Unscripted After

Chapter 3

The second I shut the door behind me, I grabbed my phone like it was a lifeline and called the one person who could talk me down from the emotional ledge.

“Phee,” I breathed. “You will not believe what Cassian just asked me.”

Phoebe’s gasp came through the line like a firecracker. “Spill. Did he finally confess he’s been madly in love with you since freshman year?”

I let out a dry laugh and collapsed onto my bed. “Not exactly. He asked me to marry him.”

Silence.

Then, “I’m sorry. Say that again?”

I dragged a pillow over my face and groaned. “Not real marriage. Fake marriage. Contract and everything.”

Phoebe practically screeched. “Girl, what? He wants you to fake marry him? That is not normal friend behavior!”

“Tell me about it.”

I could already picture her pacing her apartment, faux locs swinging as she processed the chaos I had just dropped in her lap.

“Wait. He just brought this up like it was some casual Tuesday idea?”

“Apparently it’s been on his mind for a while. He already has a draft contract.”

Phoebe let out a low whistle. “Wow. He’s been planning this. That man is not playing chess. He’s designing the whole board.”

I let the silence stretch, my fingers twisting into the hem of my shirt.

“But Talia,” she said gently, her voice slipping into that big sister tone she used whenever I was spiraling. “You love him. You really love him. So what does your heart say?”

My silence answered for me.

“You’re scared,” she said. “And I get it. This isn’t just a business arrangement for you. You’ve been in your feelings since sophomore year literature class.”

I sighed and buried my face into the pillow. “Exactly.”

“This isn’t just a fake marriage,” she continued. “This is walking straight into fire without a safety plan.”

“Ugh. It’s such a mess.”

“Welcome to love, babe.”

I flipped onto my back and stared at the ceiling like it might offer divine answers. “You make it sound like I’m about to be cast on a reality show.”

Phoebe laughed. “Honestly, you kind of are. Billionaire wife edition. But listen. This is your chance.”

“Chance to do what? Get my heart broken up close?”

“Chance to show him what he’s missing. Do not underestimate how powerful you are when you are that close to him. You are not a placeholder, Tal. You are the main event.”

I snorted. “Wow. That was very motivational speaker of you.”

“Do not joke with me,” she said. “You are smart, gorgeous, your curls always look amazing, and you have more heart than half those fake heiresses he’s surrounded by.”

I bit my lip, the flutter in my chest refusing to settle. “But what if I fall deeper? What if this goes too far and I am the only one who gets hurt?”

Phoebe’s voice softened. “Then you pick yourself up with your crown still intact. And maybe, just maybe, he will finally see what everyone else already does.”

I smiled. It was the first real one all night. “Thanks, Phee. You always know how to talk sense into me.”

“That is my job. Now go handle your billionaire fake husband like the queen you are.”