Chapter 3: The Desperate Lie

Victoria's Pov

I woke up in my childhood bedroom with sunlight stabbing through the curtains.

For one blissful second, I forgot.

Then it all came crashing back. Carl. Bianca. The announcement. The humiliation.

My phone sat on the nightstand, screen dark. I'd turned it off after Simon dropped me back around two in the morning. Before that, forty-three missed calls. Sixty-two texts.

I didn't want to know what they said.

A knock at the door made me freeze.

"Victoria?" My mother's voice. Tight. Strained. "We need to talk. Now."

Downstairs, my parents sat at the kitchen table. My father's face was carved from stone. My mother's eyes were red and puffy.

"Sit," Dad said.

The silence stretched like a wire about to snap.

"What happened last night?" Mom's voice cracked. "Carl said you misunderstood the relationship. That you made up an engagement. Is that true?"

"No." The word came out hoarse. "He proposed. He gave me a ring. He told me he loved me."

"Then why would he say those things?"

"Because he's a liar. He was using me. And Bianca knew. They've been together for months."

My mother's hand flew to her mouth. "Bianca? Your cousin?"

"I saw them kissing before he made that announcement. They planned the whole thing."

Dad's fist hit the table. "That son of…"

"Jim!" Mom cut him off. Then she looked at me, and I saw something that made my stomach drop.

Embarrassment.

"Everyone's talking," she said quietly. "The Hendersons. The Parkers. Pastor Mike called. They're all asking questions."

"What kind of questions?"

She looked away. "That maybe Carl was right. That maybe you got too attached."

The words hit like a physical blow.

"You think I'm lying?"

"No! But Victoria, you have to understand how this looks. People don't know what to believe."

"So believe me. Your daughter."

"We do," Dad said, but his voice lacked conviction. "But we need to figure out how to handle this. The gossip."

"Handle it?" I stood up so fast my chair scraped. "I was humiliated in front of the entire town and you're worried about gossip?"

"We live here, Victoria," Mom said, tears spilling. "We face these people every day. At church. At the store. And they're all talking."

The truth settled over me like ice water.

They were ashamed. Of me. Of the scandal.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, my voice hollow.

"Just talk to people. Show them you're okay. That you've moved on."

"Moved on? It's been twelve hours."

"I know it's fast. But if you could just show them you're not sitting around heartbroken..."

I grabbed my phone and walked out.

I walked past the barn toward the back fence, trying to breathe.

Voices drifted from the side yard; My aunt Carol, Mrs. Henderson, Other town busybodies.

"I always thought there was something off about that girl," Mrs. Henderson was saying. "Too ambitious."

"Carl seemed like such a nice young man," Aunt Carol replied.

"Which makes you wonder why he'd lie about Victoria, unless she really did push him into something."

The words made me stop cold. I should have walked away, But I'd had enough.

I turned the corner and faced them. "Say it to my face."

Mrs. Henderson looked startled. "Victoria. I didn't realize…"

"You didn't realize I could hear you? That Carl is a liar? That Bianca helped him?" My voice was rising. "Or are you so desperate for gossip you'd rather believe I'm crazy?"

There was silence

Then Aunt Carol spoke quietly. "We're just concerned. You came back with such big plans. And now..."

"And now I'm an embarrassment."

"That's not what I said."

"But it's what you meant."

Mrs. Henderson's face softened with pity. Which was worse than judgment.

"Do you have anyone? Any prospects?"

The question was so absurd I almost laughed.

"Prospects?"

"Well, people are going to talk. And if you're just sitting around moping..."

Something snapped inside me.

"I have someone," I blurted out. "I have a fiancé."

The words were out before I could stop them.

Everyone stared.

"You what?" Aunt Carol blinked.

"I have a fiancé. Someone I've been seeing. That's why I'm not devastated about Carl."

The lie tasted bitter but I couldn't take it back.

"Since when?" Mrs. Henderson's eyes narrowed.

"Since New York. We've been together for months."

More lies piling up.

"What's his name?"

My mind raced. "Simon. His name is Simon."

"And where is this Simon?"

"He's…"

"Right here."

The voice came from behind me. I turned, and my heart stopped.

Simon stood there in the morning sunlight, looking nothing like the scruffy man from the shelter. He'd cleaned up. Shaved. Changed into clothes that actually fit.

And he was looking at me with something I couldn't read.

"Sorry I'm late, darling," he said smoothly, walking over. "Got held up in town."

Everyone's heads swiveled between us.

"This is your fiancé?" Mrs. Henderson's voice was sharp with suspicion.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

Simon's arm slipped around my waist, pulling me close. "That's right. We've been engaged for three months. Victoria was waiting for the right time to tell her family."

"Three months?" Aunt Carol's eyebrows shot up. "But you were engaged to Carl."

"Actually, I wasn't," I heard myself say. "Carl assumed. I tried to tell him about Simon, but he never listened. Last night I was relieved. Now I don't have to pretend anymore."

The story was paper-thin. Ridiculous.

But Simon was solid beside me, his hand warm on my hip.

"So you've been leading Carl on?" Mrs. Henderson looked scandalized.

"No. I tried to end things multiple times. He wouldn't listen." I leaned into Simon. "Honestly? I'm grateful it's over."

Aunt Carol studied Simon. "And what do you do, Simon?"

"I'm in business," he said vaguely. "Investments."

"Here in Texas?"

"I split my time. But I'm happy to relocate once Victoria and I are married."

The lies were spinning out of control.

"Well," Mrs. Henderson said slowly. "This is quite the development."

"Isn't it?" Simon smiled. "Now if you'll excuse us, Victoria and I have plans."

He steered me away before anyone could ask more questions.

We walked in silence until we were out of earshot. Then I pulled away, my heart hammering.

"What just happened?" I whispered.

Simon's expression was unreadable. "You told a lie. I backed you up."

"Why?"

"Because you looked desperate. And because I know what it's like to have people judge you."

"But now they think we're engaged. Actually engaged."

"Yes."

"Simon, we can't…"

"Yes, we can." He looked at me directly. "Unless you want to go back and tell them the truth? Face more questions? More pity?"

I thought about my mother's embarrassed face. The gossip. The judgment.

"No," I said quietly.

"Then we're engaged." He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. "At least until you figure out what you actually want to do."

"This is insane."

"Probably." A slight smile. "But it's also done. So we might as well commit to it."

I stared at him, this strange man who kept saving me for reasons I didn't understand.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because someone should."

It was the same answer as last night. And just like last night, it made something in my chest ache.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Don't thank me yet." Simon glanced back toward the house where curtains were twitching. "Something tells me this is going to get a lot more complicated before it gets simpler."

He was right. I just had no idea how right.