Chapter 127: Spare Me the Details
Evelyn's eyes lit up, and her gaze grew even more admiring as she looked at Bruce. "You're really amazing! Not only are you incredibly talented as a designer, but you've got such a strong personality too—you're not afraid to shut down people or situations you don't like."
Bruce froze for a moment, unnerved by the intensity of her stare. He covered his face, a flush creeping up his cheeks.
"Wait... don't look at me like that while saying all these nice things. I can't handle it!"
Evelyn's eyes widened as reality hit her. Her face turned pink. "Sorry."
She'd gotten too carried away. Meeting her idol in person—she hadn't been able to contain her fangirl enthusiasm.
Bruce snuck a glance at Evelyn's current expression. Why does she look so adorable right now?
Oh no. I think I'm actually into her.
He'd originally thought it would be fun to meet a fan, especially since she was Sophia's sister. Having lunch and making a new friend seemed harmless enough.
Using his status as her design idol to propose a fake relationship felt sketchy. But now he was ridiculously tempted to throw his morals out the window.
A server arrived with their food. Bruce grabbed his water glass and took several large gulps.
After the server left, he gestured for Evelyn to start eating. He hesitated for a beat, then steeled himself. "Actually, the reason I asked you out today... there's something I need your help with."
Evelyn had just forked a piece of steak into her mouth. She looked up at him, puzzled. "What is it?"
Bruce set down his glass. "So, here's the thing. My parents think there's something wrong with me because I've never had a girlfriend. They're starting to question my sexuality and are forcing me to go on arranged dates. They want me to find a local Emerald City girl to date and marry, or they won't let me go back to my studio in Silverlight City. Sophia mentioned you're currently single, so I was wondering... would you be willing to be my girlfriend?"
Her eyes went wide with shock, and she froze mid-chew, unable to swallow or spit out the meat in her mouth. Bruce quickly clarified, "Fake! Pretend! Just come meet my parents with me so they'll believe I'm actually dating someone. Then you can go back to focusing on your career, and I can get back to mine."
Evelyn exhaled in relief and finally managed to swallow. She looked down, thinking it over. "Why don't you just date someone for real?"
Bruce nearly spat out the water he'd just sipped. He stared at her in surprise.
Evelyn quickly realized how that sounded. "I—I don't mean date me! I mean, why not find a girl you actually like and have a real relationship? You can fake dating, but you can't fake marriage forever. Keeping this up isn't good for you in the long run."
Bruce set down his teacup and sighed. "If I could find someone I liked, would I still be single at twenty-six without a single relationship under my belt? You can't force feelings. That's why I'm hoping you'll help me put on an act to deal with my parents temporarily. Otherwise, how am I supposed to handle all the work piling up at my studio?"
Evelyn nodded in understanding, her eyes lowered in thought.
She really was the ideal choice for this. All she'd need to do was meet Bruce's parents once. If they tried to contact her later for dinner, she could use the hospital's demanding schedule as an excuse.
If Bruce asked some other woman to play the role, she might have to meet his parents multiple times, and he'd end up owing a lot of favors.
Besides, Sophia and Bruce were close friends. Helping Bruce was basically helping Sophia. Better for Bruce to owe a favor to a friend than to some stranger who'd expect endless payback down the line.
After sorting through her thoughts, Evelyn looked up at Bruce and agreed without hesitation. "Sure, I can do that. I'm not in any rush to get married anyway, so I can pretend to be your girlfriend for now."
He was her idol and Sophia's friend—his character was definitely trustworthy. How could she possibly refuse?
Bruce hadn't expected her to agree so readily. His face broke into a wide grin. "Thank you! You're a lifesaver! Let's take a photo together before we leave. I'll show it to my parents for now, and when you have time later, I'll bring you to meet them in person. Oh, and if you want, feel free to use me as an excuse to fend off those guys who won't leave you alone. You can even post our photo on social media—whatever you want."
Evelyn blinked, momentarily dazed. "Won't that affect you somehow?"
Bruce waved dismissively. "Nah, what's the big deal? I'm not a celebrity or anything. Honestly, I wouldn't mind being your actual boyfriend."
That last part was obviously a joke. Evelyn understood that. But her heart still gave a small, involuntary flutter.
At 4:30 that afternoon, Sophia received a video call from Amelia, who was practically begging for forgiveness on her knees.
The phone was propped sideways on a nightstand, showing Amelia kneeling on the bed with a pleading expression. "Sophia, I messed up! Please forgive me!"
Sophia's lips curved into a smirk. "You two had such a wild time yesterday that you're only just now calling me back?"
Amelia gave an awkward laugh. "Sophia, there's a time difference! It's only 10:30 in the morning here!"
"Oh right, I almost forgot about the time difference." Sophia's tone was mock-enlightened as she did the mental math. "So when I called you last night, it was around 3 PM your time. Getting busy in broad daylight? That's bold."
Amelia covered her face. "I know, I know, Sophia! I'm terrible! I just didn't want to miss your call in case it was something urgent! But Wayne—that damn guy wouldn't stop even when I asked him to..."
"Stop right there!" Sophia made an X with her hands. "I have zero interest in the details. I just want to know when you two got together."
Amelia nervously rubbed her nose, her voice dropping. "Um... graduation day. College graduation."
"College graduation? That was over a year ago! You could give CIA agents a run for their money with those secret-keeping skills!" Sophia's tone was sharp with annoyance. Amelia had been with Wayne all this time and kept it from her for over a year?
Amelia hung her head even lower, too mortified to face Sophia.
After high school graduation, she'd seen Wayne's abs and even touched them, though nothing had happened back then.
Once they were abroad, neither of them lived in the dorms. They each rented apartments off-campus and would occasionally meet up for meals when they didn't have classes, or hang out at each other's places with some drinks.
After their college graduation ceremony, their classmates organized a dinner party with alcohol. Amelia hadn't drunk enough to satisfy herself, so after everyone dispersed, she went to Wayne's apartment.
Later, Wayne accidentally knocked over a glass of water while getting a drink, soaking his shirt. He casually yanked it off.
Amelia had been a bit tipsy and fuzzy-headed at that point. The more she looked at Wayne, the more attractive he seemed. His physique was downright tempting. In a moment of weakness, she'd lost her head, and... things happened.
Sophia frowned as she listened. This sounds suspiciously deliberate on Wayne's part.