Give It A Try, Lena

Lena Pov

"Grace Montgomery! Do you want me dead?" I gasped.

Grace blinked at me, then grinned. She dangled a set of keys in my face. "Found your spare keys under the flower pot outside. I thought I should let myself in, hope you don’t mind. You really need to pick a better hiding spot, by the way."

I stared at Grace, still holding my chest from the near heart attack she’d just given me. “What are you even doing here?”

Grace grinned, completely unbothered. “I came to see you, obviously.”

I sighed, stepping inside and shutting the door. “And you decided to just break into my apartment? Are you serious right now? I almost zapped you!”

Her eyes went wide, and then she burst into giggles, slapping a hand over her mouth. "You... oh my God, you were gonna zap me? That’s hilarious!"

"It’s not hilarious!" I glared at her. "I thought you were a damn intruder!"

She was still laughing. "Well, I did break in. Technically."

I groaned, shoving the zapper back into my bag. "You could’ve just called me. Grace, I swear, you almost killed me.”

She giggled. “Sorry. But in my defense, I thought you’d be back earlier. I figured I would wait.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Wait for what?”

Grace shifted, suddenly looking less amused. “Well, your parents showed up.”

“WHAT?!”

“They’re in the guestroom.”

I groaned. “Oh, for God’s sake. What are they doing here? How the hell did they find this apartment?”

This was my hiding spot away from them whenever I needed privacy.

Grace shrugged. “I have no idea. But they seem pretty cozy, so I decided to move to the bedroom.”

Of course they did. Of course, after humiliating me in front of half the city, they would waltz into my apartment like they had every right to be here.

I stomped toward the guest room. Sure enough, my parents were sitting comfortably on my couch, drinking tea... my tea, in my mugs, like they lived here.

The audacity!

“Mom. Dad, what are you doing here?”

My mother set her cup down delicately. “We wanted to talk, dear.”

I scoffed. “Oh, now you want to talk? Not earlier at the gala? Not when you blindsided me in front of everyone?”

My father sighed. “Lena, please listen to us before you start throwing your tantrums again..."

“No!” I snapped. “You don’t get to ‘Lena’ me right now. I just found out that my entire life is a mess, my engagement is over and my future is being dictated by a man I barely know. And you two stood there and let it happen. Do you even care about my happiness at all?”

My mother lifted her chin. “Nathan Hale is good for you.”

I laughed. “Right. That’s what this is about, huh? You don’t care about what I want. You just see dollar signs.”

My mother’s face didn't change, but my father shifted uncomfortably.

“And what about David?" I asked. "Did he suddenly become invisible to you?”

My mother pursed her lips and my father looked away. They weren’t just accepting this, they were also endorsing it. Nathan Hale had bought my parents over. It made me feel sick to my stomach.

“I think it’s time for you to leave.” I told them coldly. "Clearly you have overstayed your welcome."

My mother looked like she might argue, but my father placed a hand on her arm, stopping her. Without another word, they stood up. I followed them to the door, holding it open as they stepped out. My mother stopped and glanced back at me.

“You’ll see, Lena,” she murmured. “This is for the best.”

When they were gone, I collapsed onto the nearest chair, groaning as I buried my face in my hands. "I feel like running away. Just disappearing, changing my name, moving to some tiny town in the middle of nowhere."

Grace simpered. "Oh, please. You’re not serious. If you were, you wouldn’t still be wearing Nathan Hale’s jacket."

My head snapped up. "What?"

She wiggled her eyebrows and pointed at the offending garment still draped over my shoulders. I looked down at it in horror, as if it had just materialized out of nowhere. Then with a dramatic yelp, I yanked it off my body and flung it at her.

Grace caught it with ease, grinning as she held it up and gave it a sniff. "Wow, expensive! What’s that? Something called ‘I Have Too Much Money and Smell Like Power’ by Nathan Hale?"

"I hate you."

"No, you don’t."

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the small smile on my lips. Grace always had a way of making things feel lighter, even when my world felt like it was crumbling around me.

She plopped down onto the couch, hugging Nathan’s jacket to herself like it was a designer blanket. "Alright, so let’s break this down. You’re stuck in this marriage for three months, right? But what if you don’t actually have to live with him?" She wiggled her fingers as if unveiling a genius plan. "Married in name alone. No cohabitation, no real ‘wifely duties’ like sex, just three months of legally existing as Mrs. Hale before you’re free again."

I frowned as I considered it. "You think he’d go for that?"

Grace shrugged. "Well, it’s worth negotiating. This Nathan Hale man doesn’t seem like the type who actually needs a wife hovering around. He’s probably busy doing billionaire things like buying islands and swimming in pools of dollar bills, turning people into gold with a single glance."

I let out a reluctant laugh. "You're talking about King Midas."

"Well, if the expensive, broody shoe fits..." She gave me a more serious look. "But seriously, you have options, Lena. You’re not that powerless in this. Three months will fly by, and who knows? Maybe you’ll even find a way to turn this whole mess in your favor."

I nodded "Thank you, Grace."

She beamed. "Anytime. Now, enough about Mr. Tall, Rich and Infuriating. Let’s talk about something that actually matters. Like food."

That got a genuine smile out of me. "Care for some cold—" I paused, thinking. "Ice cream? Leftover pizza?"

She threw her legs up on the couch. "Why choose? Bring both!"

"Your big appetite knows no bounds!" Laughing, I pushed myself up from the chair and headed for the kitchen.