I Was Their Fake, I Ran With Millions

Chapter 2

I tamped down the giddiness bubbling in my chest.

"If that's what you want, I respect your decision. But I'll miss you, you know? I hope you'll be happy even when I'm not around. If you think of me once in a while, that's more than enough for me."

James furrowed his sharp dark brows, clearly annoyed. "Why does it feel like you're actually happy about this?"

I clapped a hand over my mouth immediately and bit down hard on my tongue. "I-I'm saying I don't want you to go! I can't bear to be apart from you. I want to stay by your side forever. Would you agree to that?"

I'd bitten down way too hard. Tears instantly sprang to my eyes.

That reaction seemed to please James a lot.

"Don't be ridiculous. Do you really think you're good enough to have me? After this meal today, get out of my sight."

He'd asked me to be his wingman for a dinner with his long-time crush, the girl he'd pined after for years. My job was to act sickeningly smitten with him to make her jealous.

If the plan worked, he'd give me an extra five million dollars.

Snick. Pfft.

I couldn't hold back a snort of laughter.

James squinted at me suspiciously. "Did you just laugh?"

My cheeks heated up fast. "Nope, I just farted."

James shot me a venomous glare, his face contorting through half a dozen different shades of revulsion before he settled on just plain pissed off.

Half an hour later, we arrived at the door of the private dining room.

Following his instructions, I plastered myself to his side like a limpet, all soft and clingy.

James pushed the door open, and I opened my mouth to greet whoever was inside: "Ha—"

No!

There was a beat of dead silence, and I just stared wide-eyed at the eight people sitting around the table, while they stared right back at me.

Inside the room, besides James' precious long-time crush, were all six of my chaotic, garbage ex-boyfriends.

'What in the actual hell was going on here?'

'These seven walking disasters were all hung up on the exact same girl?!'

"James, is this your girlfriend?" The girl in question bit her lip, her face crumpling like she was two seconds from crying.

The sweet, innocent "true love" was the one to break the silence, but as soon as the words left her mouth, the room got way more "lively"—if you could call the charged, ready-to-explode vibe lively.

Six pairs of eyes, sharp enough to slice through steel, zeroed right in on where I was plastered to James.

James scrambled to shove me away so hard I stumbled straight into a waiter carrying a tray of hot dishes. Scalding hot soup sloshed right onto my arm.

My skin burned bright red, but nobody gave a damn.

James was panicking so bad he looked like a kid caught red-handed with a stolen cookie.

"She threw herself at me! I don't want her, I swear I don't!"

The true love let out a soft, playful chide, the corners of her lips twitching up with poorly hidden glee.

"James, you're still the same as ever, aren't you? You never know how to be nice to any girl except me. How can you say that right to her face? And you guys too, stop fighting over me every time we meet. I still don't have a boyfriend, you know... you're all to blame for that, so you'd better take responsibility, okay?"

I couldn't help but give her a silent thumbs up under the table.

'Wow.'

'Just... wow.'

Sure, I looked about seventy or eighty percent like her facially.

But when it came to playing the innocent, manipulative game? I'd bow down to her any day of the week. She was on a whole other level I could never reach.

This true love was Fiona Sanders, the only daughter of the Sanders Group.

She'd grown up with all seven of these losers.

She used to go to medical school, too. Now I knew why Henry had made me wear that white lab coat that one time. Fiona had worn one in front of him before.

Not long after that, James kicked me out of the private room. But the second I stepped outside, my phone pinged. He'd transferred ten million dollars to me.

He said he'd take me out for dinner in a couple of days.

He also said the soup wasn't even that hot, and I should stop being such a crybaby. Cheap tricks like that wouldn't work on him.

'Dude's actually insane! Total boss move!'

'Gonna give this boss a perfect 10/10, no notes!'

Then I pulled up their contact profiles one by one, and blocked all seven of these losers without a second thought.

'Sorry, not sorry.'

The payout was too good. I made back way more than I ever put up with.

I'm out. No more playing along with their stupid games.

After that day, I figured I'd never have to see any of these losers ever again for the rest of my life.

Who would've guessed that two days later, they'd all show up on my doorstep.

'What kind of rotten luck is this?!'

I'd just finished my ice cream when I spotted them brawling right outside my door.

All seven of my exes looked like they'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. Their hair stuck up in messy tufts like bird nests, dark circles ringed their eyes like pandas, their clothes were torn to shreds, and crumpled neckties plastered their backs like sad, limp rags.

My jaw nearly hit the floor.

'Wait a second... their perfect little dream girl is back in the country, right? Why the hell are they here bothering me?'

Henry spotted me first, his gaze sharp enough to slice through steel. "Try running and I'll break your legs. You've got some real nerve, dating seven guys at once. You're not scared of getting dizzy and wiping out?"

They were still yanking and grabbing at each other, but every single one of them snapped their heads toward me the second he spoke.

James's fancy coat was a total wreck, someone had pried off every last diamond and gold embellishment, leaving nothing but pockmarked holes and sticky white glue caked on the fabric.

Scratch marks crisscrossed his red, irritated neck as he roared, "Maine, get over here right now! I promise I won't beat you to death… how dare you cheat on me?!"

Tyler's face was dark as a thundercloud, his voice low and menacing. "How do you wanna die? Tie you to the hood of my car and drag you up and down the race track a few times?"

A genius idea hit me out of nowhere. I copied the exact act Fiona had pulled the other day, putting on my sweetest, most innocent tone.

"Guys, stop fighting over me! We can all be best friends, right? Every single one of you is my favorite!"

Dead silence.

'Wait, did I mess something up?'

I'd nailed her expression, her tone, every little detail. Why wasn't the trick working for me?

They still looked like they wanted to tear me limb from limb and eat me alive.

My sixth ex flexed his bulging biceps, his thick chest bouncing with every breath. "Maine Howard, I'm giving you one last chance. Spit it out right now... out of all of us, who do you love the most?"