I Waited To Settle Our Wedding Date, Only To Find Him Acting As Her Fake Partner Chapter 01

I Waited To Settle Our Wedding Date, Only To Find Him Acting As Her Fake Partner Chapter 01

The night before Thanksgiving, my boyfriend, Ethan Parker, and I were packing the gifts we’d take to my parents’ house.

“My parents said we should finally pick a wedding date while we’re home this time.”

He went still for a beat, about to answer, when the keypad on our front door suddenly beeped.

My best friend, Madison “Maddie” Reed, let herself in like she owned the place and immediately threw her arms around me.

“Claire, I hate to ask, but I kind of need to borrow Ethan again this Thanksgiving.”

“Seven times now. Does this ever end?”

Ethan complained, but there was no missing the indulgence in his voice.

Maddie coaxed him toward the balcony, half pulling him along.

“I swear this is the last time. I even had wedding invitations printed for Grandma. If we’re putting on a show, we might as well make it convincing.”

“Come outside and run through the story with me so we don’t slip up in front of everyone.”

For seven years, every holiday had somehow turned into the same routine.

Through the glass door, I watched Ethan casually brush a loose strand of hair from her face. The two of them dissolved into laughter.

Without a word, I took the gifts meant for Ethan back out of the suitcase.

A text from Mom lit up my phone.

“What time are you getting here? Your dad’s making that shrimp Ethan likes.”

I looked at the two figures standing shoulder to shoulder on the balcony, then calmly typed back.

“Mom, tell Dad not to bother. I’m coming home alone this Thanksgiving.”

—

A little while later, the balcony door slid open.

Ethan didn’t seem to notice just how quiet I’d become.

He headed straight for the open suitcase, his eyes landing on the two upscale holiday gift boxes and the two bottles of limited-release bourbon inside.

I’d spent a month searching everywhere to get those Thanksgiving gifts for my parents.

“Claire, can I take these with me?”

His voice was gentle, framed like a question even though he’d clearly already decided.

I looked up at him.

Ethan gave me an apologetic smile, then shrugged as if there were nothing else he could do.

“Maddie’s relatives back home are kind of snobby. She needs to show up with something impressive, so I’m going to borrow the good stuff for now.”

“What about my parents?”

My voice was barely above a whisper.

He casually pointed to a plastic grocery bag beside the shoe rack.

“Take those two pumpkin pies. Doesn’t your dad love pumpkin pie?”

“Your parents have always treated me like a son. We’re basically family. They’re not going to care about some fancy holiday gift.”

The second he finished, Maddie leaned against my shoulder with a bright smile.

“Claire, I knew you’d understand.”

“When I get back, dinner’s on me. I’ll make it up to you.”

Then she looped her arm through Ethan’s and tugged him eagerly toward the door.

“Come on, Ethan. Go start the car. If we leave any later, we’re going to miss dinner.”

“You do nothing but rush me. You’re impossible.”

Ethan grumbled, but he was smiling as he carried the gifts out.

Before he left, he even glanced back to remind me,

“Drive safe, Claire. Text me when you get to your parents’ place, okay?”

The front door slammed shut, and the apartment went dead silent.

I walked over to the shoe rack.

Bright clearance stickers were plastered across both pie boxes: BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE.

I tossed them into the trash in the corner, along with the last of my expectations for him.

I sat back down on the couch and picked up the tablet we shared.

I’d only meant to unlink our shared photo album. Instead, I stumbled across Ethan’s cloud-synced files.

His shopping cart was packed with everything he’d picked out for Maddie’s fake wedding.

A $28,000 couture wedding gown. A $20,000 diamond ring.

He’d even put down a deposit on a private honeymoon yacht in Key West.

He’d spent six months choosing every detail, right down to leaving himself a reminder to keep allergy medication on hand for Maddie’s shellfish allergy.

I thought back to the month before, when my parents had brought up marriage and I’d cautiously asked whether he wanted to look at engagement rings.

He’d said,

“Claire, a diamond ring is just a rock.”

“We’ve been together seven years. Do we really need material things to prove how we feel? What we have is real because it’s simple.”

So it wasn’t that Ethan didn’t believe in spending money on romance. He just didn’t think I was worth the effort.

I opened his notes. Pinned at the top was a detailed guide to Maddie’s cycle and the foods she liked when she wasn’t feeling well.

It even said to pick up chestnut cake from her favorite bakery whenever it rained because it cheered her up.

A few days earlier, after I’d worked late three nights in a row with my stomach in knots, he’d casually handed me a mango crepe cake even though I was severely allergic to mango.

When I reminded him, he didn’t get angry. He just looked at me with the patient tolerance of an adult dealing with an unreasonable child.

“I waited in line for half an hour for this. I just forgot for a second. Pick the mango off and eat the rest. I’ll remember next time.”

Farther down, at the bottom of his notes, I found something he’d written at three in the morning.

“Claire is so understanding. Life with her is steady, but it’s as bland as plain water. It’s only when I’m doing something crazy with Maddie that I feel like my heart is actually beating.”

Understanding. Plain water.

I stared at the words, feeling as if every bit of hope I had left was breaking apart inside me.

For seven years, I’d been there from our cramped-rental days to the downtown apartment. I’d pinched pennies, handled the chores, and kept our life running so he could focus on getting ahead.

All that patience, all that effort, had only made it easier for him to give the best of himself to another woman.

My phone suddenly lit up.

The typing bubble hovered there for a long time before Mom finally sent a voice message.

“Okay.”

“Coming home by yourself is fine too. Travel safe. Your dad and I will be here waiting for you.”

That was all it took. The tears came.

I drew a deep breath, wiped my face, and opened the Amtrak app.

I bought a ticket on the soonest train out.

Then I went into the bedroom, opened the closet, and packed only what was mine.

Ethan, if life with me felt so bland and suffocating,

then I was finally setting you free.