Chapter 4: Learning to pretend

The first Monday morning in Apartment 3B began with the smell of smoke.

Not the dangerous kind.

The embarrassing kind.

Pedro stumbled out of his bedroom at 6:37 a.m., still half asleep, only to find Liyanna standing in front of the stove waving a kitchen towel at the smoke detector.

“Don’t judge me!” she shouted before he could say a word.

“I’m not judging.”

“You are.”

“I’m…observing.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Your face is judging.”

Pedro bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.

On the stove sat what used to be pancakes.

Now they looked more like charcoal.

“I got distracted,” she mumbled.

“Doing what?”

“I was watching a cooking video.”

“…While cooking?”

“It made sense at the time.”

Pedro finally laughed.

She threw the kitchen towel at him.

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re trying to burn down our apartment.”

Twenty minutes later, the kitchen smelled much better.

Pedro cracked eggs into a bowl with practiced ease while bacon sizzled in the pan.

Liyanna leaned against the counter, watching him.

“I have a question.”

“Hm?”

“Why are you so good at this?”

Pedro smiled without looking up.

“My dad.”

She waited.

“He worked construction during the day, but on weekends he’d cook breakfast for us.”

His voice softened.

“He always said good food could fix almost any bad day.”

Liyanna smiled.

“He sounds like he was a good man.”

“He was.”

There was a brief silence.

“I miss him.”

The words came out quietly.

Liyanna didn’t try to fill the silence with comforting clichés.

Instead, she walked over and gently squeezed his arm.

“I’m glad you told me.”

Pedro looked at her.

“Me too.”

For the first time since they’d met, sharing the apartment didn’t feel like sharing it with a stranger.

That afternoon they sat at the dining table with notebooks, determined to prepare for questions about their “relationship.”

“Okay,” Liyanna said, uncapping a marker. “We need a believable story.”

Pedro nodded.

“Where did we meet?”

“Definitely not biology class.”

“And definitely not a bookstore.”

She laughed.

“What about the campus library?”

“I like that.”

“You were looking for a book.”

“I couldn’t reach the top shelf.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“You’re six feet tall.”

“…Right.”

“My turn.”

She thought for a moment.

“I spilled coffee on your notebook.”

Pedro nodded slowly.

“That’s believable.”

“You apologized.”

“I offered to buy you another coffee.”

“We started studying together.”

Pedro smiled.

“And somehow became friends.”

She wrote everything down carefully.

“What food do I hate?” she asked.

“Olives.”

“I actually do hate olives.”

He blinked.

“Lucky guess.”

“What food do you hate?”

“Mushrooms.”

She scribbled it down.

“Favorite movie?”

“The Pursuit of Happyness.”

She looked surprised.

“I love that movie.”

“You do?”

“It’s my comfort movie.”

They looked at each other.

Neither had expected to have something in common.

By Wednesday, they had memorized nearly every detail of their invented relationship.

How long they’d supposedly been dating.

Who confessed first.

Where their “first kiss” happened.

Even the color of the shirt Pedro was supposedly wearing that day.

“If anyone asks,” Liyanna said, “your shirt was green.”

“I thought it was blue.”

She stared at him.

“Pedro.”

“What?”

“We literally agreed on green ten minutes ago.”

“Oh.”

She sighed dramatically.

“We’re doomed.”

Life settled into an unexpected routine.

Pedro left for his engineering classes before eight every morning.

Liyanna usually stayed behind another hour before heading to journalism lectures.

In the evenings, they cooked together.

Or, more accurately…

Pedro cooked.

Liyanna tasted everything.

“I provide emotional support,” she insisted.

“You steal fries.”

“I’m quality control.”

“You ate half the potatoes.”

“They passed inspection.”

Pedro rolled his eyes.

“I’ve never met anyone who talks this much.”

“You married me.”

“Technically.”

She pointed a wooden spoon at him.

“It still counts.”

Friday evening brought their first real challenge.

A flyer had been slipped under every apartment door.

Married Student Welcome Night

Games.

Dinner.

Music.

Meet other couples.

Attendance encouraged.

Liyanna groaned.

“We have to go.”

Pedro nodded reluctantly.

“If we don’t, people will notice.”

“I hate that you’re right.”

Saturday night arrived too quickly.

The community hall was decorated with strings of warm lights and fresh flowers.

Couples chatted over snacks while soft music played in the background.

Pedro adjusted the sleeves of his shirt.

“I feel like everyone’s staring.”

“They’re probably wondering why you’re so nervous.”

“I am nervous.”

“Then smile.”

“I am smiling.”

She looked at him.

“That’s not a smile.”

“It is.”

“It looks painful.”

As they entered, Mrs. Whitaker spotted them immediately.

“There they are!”

She waved enthusiastically.

“My favorite newlyweds!”

Pedro whispered under his breath.

“We’re her only newlyweds.”

“Details.”

Mrs. Whitaker hugged Liyanna before turning to Pedro.

“You two make such a lovely couple.”

“Thank you,” they answered at the same time.

Mrs. Whitaker grinned.

“See? Even your timing matches.”

Pedro and Liyanna exchanged an amused glance.

The evening was going surprisingly well until the host stepped onto the stage.

“Time for our Couples Challenge!”

The room erupted in cheers.

Pedro frowned.

“I don’t like the sound of this.”

Liyanna whispered,

“Neither do I.”

The host continued.

“Each couple will answer questions about their spouse. Whoever gets the most correct answers wins a weekend getaway sponsored by the university alumni association.”

Pedro’s stomach dropped.

Liyanna forced a smile.

“We’re in trouble.”

One by one, couples answered questions.

“What is your spouse’s favorite dessert?”

“What is their dream vacation?”

“What was the first gift they gave you?”

Most couples answered effortlessly.

Then…

“Pedro and Liyanna!”

Applause filled the room.

They walked onto the stage.

The first question was easy.

“What is Pedro’s favorite food?”

Liyanna smiled.

“Chicken Alfredo.”

Pedro blinked.

Correct.

“What is Liyanna’s favorite color?”

“Forest green.”

Correct again.

The audience clapped.

Pedro smiled.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

Then came the final question.

“What is one thing your spouse does that always makes you smile?”

Neither of them had prepared for that.

Liyanna looked at Pedro.

He looked back at her.

The room waited.

Finally, Pedro spoke.

“She…”

He smiled without realizing it.

“…always dances when she’s cooking.”

Liyanna’s cheeks turned pink.

“I don’t dance.”

“You absolutely do.”

“I move a little.”

“You perform full concerts.”

Laughter rippled through the room.

The host turned to Liyanna.

“And you?”

She looked at Pedro for a long moment.

“He hums.”

Pedro frowned.

“I do not.”

“You do.”

“When?”

“When you’re concentrating.”

She smiled softly.

“You don’t even notice you’re doing it.”

Pedro stared at her.

He hadn’t realized she’d been paying that much attention.

The audience applauded warmly.

“You two know each other well,” the host said with a grin.

“That’s what makes a marriage strong.”

Later that night, they walked home beneath a sky full of stars.

Neither spoke for several minutes.

Finally, Pedro broke the silence.

“You noticed I hum?”

Liyanna shrugged.

“You noticed I dance.”

“I guess I did.”

Another quiet moment passed.

“You know…” she said.

“What?”

“Tonight was the first time I forgot we were pretending.”

Pedro looked at her.

“So did I.”

Neither of them said anything else.

They simply continued walking side by side through the quiet streets of Savannah.

Above them, the stars shone brightly.

Ahead of them, Apartment 3B waited with its warm lights glowing through the windows.

For the first time since signing the marriage certificate, home wasn’t just a place.

It was beginning to feel like a person.

And neither Pedro nor Liyanna realized that someone else had seen them leaving the event together.

A young woman stood across the street, arms folded, watching them disappear into the night.

She recognized Pedro instantly.

She also recognized the way he smiled at Liyanna.

It was a smile he’d never worn around anyone else.

And she wasn’t about to let that go unnoticed.