A Game They Can't Control
1120 Words
Chapter Three
Sophie had exactly three days to prepare for the nightmare that was a family dinner with Daniel Reid.
Three days to convince herself that this was just an act.
Three days to remind herself that Daniel was not her real boyfriend—he was still the same cold, ruthless man she had worked under for two years.
But as she stood outside her parents' house on Saturday evening, staring at the front door like it might swallow her whole, she realized something: no amount of preparation was enough for this.
“I can hear you overthinking from here.”
Sophie stiffened at the deep, amused voice behind her. She turned to find Daniel walking up the front steps, hands in his pockets, looking so infuriatingly relaxed that she wanted to scream.
“You’re late,” she muttered, mostly to distract herself from how good he looked in his crisp, dark button-down and tailored slacks.
Daniel glanced at his watch. “Two minutes. Try to contain your disappointment.”
She exhaled sharply, pushing her nerves aside. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Before she could reach for the doorknob, Daniel’s fingers brushed her wrist, stopping her.
“Remember,” he murmured, voice low, “if we’re going to sell this, you need to act like you actually like me.”
Sophie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “That’s going to take an Oscar-worthy performance.”
Daniel smirked. “Lucky for you, I don’t settle for anything less than perfection.”
With that, he pushed open the door, leading them straight into the lion’s den.
The moment they stepped inside, all eyes were on them.
Her mother gasped in delight. “Oh, you’re here! And look at you two—so perfect together.”
Sophie barely had time to react before Daniel’s arm slid around her waist, pulling her just close enough to make her heart stutter.
“Mrs. Patel,” he greeted smoothly, nodding to her father as well. “Thank you for having me.”
Her father eyed Daniel with mild skepticism, clearly still forming an opinion. “Daniel. Welcome.”
Sophie should have been relieved that her father wasn’t immediately charmed, but the last thing she wanted was for him to start interrogating Daniel.
She forced a bright smile. “Where’s everyone else?”
“In the backyard,” her mother said, leading them through the house. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
As they stepped outside, Sophie’s stomach sank.
It wasn’t just her immediate family. Her cousins were here. Her aunt and uncle. And worst of all—her older brother, Aiden.
Aiden, who had spent his entire life being overprotective.
Sophie braced herself as her brother walked over, his sharp brown eyes scanning Daniel from head to toe like he was assessing a business deal.
“So,” Aiden said, crossing his arms, “this is the guy?”
Daniel extended a hand, unbothered by the tension. “Daniel Reid. It’s good to finally meet you.”
Aiden shook his hand, but his expression didn’t soften. “You’re the boss she used to complain about?”
Sophie nearly choked on air.
Daniel turned to her, one brow raised. “Oh? Complained, did you?”
She shot her brother a murderous look before plastering on a sweet, fake smile. “You know how siblings are. Always exaggerating.”
Aiden didn’t budge. “She also said you were a heartless workaholic with no soul.”
Sophie was going to kill him.
Daniel, however, just chuckled. “That sounds about right.”
Aiden narrowed his eyes. “And now you’re dating her?”
Daniel glanced at Sophie, his smirk softening into something almost convincing. Almost.
“She changed my mind about a lot of things,” he said simply.
Sophie’s breath caught.
For a split second, she almost believed him.
Almost.
Dinner was t*****e.
Between her mother’s giddy excitement, her father’s skeptical glances, and Aiden watching Daniel like a hawk, Sophie felt like she was trapped in an interrogation room.
Daniel, of course, handled it all effortlessly—answering questions smoothly, dropping little details about their “relationship” as if they were real memories instead of fabricated lies.
And the worst part? He was too good at this.
The way he touched her—a casual hand on her lower back, fingers brushing hers as he refilled her glass, his knee resting against hers under the table—it all felt too natural.
Too easy.
Which was dangerous.
She couldn’t afford to forget that this wasn’t real.
“Daniel,” her aunt chimed in, pulling her out of her spiraling thoughts. “What made you fall for our Sophie?”
Sophie froze.
She wasn’t the only one. Even Daniel hesitated—just for a second.
Then he smiled, turning to her like she was the only person in the room.
“She’s the smartest woman I’ve ever met,” he said, voice steady. “The most stubborn, too. She challenges me, calls me out on my bullshit.”
Someone laughed, but Sophie’s pulse was roaring too loudly in her ears to notice.
Daniel’s gaze held hers, something unreadable in his expression. “She makes life interesting. And I didn’t realize how much I needed that until she was gone.”
The air shifted.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
Because this felt too real.
Sophie opened her mouth to say something—anything—but her mother interrupted with an excited squeal.
“Oh, Sophie, you’ve finally found someone who sees you!”
Sophie swallowed hard, forcing a laugh. “Yeah. Lucky me.”
Daniel’s fingers brushed against hers under the table—light, fleeting.
And completely intentional.
Damn him.
By the time dinner ended, Sophie was exhausted.
The moment they were alone outside, she whirled on Daniel. “What the hell was that?”
He looked amused. “What?”
She glared. “The speech. The ‘she changed my mind’ crap.”
He tilted his head. “Would you rather I had said you were mediocre and I was settling?”
She threw her hands up. “I’d rather you stick to the plan and not make things weird!”
Daniel smirked, stepping closer. “What’s weird, Sophie? That I was convincing?”
She huffed. “Yes!”
He leaned in, his voice dropping. “Or is it that you believed me?”
Her stomach flipped, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.
Instead, she pushed past him, marching toward the driveway. “Just take me home, Reid.”
He chuckled, following behind. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”
Sophie groaned.
This was already getting out of control.
- Writer
