The Billionaire and His Fake Wife

-Ashlyn’s POV- “You are just messing with me, right?” I ask, clenching the phone tighter. He’s got to be joking. There is no way he is being serious. My dad sighs. “No, I’m not Ashlyn. You are twenty-one years old; it’s time you start paying your own way.” I scoff, shaking my head in disbelief even though he can’t see me. “Dad, it’s college. All you pay for is my schooling. I’m a straight A student. I have never missed a single class, and I have made the dean’s list every semester. I don’t party, do drugs, or anything else that could jeopardize my spot at this school. How can you say it’s time for me to pay my own way?” There is a long silence, and I have to look at my phone to make sure he didn’t hang up. “Ashlyn listen; Maggie and I were talking-“ “Of course, I should have known Maggie was involved.” I snap, cutting him off mid-sentence. “I can’t believe you would take Maggie’s side. I am your daughter, Dad. Maggie is just some slut you picked up from a dating app. How can you choose her over me?” “Do not talk about Maggie like that, she is your mother.” My dad snaps. Tears well up in my eyes, and I take a deep breath. “My mom is dead. You can replace mom with some new body to keep you warm at night, but no one will ever replace my mom.” I say, voice breaking at the mention of my mom. She died eight years ago, but it still feels like yesterday. Dad’s tone softens. “I know Maggie isn’t your mom, but she is part of this family. She has been for four years now. When are you going to accept that?” He asks. Never, I will never accept her into this family. Maggie is nothing more than a gold digger. She is only with my dad for his money. Money he only has because of my mom’s death. Mom wanted to make sure we were taken care of when she passed away. So, she got two million dollars worth of life insurance when she found out she was sick. Half of that money was supposed to be mine. “Was that the only reason you called me?” I ask, hardening my tone. “No that wasn’t the only reason, I also wanted to check in on you.” Dad says, sounding happy like he didn’t just ruin my life. “Well, since you asked, I am doing pretty shitty. I just found out I have two weeks to figure out how to pay twenty thousand dollars for my next semester of schooling. All thanks to you and Maggie. How have you been dad?” I ask, laying the sarcasm on a bit thick. “Ashlyn, don’t be like that. It’s not the end of the world.” Dad says, annoyance obvious in his tone. I don’t say anything else; I just hang up. If I say anything else, I could jeopardize my already strained relationship with my father and I don’t want that. I throw my phone on my small bed beside me, putting a pillow over my face. “Ahhhhh.” I scream at the top of my lungs, letting the pillow muffle the sound. “Is everything alright?” My best friend Lena asks cautiously. She must have just got back from the library. I didn’t even hear her come in. I drop the pillow to my lap, frowning and shaking my head. “No, it’s not.” Lena’s eyes go wide and she rushes over to me, squatting down in front of me. “What happened?” She asks, sounding concerned. “Maggie happened.” Lena sighs, shaking her head. “What did that b***h do now? Do we need to go beat her up?” I laugh. Lena has heard me complain about Maggie many times. She hates Maggie almost as much as I do. “As much as I would love to beat her up, I don’t think that would do me any good. My dad has already made up his mind.” Lena frowns. “What did he do?” “He is cutting off my funding.” I say, looking at the pillow in my lap. “Wait, what?” Lena asks. “He can’t do that. How are you going to pay for next semester?” I shrug. “I don’t have a clue, and I only have two weeks to figure it out.” Lena takes my hand in hers. “We have two weeks to figure it out.” She says, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘we’. I smile. “Thank you Lena.” “Let’s not think about it tonight though. Tonight we are going to drink like we don’t have a care in the world.” She says, giving me a playful smile. I laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t drink.” “You do tonight.” She says, standing up and going to her side of our small dorm room. I watch her dig around in her dresser for a second. Lena turns around with a huge smile, holding two very large bottles of vodka. One in each hand. I burst out laughing. “Have you had those in there this whole time?” Lena nods her head, laughing a little. “Yep, tests stress me out. It helps me relax.” My eyes go wide, gasping a little. “You have been drunk in class?” “Not drunk. Just a little tipsy.” I laugh harder. “How did I not know that?” Lena shrugs. “Probably because you are always like thirty minutes early to every class, and I always stroll in at the last minute.” “I can’t help it. I like to be early.” Lena laughs, coming over to sit on my bed next to me. “And I like to be just in time.” She hands me a bottle of vodka and opens her own bottle, taking a drink. I stare at the bottle for a minute. The name is some foreign name I’ve never heard of and right under it in plain English it says World’s Cheapest Vodka. I laugh, as a marketing major I don’t know if that is the stupidest thing I have ever seen, or the most brilliant one. I guess most people do like cheap vodka, so you can’t go wrong with telling everyone it is the cheapest. “You know the alcohol only helps if you actually drink it.” Lena says, laughing as she takes another drink from her bottle. I laugh; I guess she is right about that. I am just not a big drinker though. I open the bottle and sniff it. Oh wow! That is strong. It smells just like rubbing alcohol. I take a small sip and start coughing. Oh God! It takes like it too. “That is disgusting.” I say, as I cough. The vodka burns all the way down my throat and into my stomach. Why do people like this crap? Lena laughs harder. “You get used to it. Just take another drink. It will get better.” I shake my head, preparing myself for another sip. This time I hold my breath, trying to swallow without actually tasting it. I cough again and Lena just shakes her head. “Amateur.” I scoff, laughing. “Screw. You. Where are you even getting this alcohol from? You are only twenty, you can’t buy it yourself yet.” “I’ve got a guy.” “A guy? You have a guy? You make it sound like you have a drug dealer.” I say, smirking at her. Lena giggles. “He could probably get me some drugs, if I wanted them.” I slap her arm, trying not to laugh. “You better not do drugs.” “Don’t worry I won’t. I will just stick with my vodka.” She says, as she shakes the bottle in the air. I laugh and watch as she takes another drink. I keep drinking, trying to drown the conversation with my dad. Half a bottle later and I still can’t stop thinking about it. “What am I going to do?” I ask, leaning my head back against the wall.