to snowy, cold areas. But we both liked trekking and vowed to plan a trip this vacation season. We both liked anime and got lost for two hours speaking about a popular show.

It'd been four days since I came back. My mom shouted at me today for asking my brother to help me clean the house. She said it was a girl's job, and boys had no reason to do it. She asked me why I exist if I can't do this simple thing. This wasn't new for me, but still, it hurt like the first time.

That was when my phone started to ring. To be honest, I'd still not reverted back to the old, introverted, depressing me only because of the late-night talks with Jamie.

"Hey, Lilly", said Jamie.

"Jamie, I have a question for you. Why are you calling me daily?", I asked. Did he know about my problem?

"Shouldn't I? Am I bothering you too much", he asked, and I could feel that he was tensed.

"No, but it's suspicious, you know. You were never like this before", I said, uncertain of where I was going with this.

"What are you implying by this? Do you think I fell for you or something?", he asked, his voice now filled with mockery. I should've felt annoyed. But for some reason, my heart started to drum, and it felt like I was in a haze.

"As if you would", I said, trying to keep my tone casual, but it came out a little pathetic. I quickly changed the subject. "How's work?"

"Going good. Nothing special. Been having loads of things to do lately", he said, exhaustion creeping into his voice. Again, I was curious about why he spent so much time talking to me rather than resting, but once Jamie answered a question sarcastically, that meant there was no way to get an honest answer. I let it slide for now. I was too stubborn to leave him alone forever.

"How about you?", he asked.

"Ah... I forgot. I was about to ask you. I met a guy. He is the CEO of a startup. He wanted me to do a small project with him. We've been working together for a couple of weeks, and he seems to be an interesting person. He asked me if we could hang out, and I thought I could bring him over for lunch next weekend. What do you think?" Actually, I didn't need to ask this, but I could think of nothing else to change the topic.

"And what do you think about him?", he asked, and it was so unlike Jamie.

"He's a good guy. But what does it have to do with him coming for lunch? Ricky and Anya bring people often, and I can assure you, some of them are the worst out there", I said, not understanding what he was thinking.

"I didn't ask if he's a good guy. I asked what you think about him. No guy wants to hang out with a girl if he isn't interested", he said in a stern tone.

"You do", I said, acting innocent while expecting a totally different answer.

"That's different. And you seem to like him too", he said, irritated.

Was he drunk? "I don't understand why it's such a big deal. What if I do? There's nothing wrong with liking someone".

He replied in a surprisingly authoritative voice. "Listen to me carefully. You're my fiance now. Till all this is over, resist indulging in these little flings of yours."

I was staring at the phone, aghast and unable to comprehend his words.

I controlled my breathing with huge effort and as calmly as I could, I said, "Jamie. Think well before you talk. Yes, you're my fiance, but that doesn't mean any of this is real or that you own me. You don't have any right to control me or to call it a fling. You have no right to question me about my love life. Don't act as if we are actually engaged. Remember that it's just a facade. You're crossing your boundaries", my tone final, as I tried to process the situation.

I didn't even like that guy that much. I hadn't thought about him that way and I had no intention of starting a relationship. The first reason I thought to bring him for the weekend lunch instead of hanging out on weekdays was because I didn't want to go out alone with him. Why did Jamie have to talk like this for a stranger? Was he... possessive? That was bullshit. Even if he was, he had no right to talk to me like that.

He started to say something, but I interrupted. "If you want to say something, let's talk tomorrow after both of us calm down and think this over", I said in a firm and final tone before hanging up.

I was lying awake after 4 hours of trying to sleep, nearly maddened by my racing intrusive thoughts. It was the worst night in the past two months.

Somehow, I had grown close to the man to whom I had been 'fake' engaged, enough to let him make my condition worse. I had made the same mistake again.

<--------------------------->

Not all relationships turn out the way we want it to. But the best always comes unexpected!

And what does Lilly mean by 'again' in the last sentence? What happened in her past? Keep reading to know.

What do you think about the story so far?

Let me know in the comments! Byeee!