The Unholy Intrusion

Chapter 2: The Proposition

The dimly lit bar buzzed with the murmur of strangers. Glasses clinked, low laughter floated through the room, and the scent of alcohol hung thick in the air.

“Just think about it, Selena. It’ll be easy,” Oliver said, his voice low as if the weight of his request demanded secrecy even in a crowded bar. He leaned in closer, his blue eyes searching her face for any sign of agreement.

Selena narrowed her gaze. “I’m not faking a pregnancy for you, Oliver. That’s insane.” She shook her head, setting her glass down with more force than intended. The idea sounded absurd, and yet, here they were, having this conversation.

Oliver sighed, running a hand through his messy brown hair. “I know, I know it sounds crazy. But you’re the only one I trust to help me. You *know* what Vivian meant to me.” His voice cracked at the mention of her name—Alyssa, the ex-girlfriend he couldn’t let go of, the one he was still obsessed with. She was getting married in a week, and it was killing him.

Selena crossed her arms, her expression hardening. “And ruining her wedding by making her believe her fiancé knocked up someone else is your solution? What’s your plan after that, Ollie? Vivian will hate you even more.”

Oliver’s eyes darkened. “I don’t care if she hates me. I just can’t watch her marry him. It’s a mistake, Selena. I can feel it. He’s wrong for her, and she knows it deep down. I just need… I need time. Time to make her see.”

Selena stared at him, her mind racing. She had known Oliver for years, through every high and low, every messy breakup and poor decision. But this? This was something else. Vivian wasn’t just some ex he needed to get over—she was an obsession. Still, beneath his desperation, she could see the old Oliver, the one who had always been there for her when she needed him most.

And maybe that’s why she was even considering it.

“You know this is ridiculous, right? You’re asking me to lie to a woman I barely know,” Selena muttered, feeling the weight of her words.

“I know,” Oliver said, his voice soft now, almost pleading. “But I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t believe this was the only way. You don’t even have to interact with Vivian much. Just show up at one of their events, act distant, drop a few hints, and let the rumors do the rest.”

Selena’s lips pressed into a thin line. “So you want me to ruin someone’s life with a lie?”

“I’m not asking you to ruin her life. Just… disrupt it long enough for her to rethink things.” Oliver’s fingers drummed nervously on the table. “You’d be helping her, Selena. Saving her from making a mistake.”

“Or destroying whatever chance you had of moving on,” she shot back.

There was a long pause. Selena could feel the tug-of-war within herself. She had always been the rational one, the one who kept Oliver grounded. But the depth of his pain, the rawness of his voice—it hit something in her. There was something compelling in the way he framed it, as though this was about more than just a breakup. It was about saving Vivian, about saving Oliver from himself.

The silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. Selena picked up her glass, staring into the amber liquid before taking a long sip.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Ollie,” she finally said, her voice quieter now.

Oliver reached across the table and grasped her hand, his grip warm and desperate. “Please, Selena. You’re the only one I’ve got.”

She stared at his hand over hers, feeling the pulse of his heartbeat, the need vibrating through his touch. Something in her broke down then, the final line between what was right and what she was willing to do for the one person who had always been there for her.

“I’ll think about it,” she whispered.

Oliver smiled, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “That’s all I ask. Just think about it.”

But Selena knew that in agreeing to think, she had already taken her first step into something far darker than she ever intended. She wasn’t sure what it would cost her, or if they could ever come back from it. But she knew one thing for certain: this wasn’t just about Alyssa’s wedding anymore.

It was about Oliver. About what he was becoming. And about how far she was willing to go to keep him from falling apart.

As the night deepened and the bar began to empty, Selena sat quietly, the weight of her best friend’s impossible request heavy on her chest.

___________________________________

Selena sat at the kitchen counter of her apartment, twirling her phone in her hand as she replayed Oliver’s words in her mind. She had agreed to meet him at the bar again tonight to discuss the plan in more detail. The idea was still absurd—pretending to be pregnant by some stranger to stop a wedding? What had she gotten herself into?

Yet, Oliver’s desperation haunted her. His ex, Vivian, was slipping away from him, marrying a man who didn’t even love her, or so Oliver claimed. It wasn’t about love for Mark Adrian Gallo, a multimillionaire who owned one of the largest wine manufacturing empires in the country. The marriage was nothing more than a cold, calculated business move, according to Oliver. And Oliver—head over heels for Vivian—couldn’t bear the thought of her being trapped in that world.

Later that evening, Selena found herself once again seated across from Oliver, the dim lighting of the bar casting shadows over their faces. She sipped her drink slowly, the burn of the liquor barely registering as she tried to process the gravity of the plan Oliver had concocted.