CHAPTER SIX: SERIOUS TROUBLE

Evie's POV

"Evie, are you okay?" my mum asked. "You seemed a bit distracted."

Whew, that was a close one. I forced a smile. "I'm fine, Mom. Just a little tired, that's all."

"Well, make sure you get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

When she had left the room, I grabbed my bag and sneaked out.

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Faye’s POV

Breathe, breathe, Faye. Everything's gonna be just fine. I tried to assure myself, but who the hell was I kidding? Everything was going out of control.

First, the loan with the shark, then the date where I pretended to be someone else, and now I find out that I'm pregnant?! PREGNANT?! To make things worse, the father is my boss! My life could not get any messier.

What should I do? How do I explain this to my parents without them feeling disappointed? And I'm trying to forget the most important question here: am I keeping the baby or not?

I felt a mix of fear, excitement, and uncertainty. How would I break this news to Sterling? Would he even want to be a part of my life? I guess not, Faye, not after you deceived him.

I glanced at the clock; Evie should be here by now. After I left the hospital, I pretended to be sick, so I could spend some days off from the shop. My mind was in a mess, making it difficult for me to work properly, and I didn't want my parents to get suspicious.

I heard a knock on the door. “Evie, what took you so long?” I asked as she came in.

She swung her purse on the couch and sat down, looking pale. “Faye, we're in serious trouble.”

“Calm down, Evie.” I said, trying to calm her. It would get us nowhere if we were both panicking.

She looked around, as if to make sure we were the only ones in the room. “Where are your parents, Faye?”

“They're in the restaurant. We're the only ones in the house, Evie,” I replied.

“Faye, listen,” she started. “The gathering is tomorrow. If we don't come up with a plan to avoid it, we're doomed.” 

“Wait, tomorrow? Did you agree to this?” I asked, feeling my stomach knot.

“It’s not like it was my decision to make,” she finished, biting her lip.

Feeling frustrated, I collapsed back into my chair. “Great. Just perfect. What then should we do? Your father must not believe that you are getting married to a man you hardly know.”

“I have no idea!” With panicked eyes, Evie replied, “I was thinking of telling him I need more time to think things over.”

My heart fell. “What if he discovers that we deceived him? And if he finds out that I’m—”

There was silence in the air.

“Listen, we’ll figure it out together. Whatever happens, well manage to get through this.” She nodded, but the doubt was still there in her eyes, as I could see “Thanks, Faye. I just—cannot continue to lie. What happens if Sterling discovers the truth? Imagine my father finding out. I don't want to let anyone down.”

I wanted to tell her everything, even the pregnancy and how complex things were becoming, but I was unable to do so. Not now. She had enough on her plate. Instead, I forced a smile. “You won’t. We can handle this, if we stick together.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, the reality hitting us hard once again.

“Okay, okay. Let’s just think about this logically,” Evie said, trying to sound more composed than I felt. “You can’t go back to work and risk seeing Sterling. And I can’t show up at that gathering without a solid excuse. We need a distraction.”

“Distraction?” I echoed. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know! Maybe you can go stay with your aunt for a few days? I can tell my dad I’m visiting you there. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.”

My mind raced at the idea. “That could work, but what about you? Your parents will wonder why you’re not there. And what if Sterling comes looking for me?”

Evie bit her lip, her eyes darting around the room. “Then we’ll just have to figure out a way to keep him busy. We need to keep him occupied—maybe a few strategic delays.”

“And how exactly do you propose we do that?” I asked, folding my arms.

“I can tell him I want to take things slow,” she suggested, her voice gaining strength. “Maybe say I’m still recovering from… you know… the date?”

“That's risky. What if he presses for details?” I shot back, uncertainty flooding my mind.

Evie leaned in, determination etched on her face. “Then we come up with a story. We say you were sick, you know, food poisoning or something. He might feel guilty about the whole thing.”

I hesitated, the idea swirling in my head. It felt wrong to lie more, but it was the only option we had. “Okay, but what if he doesn’t buy it? What if he sees right through us?”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t,” she replied, a spark of mischief in her eyes. “We can put on a show, you know? Make it look convincing.”

Just then, my phone buzzed on the table, and I grabbed it, heart racing. It was a message from Sterling. My stomach dropped as I read it: **Can we talk? I want to see you.**

“Oh no,” I muttered. 

Evie's eyes widened. “What does it say?”

“He wants to see me,” I whispered. “What do I do?”

“Don’t reply. Just put your phone down. He'll think you’re busy and probably leave you alone for now,” she urged, her voice firm.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. “Okay, I won’t respond. But we really need to make this plan work, Evie. There’s too much at stake now.”

“Wait. What if we could use this to our advantage?” She picked up my phone and read the text, “If you meet up with him now you can convince him to cancel the gathering,” she said, determination shining through her fear.

“Evie, I'm not sure I can meet him a second time…”

She pressed my palms, and looked at me, “yes you can Faye, you can. Do this for the both of us. Meanwhile I'll come up with something to stop the wedding.”

I looked at Evie, she could be so persuasive sometimes. Once again, I found myself agreeing to another of her schemes.

I sighed. “Fine. Now leave me, so I can get dressed.”