Chapter 9 An Impossible Choice
My breathing quickens.
A ring? Of course there's a ring. Of course he thought of that detail.
Because married women wear rings. Everyone knows that. The social worker will look for it. She'll notice if it's missing. She'll write it down in her little notebook, one more inconsistency to add to her list of reasons why this marriage isn't real.
But somehow, in all my panic and preparation, I never thought about it.
Never thought about what it would feel like to wear Caius Michael's ring on my finger.
"It's okay," Caius says, and I realize my face must be showing everything I'm feeling. "It's just for show. Just part of the arrangement."
Just for show.
Right.
I force myself to nod. I reach out with a shaking hand and take the ring from him.
It's heavier than I expected. The metal is warm from being in the box, in his desk drawer. I wonder how long it's been there. And how he got a ring so fast. Whether he keeps spare engagement rings lying around for emergencies like this.
Or whether this ring belonged to someone else once and now it's mine.
I push that thought away quickly.
I slide the ring onto my left hand and my fourth finger.
It fits perfectly.
"How does it feel?" he asks.
How does it feel?
Like I'm wearing handcuffs. Like I'm being branded.
Like I've just made the biggest mistake of my life.
"Fine," I lie. "It feels fine."
He nods to that.
"It's beautiful," I add, because that's what I'm supposed to say. That's what a real fiancée would say. A real wife.
He nods again and I look down at the ring. At the way it sparkles. At the way it looks so right and so wrong at the same time.
Mrs. Caius Michael.
That's who I am now. Legally and officially for the next six months.
"Can I..." I swallow hard. "Can I see Leo? Before Catherine arrives?"
"Why?" Caius asks curiously.
"I just..." I struggle to find the right words. "I need to talk to him. Make sure he's comfortable with me being here. Make sure he understands what's happening today."
But Caius shakes his head.
"Lia." He says gently. "He's still sleeping. And even if he were awake, we can't coach him. It needs to be natural."
"But we need to—"
"I already spoke to him," Caius continues. "Yesterday, after you left. I explained that you'd be staying here. That a nice lady would be coming to visit today. I kept it simple and really age-appropriate." He pauses. "He seemed... okay with it. He asked about you, actually."
"He did?"
"He wanted to know if you were coming back." Caius's expression softens. "I told him yes. That you'd be here when he woke up."
Oh.
That little boy.
That sweet, traumatized little boy who lost his parents and found himself in a stranger's penthouse with an uncle who doesn't know the first thing about raising children.
"Okay," I whisper. "Okay, then I'll just... I'll go back to my room and review our story one more time. Make sure I have everything memorized."
Caius nods. "Good idea. Catherine will be here in just over an hour. We need to be completely prepared."
I turn to leave when I hear him.
"Lia."
I stop and look back.
"Thank you," he says quietly. "For doing this. For wearing the ring. For... everything."
I don't know what to say to that.
I should be the one thanking him. He's paying me two million dollars. He's giving me the chance to save my mother's life. I'm getting exactly what I need out of this arrangement.
But the words stick in my throat.
So I just nod and leave.
The walk back to my room is harder than it should be.
The penthouse is massive with Too many hallways and doors. I make two wrong turns before I finally find the right guest room.
My room.
For the next six months, anyway.
When I close the door behind me, I lean against it. Just breathing in and out.
I move to the window and I press my forehead against the cool glass trying to calm myself down when my phone buzzes in my pocket.
I pull it out, expecting maybe a text from Caius. Some last-minute instruction or detail we forgot to cover.
But it's not from Caius.
It's the hospital.
County General Hospital flashes across my screen.
My heart stops.
No.
No, no, no.
Not now.
Not today.
Please, God, not today.
My hands shake so badly I almost drop the phone. I have to use both hands to swipe and answer.
"Hello?" My voice cracks.
"Ms. Sterling?" It's a woman's voice. "This is County General Hospital. I'm calling about your mother, Margaret Sterling."
My vision blurs.
"What happened?" My voice trembles. "Is she okay? What—"
"Your mother's condition has deteriorated overnight," the woman says. "She's stable for now, but Dr. Reeves needs to speak with you as soon as possible. Can you come to the hospital?"
My knees give out.
I sink onto the edge of the bed, still gripping the phone.
"How bad?" I whisper. "How bad is it?"
"Dr. Reeves will explain everything when you arrive. But Ms. Sterling..." She pauses. "You should come soon."
Soon.
Not eventually. Not when you have time. But soon.
Which means right now, this very moment, my mother is in that hospital bed getting worse while I'm here in this penthouse wearing a fake engagement ring.
"I'll be there," I hear myself say. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
Then I hang up.
My hands are shaking so hard the phone slips from my fingers and falls onto the bed.
My mother is dying.
Right now.
Right this very second.
And I'm here.
I need to go. Need to leave. Need to get to the hospital immediately. Need to be with her. Hold her hand and tell her I love her.
But the social worker.
Catherine Gerald.
She's coming in less than an hour.
If I leave now, if I'm not here when she arrives, this whole thing falls apart. The marriage. The arrangement. The custody case.
Everything.
And I don't get paid.
Which means I can't afford Mom's treatment anyway.
Which means she dies regardless.
Tears begin to burn behind my eyes.
I press my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming. God, what do I do?
I need to think. I need to think of a way out. A way to go about this.
Maybe I can go quickly. Just run to the hospital. Talk to Dr. Reeves for five minutes. See my mother. Make sure she's okay. Then rush back before Catherine arrives.
But what if there's traffic? The hospital is across town. Even without traffic, it's a thirty-minute drive each way.
What if something happens at the hospital? What if Mom's situation is worse than they're saying? What if I get there and can't leave?
What if I don't make it back in time?
What if I lose everything?
My mind races through scenarios, each one worse than the last.
I could call Caius. Explain the situation. Ask him to delay the meeting somehow.
But how? Catherine is a social worker, not a business associate. You can't just reschedule court-ordered home visits because it's inconvenient.
And what if Caius says no? What if he tells me that the meeting is more important? That I knew what I was signing up for?
What if this is the test?
What if this is him finding out whether I'm really committed to this arrangement?
My hands shake as I stand.
I need to tell him. I need to explain. I need to—
A sound outside freezes my thoughts.
It's a car , pulling up in front of the building.
No.
It can't be..
She can't be here yet. It's too early. We still have fifty minutes. She's not supposed to...
I move to the window and look down.
A black sedan rolls to a stop inside the building.
And stepping out of the driver's side is a woman in a gray pantsuit, carrying a briefcase and a folder.
She's early.
She's here early.
Catherine Gerald is standing on the sidewalk right now, looking up at the building, checking her watch.
My chest squeezes hard until I can't breathe.
The social worker is here.
And my mother is in the hospital.
And I have to choose.
Right now, in this moment, I have to choose which life to save.
My mother's.
Or Leo's.
The woman I've loved my entire life, who sacrificed everything to raise me alone, who's lying in a hospital bed right now asking for me.
Or a four-year-old boy I met two days ago, who lost his parents, who somehow saw something in me that made him speak for the first time in seven months.
How and who do I choose?