I Hired My Neighbor to Be My Girlfriend, Then Fell in Love
"I was about to be evicted. I'd lost my job months earlier, applied everywhere, and nothing was working out. Nathaniel offered me money to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month, to get his family off his back about an arranged marriage they were pushing on him. I said yes because I needed the money desperately. That's the honest, unglamorous truth of it, no matter how it sounds out loud."
Sarah's pen paused briefly over her notebook, something like surprise crossing her face at the directness of the admission, clearly having expected more evasion or careful phrasing. "Most people try to soften that part, dress it up as something more palatable."
"Softening it would just give you a reason