Signed In Secrets

Chapter 8

Ethan

Lying has never been my strong suit.

I could evade, deflect, and manipulate situations to my advantage, but outright lying? That wasn’t me. Yet, here I was, watching Amelia settle into a life built on a deception she hadn’t seen coming.

The worst part? She wasn’t the only one I’d deceived.

I exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand down my face as I leaned back in my office chair. The city skyline stretched endlessly outside my window, a view I’d once found grounding. Now, it felt like a reminder of how deeply I’d buried myself in this situation.

I hadn’t planned for any of this. I never wanted to pull someone into my world under false pretenses, but Eleanor… she didn’t have much time left. And she wanted to see me settled before then.

The conversation replayed in my mind as if it had happened just yesterday.

“Ethan, you need someone by your side.”

Eleanor had been resting in her chair, the soft glow of the lamp casting warm light over her face. She looked tired that evening, more than usual. I had tried to brush off the conversation, the same way I always did, but she wasn’t having it.

“I’ve been patient,” she’d said, her voice gentle yet firm. “But I won’t be here forever. You spend so much time shutting people out. I don’t want to leave this world knowing you’ll be alone.”

Alone.

I had swallowed against the familiar weight of that word.

She hadn’t meant to guilt me, but it had still settled deep, tightening around my chest like a vice.

I had no intention of getting married, but Eleanor’s declining health changed everything. And when I’d stumbled upon the idea of hiring a caretaker—a temporary solution that would ease her worries—I convinced myself it was the right thing to do.

I just hadn’t expected Amelia.

Or the way she looked at me now, like I was someone she couldn’t quite figure out—someone she wasn’t sure she could trust.

It had been a mistake not to tell her the truth from the start. I knew that now. But knowing didn’t change anything.

A knock on my office door pulled me from my thoughts.

Ryan.

I didn’t need to see his face to know he was irritated. He had been ever since he found out the truth.

The moment he walked in, I could feel the weight of his stare.

“So,” he said, crossing his arms, “how long were you planning to keep this a secret?”

I sighed, leaning back. “I see Amelia told you.”

Ryan let out a sharp breath. “You think?” He shook his head, pacing. “Ethan, what the hell were you thinking? You let your grandmother believe you got married when it’s all a lie? You tricked Amelia into signing a contract without telling her what it was? Do you even hear how insane that sounds?”

I gritted my teeth, my fingers tightening around the armrest of my chair. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Ryan scoffed. “That’s bull, and you know it. You always have a choice.”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to meet his gaze.

After a long silence, he exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Listen, I get it. You did this for Eleanor. But what about Amelia? You think she’s just going to be okay with all of this?”

“She doesn’t have to be okay with it,” I said, my voice colder than I intended. “She just has to play along.”

Ryan gave me a long look, one filled with something that looked a lot like disappointment. “You’re an idiot.”

I didn’t respond.

“She’s not just some pawn in your game, Ethan. She’s a person. And from what I saw the other day, she’s already struggling with this. You might not care, but I do.”

His words cut deeper than I cared to admit.

I didn’t know why it mattered—what Amelia thought, how she felt about this whole arrangement. It wasn’t like we were building something real. But when I saw her across the dining table, stiff and quiet as Eleanor gushed about our ‘marriage,’ something about it unsettled me.

Ryan let out a sharp breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, man. I know you’re used to handling things your way, but this? You need to do better. You don’t have to love her, but you at least owe her some decency.”

I let out a slow breath, my fingers drumming against the desk.

Ryan wasn’t wrong.

I had thrown Amelia into a situation she never asked for, and no matter how much I tried to justify it, the fact remained—I had taken her choice away.

And that wasn’t something I could ignore forever.

Later that night, I found myself walking toward Amelia’s room, hesitating just outside her door. I had no idea what I was doing here, or what I even wanted to say.

Instead of knocking, I turned back toward the staircase, but before I could leave, I spotted her sitting in the living room.

She was curled up on the couch, flipping through a book absentmindedly.

I cleared my throat. She glanced up, her expression neutral.

“I heard you took Eleanor out today,” I said, keeping my tone even.

Amelia blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Yeah… she had a great time.”

I nodded slowly, shifting my weight. “She seemed happier when I got home.”

“She wanted to go out. I just made it happen.”

I hesitated. “Still… I appreciate it.”

She studied me for a second before looking away. “It’s nothing.”

But it wasn’t, "Nothing."

Eleanor hadn’t stopped talking about the outing all evening. It had been a long time since I’d seen her that animated. And it was because of Amelia.

I should’ve told her that. But instead, I just nodded and turned away.

Because words were easy.

And I wasn’t sure I had the right to say them.