Page 33 of The Substitute Fiancée

My voice is cold. Controlled. Nothing like how I feel inside.

“Oh, Alexander! Finally. I was so worried,” she exclaims. “How are you, my love?”

My love.

How dare she?

“How do you think?” I ask harshly.

Silence.

I can hear her breathing on the other end. Fast. Nervous.

“I… listen, I’m sorry, okay? This—this isn’t what you think.”

Predictable.

“Didn’t you fuck Grégoire?”

I ask the question calmly.

Another silence. Longer.

“It… it doesn’t mean anything. It was a mistake I’ll regret for the rest of my life. I love you.”

Her words echo in my head, absurd, insulting.

“If that’s what you call love, then we don’t have the same definition of it.”

My voice trembles slightly. With anger. With disgust. With sadness.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sam hesitate, as if she wants to comfort me, but knows this isn’t the moment.

“Listen, we need to talk,” Kristel pleads. “Don’t forget everything we shared, you and me. You’re not going to destroy our relationship over one small mistake.”

“I’m not the one destroying it. You did that when you decided to sleep with someone else.”

I keep my voice low, aware the others might hear.

Her tone turns plaintive, almost desperate.

“And our engagement? You were supposed to propose, remember? We had plans. A life together.”

“Forget it,” I cut her off sharply. “There will be no engagement. It’s over.”

The words come out cold. Final.

I hear her breath hitch on the other end.

“What? Alexander,you can’t—”

“Yes. I can. And I am.”

Her voice hardens.

“We’ve already started circulating rumors. Investors and the public are expecting an announcement. You need me. The CEO of MatchMapping can’t back out, Alexander. That would be a major strategic mistake.”

There it is.