He Loved My Fake Self Chapter 20

He Loved My Fake Self Chapter 20

Kyle and I both landed internships at our dream companies

He moved into my rented apartment Started renovating the house we’d bought for after the wedding

He knew me Every design choice, he made from my perspective

Sometimes it made me ache. “Kyle, isn’t this exhausting for you?”

His expression shifted. Serious. Almost tense

“Letting me be good to you-that’s giving me a chance. Letting me love you? Same thing

He fast-tracked the dinner with my parents.

Right around then, Peyton got his final approved phone call.

He called me.

“Clover. I-”

“Strategist,” Kyle cut in, lazy and satisfied. “You calling to congratulate us? Don’t worry You already did Way back at the beginning. You said we were destined. Thanks, man.”

Peyton’s roar came through the speaker.

Kyle hung up.

Life settled into something steady and warm.

The day Kyle came home with me to meet my parents, I found Jolene waiting outside.

She stared at me for a long time. Then forced a bitter smile.

“Clover.”

She was buried in a baseball cap and mask. Completely covered.

“I was wrong. At the very beginning, I really did mean to get his Facebook for you. But at the last second, I

changed my mind.

“I wasn’t thinking that hard about it. It was just a joke.

“Then a few days before he confessed, I ran into him. I saw the way he kept looking at me. That’s when I

realized you’d actually caught his attention.

“And I figured… I saved your life once. You could give him to me. Call it even.”

“Did you really save my life?”

My voice was flat.

I watched the panic flicker across her face.

“Before graduation, I found the security guard from that day. He showed me the footage.

“Yeah, I almost got crushed by that display shelf. And you ran over and pulled me back.

“But you know what else was on the tape, a few seconds before it fell?

“You. You were messing around, knocking into people, and you knocked that shelf over.

“You didn’t run over to save me. You ran over for those expensive vases on the table. And then you used it to

guilt-trip me for three years.”

Jolene swayed.

Her mask crumbled.

She turned and fled.

I watched her go. Felt nothing.

I knew why she’d come today.

Same old move. She wanted to tell me her misery was my fault. Wanted to make me feel guilty. Wanted

something from me.