Betrayed by Truths (Truth or Lies 2)

I don’t take my eyes off her face. She doesn’t react in anxiety. But then it’s not the sand that she fears. It’s the water. The sea. The danger.

I hear Westcott move to the deck behind us, ready to take pictures of us as we walk hand in hand to our fake wedding.

“You got this,” I say as we take another step.

“I don’t need a pep talk.”

I smile, Kai’s sassy as always.

Another step, and then another, inches us closer. With each step, I wait for the panic and anxiety to rise in her. Instead, I feel her squeeze my ha

nd tighter.

“Who’s that?” she asks.

I look in the direction her eyes travel to the man walking to the arch.

“Our fake priest.”

She smiles. “This is crazy.”

“Don’t worry; soon we will be getting fake divorced.”

This earns me a tiny laugh. Something I rarely see and want more of. But doubt I will see it again. I don’t deserve it. And our future together will be riddled with more pain.

The arch of flowers sits several feet from the edge of the ocean. And we make it all the way without a panic attack.

“Maybe you’ve been cured,” I say.

She shakes her head. “No, this is just far enough away that the water doesn’t scare me.”

I take her other hand, and we face each other standing in front of our fake priest. Maybe it’s my touch and presence that calms her.

I reach up and pluck a red flower from the arch, before tucking it behind her ear.

Her cheeks blush, and her eyes brighten in a thank you.

“What are we supposed to do now? I’ve never been to a wedding,” she says.

“Me neither.”

Justin leans in. “Just stand here and promise each other the world even though you will likely cheat and lie within the first month of marriage resulting in one or both of you having your heart ripped out.”

We both raise an eyebrow at our fake minister.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’m Justin.”

“Kai—”

“Katherine, this is my wife, Katherine. And I’m Enzo.”

Kai stares at me, at my correction of her name. I hired him under the guise that we wanted to relive our marriage in photos since we eloped and didn’t hire a photographer the first time.

“I’m sure you two will beat the odds and live a long and happy life together.”

Kai laughs. “I’m sure we will.”

Justin smiles. “Would you two like a private moment to relive the vows you said to each other before?”