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Twenty seven

Author: Ese Gwede
last update Last Updated: 2025-03-21 17:28:49

~Fallon~

I had barely settled into the couch, a blanket draped over me, laptop open, and my editing software still loading when my phone rang.

I didn’t even have to check the screen.

There was only one person who would call me this early and with this much persistence.

I sighed, already bracing myself, and swiped to answer. “Hi, Mom.”

A delighted gasp came through the speaker. “Mi vida! Finally, you answer! I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”

I rolled my eyes, amusement tugging at my lips despite my best efforts. “I was going to call—”

She tsked loudly. “Mmm-hmm. You’re back from Bali, settled into your married life, and I haven’t heard a single detail. Not one.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, already knowing where this was going.

The Interrogation Begins

“So,” she continued, her voice practically vibrating with excitement. “Tell me everything.”

I sighed, shifting my laptop to the coffee table and rubbing my forehead. “About what?”

A pause. Then, in her very best‘ are you serious
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  • Fallon’s Reid: An Arranged Contract   One hundred and seven

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  • Fallon’s Reid: An Arranged Contract   One hundred and three

    FallonIf the press wanted a spectacle, I’d give them one.Because I wasn’t about to let some random nobody run my name through the mud and get away with it.My phone buzzed again, the screen flashing with a name I’d been ignoring for the past half hour.Mom.I exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of my nose before finally giving in and answering.“Fallon,” she said the second the call connected. “I assume you’ve seen the headlines.”“No, Mom. I just woke up and thought the entire internet was blowing up for fun.”She sighed, the exasperation practically vibrating through the phone. “I told you this would happen. People will always look for cracks in a marriage like yours. The only way to win is to ignore it.”I rolled my eyes. “That’s not winning. That’s surrendering.”“It’s strategic,” she corrected. “If you don’t acknowledge it, the story dies faster. Engaging gives it power.”I paced the room, jaw tightening. This was so like her. The constant need to present the perfect image, to

  • Fallon’s Reid: An Arranged Contract   One hundred and two

    ~Fallon~ I woke up to war. My phone was vibrating off the nightstand, the screen lighting up with notifications so fast I could barely process them. I grabbed it, groggy, scrolling through an endless flood of texts, missed calls, and push alerts. And then I saw it. “Billionaire Reid Callahan Spotted on an Intimate Dinner Date—Where Was His Wife?” My stomach dropped. The article was everywhere. Attached were pictures—Reid at a sleek, exclusive restaurant, seated across from a woman I didn’t recognize. She was gorgeous. Brunette, sophisticated, leaning in just close enough to make the photos look damning. The kind of woman the press would love to call his real match. I scrolled faster, my pulse hammering. “Reid Callahan and mystery woman share a private dinner—sources say Fallon Callahan was nowhere in sight!” “Trouble in paradise? Callahan marriage not as picture-perfect as they want you to believe.” “Who is the woman seen dining with L.A.’s most powerful billionaire?” Th

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