“Yeah. After your night with Jax, Caleb spent the next month trying to find you for him.”
My mouth dropped open. “You’re lying.”
“Go ask him yourself.”
It was like one blow after the other. My head was spinning with the overload of information she was sharing.
“Caleb didn’t find you, but I did. I understand why you were hiding your identity. You had a son to think about. From one mother to another, I know how important it is to keep him out of the limelight. This industry can eat you up and spit you out. It’s the risk you take by being in the public eye. Jax is by far one of the most famous athletes of our time. He’s going to go down in history as the greatest of all time, and that’s a lot for a child to take on. The press hounds his every move, but you know at the end of the day, drama sells. Most of the stories you read about him are false. I know you know that.”
“I don’t know anything. Least of all, what’s the truth or lies when it comes to Jax. I thought I knew who he was, I hoped I did, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I didn’t know him at all.”
“What happened between you two?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. It doesn’t matter. I’m not that girl anymore, and Jax is sadly mistaken if he thinks I’m going to be.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t think you do. I can’t do this. I can’t be his wife, even if it is fake.”
“Why do you think that is, Sophie?”
“What are you getting at, Autumn?”
“Maybe the fact that you don’t want to do this for him is because you’re scared that you’ll fall in love with him again?”
I shook my head. “That’s not it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“Alright, then do it for your fans. If Jax takes you to court, it’s all going to come out, and I won’t be able to protect you. Your fans believe in love, it’s why they read your books. If they find out you kept your son from his father, I don’t think you’ll be able to bounce back from that. Regardless of your reasons.”
“So what you’re saying is marry Jax, or my fanbase is going to turn on me?”
“Something like that. You’ve worked too hard to let that happen. Besides, your fans want to know who you are, and I don’t blame them. Your books are amazing.”
“You’ve read them?”
“You’re one of my favorite authors.”
“Oh…”
“Listen, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and this is perfect timing. Jax marrying a romance author, it couldn’t get any better if I had made it up. The public is going to lose their ever-loving mind, and your fanbase is going to grow by the millions. Women are obsessed with Jax, and you’re about to take all that on. You couldn’t pay for this kind of publicity.”
I inhaled another deep breath, trying to gather my bearings and sanity. It felt as though I was losing my mind.
“I’m going to give you a few minutes to yourself. When you’re ready, I’ll show you the contract. We can work out the details and schedule a timeline to start with your engagement party.”
“Engagement party?”
“Yes. The whole nine yards, Sophie. Your friends and family need to think this is your fairy tale happily ever after.”
“Oh my God.”
She rubbed my back for a second before she spun and left.
I didn’t give it a second thought, doing the only thing I could. Grabbing my phone from my jacket, I called the one person who might be able to do something in my favor. I knew he was in town on business. We were supposed to have dinner with him tonight.