Chapter 3 It's Terrifying

I blinked. Once. Twice.

"You're not... serious, right?"

Austin remained silent. Somehow, that made everything worse.

"We don't have to do that."

"You said you needed a boyfriend."

"A fake boyfriend!" I corrected immediately.

He didn't even budge. "They have to believe it. So we practice."

I stared at him, waiting for the corner of his mouth to twitch. Any second now he'd tell me he was joking. But He didn't.

My eyes widened.

Nope. Absolutely not. I'd rather walk into that wedding alone and let my relatives eat me alive!

He leaned back against the couch as calmly as if he'd just suggested grabbing coffee.

"No backing off."

I let out a slow breath. Five minutes ago, my family had been my biggest problem. Somehow Austin had replaced them.

"I'm going to kill you." Folding my arms across my chest, I shot him a death glare.

"No, you won't."

"Don't sound so confident."

"You still need me."

Ugh.

I hated how annoyingly true that was.

"I'll tell my mom I have work deadlines!"

"Great." Austin pushed himself off the couch. "Let's start."

"...What?"

He simply held out his hand. I immediately shoved both of mine behind my back.

Austin waited. I didn't move.

One of his eyebrows slowly lifted.

"What?" I asked, playing innocent.

"Emily. “ He sighed my name like he was already running out of patience. “It's step one."

"Step one could literally give me a heart attack."

"I know CPR."

I almost smacked him. "Austin!"

"Get up."

"..."

"Em."

"Uuuugh..." Getting to my feet felt like volunteering for execution. Yet, I stubbornly kept both hands hidden behind my back.

Austin took one step forward. One step backward happened on pure instinct.

He stopped. So did I.

Neither of us spoke.

We just stood there, staring at each other like we were negotiating a peace treaty instead of trying to hold hands.

I dug my heels into the floor.

His expression never changed. "I need your hand."

A suspicious look settled on my face. "Which one?"

"..."

"They have different jobs!" I shrieked, my voice climbing several embarrassing octaves.

"Whichever one you trust the most."

Fine.

I stretched out the hand farthest away from him.

If he wanted it that badly, he could work for it.

Austin looked at my hand. Then at me.

I didn't move.

For one glorious second, I thought I'd actually outsmarted him.

He let out the tiniest sigh. Then, without saying a word, he casually walked around me until he was standing on my other side.

Seriously?!

Before I could come up with another brilliant escape plan, his fingers closed gently around my hand.

My brain immediately left chat. Apparently, the rest of me decided to follow.

Every nerves locked up.

Emotionally.

Physically.

Spiritually.

Shit. I was absolutely not prepared for this.

"Don't flinch."

"I am not..."

One look from him shut me up.

"Five seconds."

"It already feels like five years," The complaint slipped out under my breath.

Austin glanced at his watch. "Three seconds."

"You're actually timing this?"

"Four."

"I hate you, Austin Wood."

"Five." He let go of my hand. "See? You're still alive."

My stare dropped to my hand. It looked perfectly normal, but I didn't trust it anymore.

Ignoring my obvious betrayal by my own hands, Austin turned to me as if the first exercise had gone exactly according to plan.

"Next," he said calmly. "Look at me."

Disbelief glued my eyes to him. "You know... I really should've killed you before agreeing to this."

"Only five seconds."

"It's not about the five seconds! It's the psychological damage you're causing!" I protested, whining like a kid. And I didn't give a damn care!

"Exactly. That's the point."

My eyes squinted, hoping he could somehow read the murderous intent behind them.

"Can I punch you instead?"

"No."

"Just once?"

"Still no."

Arguing with Austin was like trying to negotiate with a brick wall that occasionally blinked.

With the enthusiasm of someone walking toward their own execution, I forced myself to look at him.

One second.

That was all I managed before a laugh escaped me.

Austin frowned. "What?"

"You should see your face."

His frown deepened. "I can."

"Not from my angle." I laughed harder. "God... you're so serious."

He stayed quiet for a moment, genuinely considering my words before asking, "You're not?"

My laughter died almost instantly. I cleared my throat and looked away.

"...No."

"We move to smiling then."

I blinked. "What?"

"Smile."

"Austin..." A dramatic groan slipped out again.

"It won't kill you."

I looked up at the ceiling, silently hoping for an earthquake, a meteor strike, or literally any natural disaster dramatic enough to cancel Austin's increasingly ridiculous training session.

The universe, unfortunately, remained disappointingly peaceful.

The corners of my mouth slowly lifted into what I believed was a perfectly acceptable smile.

Austin studied me in complete silence. Like I was a product that had somehow failed quality control.

"That's not a smile."

"I am smiling!" I insisted through gritted teeth. My cheeks were already starting to go numb.

He looked at me for another second before delivering his verdict.

"It's terrifying."

My smile disappeared so fast my face almost hurt as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Do you usually say things like that to other women?"

Austin actually looked confused. "Why would I?"

"Because you enjoy destroying people's confidence?"

"I was answering honestly."

"You could've lied."

"That would've defeated the purpose."

I let out a long heavy sigh and dropped back onto the couch.

"Forget it. That's enough emotional damage for one day."

Austin looked like he was about to disagree. Surprisingly… he didn't. Instead, he sat down across from me without another word.

The apartment fell quiet.

My hands kept fiddling with the hem of my cardigan, suddenly finding it way more interesting than the man sitting across from me.

Nice try. Because I could still feel Austin watching me.

"You're uncomfortable."

His voice broke the silence so gently that it caught me off guard.

I looked up immediately. "No, I'm not."

"You stepped away every time I moved closer."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

"You couldn't hold eye contact."

I still didn’t answer.

"You couldn't smile naturally."

I crossed my arms, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me admit it.

Why did he always have to notice everything?

It was unbelievably annoying.

"Why?" he asked quietly. 

This time there wasn't any teasing. Just a simple question. Somehow... that made it much harder to answer.

I stared down at my hands. They'd finally stopped trembling. Or maybe I'd just gotten used to it.

"It's complicated,"

"Then explain."

I let out a helpless sigh. "It wouldn't be called complicated if I knew how to explain it."

Austin looked like he wanted to ask something else.

Before he could, my phone vibrated across the coffee table. MOM flashed brightly across the screen.

Frowning, I answered.

"Yes, Mom?"

"OH, MY GOD! MY DEAR EMILY! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU'RE ENGAGED?"

Every drop of blood drained from my face.

Slowly...

Very, very slowly...

I turned toward Austin. Judging from the look on his face, he'd heard every single word.

"...Engaged?"