Chapter 4 Suddenly Engaged

I quickly covered the microphone. Then I glanced at Austin nervously.

"Haha... funny misunderstanding."

"...Emily?" Mom asked. "Are you still there?"

I swallowed. "Where did you get—"

"Lily commented on Auntie Ina's wedding post!" Mom practically squealed. "'Can't wait to see Em and her fiancé!' With a ring emoji, Emily. A ring emoji!"

Lily. Of course.

I was going to bury her in a shallow grave.

"It's... not official yet," I said, grabbing the first excuse my panicking brain could find. "We were waiting for the right moment to tell everyone."

There. The lie was out. No taking it back now.

"I knew it!" Mom laughed. "I knew that boy had feelings for you."

I stared blankly ahead.

Austin?

Having feelings for me?

...

"We were just... friends," I said weakly.

Mom laughed softly. "Emily. I've known that boy for a long time."

My gaze drifted to Austin.

He didn't look surprised. That bothered me more than it should have.

I quickly looked away before my brain started asking questions I wasn't prepared to answer.

"We need to plan!" My mom's voice burst through the phone before I could recover. "The wedding, the dress... should we do it before or after your cousin's? Maybe a double wedding!"

"Mom—"

"And the venue! Oh, your aunt will know somebody. Wait, does Austin have a preference? Garden? Hotel? Church? Emily, don't let him say 'anything is fine.' Men always say that, and then somehow still have opinions."

"Mom, please—"

"And engagement photos! You two haven't taken proper pictures together in years. We'll have to fix that. Oh! Does his family know yet? We should coordinate before someone accidentally posts something online."

My heart stopped.

Too late.

Lily had already done that.

"Mom!" My voice came out higher than usual. "Please."

She finally paused long enough for me to squeeze in a breath.

"Don't... don't tell anyone else. Let us announce it properly. At the wedding. Promise me."

"Fine," she said, her tone shifting to conspiratorial glee. "But your father will want to talk to Austin. Man to man. You understand."

I understood alright that my fake relationship had just been promoted to a fake engagement by a single WhatsApp comment. And now my father wanted a 'man to man' with my fake fiancé.

"So make sure Austin doesn't disappear after the wedding," Mom continued cheerfully. "Your father will want a proper conversation."

Before I could invent another lie, she hung up.

I stared at my phone for a second, half expecting it to ring again with another disaster. It didn't.

The apartment fell quiet. Neither of us said a word.

Finally, I let out a long breath. "We're dead."

Austin stared far away.

I knew that face. It meant he was thinking, which usually meant I wasn't going to like whatever came next.

"Austin."

His gaze shifted to me.

"Say something."

"We're no longer pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

I frowned. "...I'm not going to like where this is going, am I?"

"We're pretending to be engaged."

I covered my face with both hands. "That somehow sounds even worse when you say it out loud."

Austin didn't argue. He simply watched me spiral for exactly three seconds before speaking again.

"We need a story."

I peeked at him through my fingers. "...Sorry? What?"

For the briefest second, something crossed his face. I suddenly wasn't sure why I felt nervous.

"If we're engaged, people will ask questions."

Suddenly, my eyes shut in frustration. "I really miss the days when my biggest concern was just surviving my relatives."

Austin continued as if I hadn't spoken.

"They'll ask when we started dating. How we got back together. And when I proposed."

Each sentence added another invisible weight onto my shoulders. 

I massaged my temple hopelessly. 

"I hate how your brain works."

Austin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"They won't ask us together."

"What do you mean?"

"They'll separate us." He gestured between us. "Your mother talks to you. She always looks for details."

"She does..."

"Your father will do the same." He lightly tapped his chest. "And he will talk to me."

"If our answers don't match..."

"...We're dead," I whispered, continuing his sentence.

He gave a small nod. "Exactly."

I sank deeper into the couch. "This fake relationship has officially become a full-time job."

Austin was quiet for a second. Then he held out his hand. "Your phone."

I narrowed my eyes. "...Why?"

"I need to check something."

"That's somehow even less comforting."

He waited. Like he always did. Austin never argued with my suspicion. He simply outlasted it.

I unlocked my phone and handed it over.

He opened my photo gallery. 

His thumb moved across the screen, scrolling through albums with quiet efficiency. Then it stopped.

For just a second, his gaze lingered on the screen before he locked my phone and handed it back.

"Something's wrong?"

Austin wasn't the type to pause for no reason.

"There isn't a single picture of us."

"Well, that's usually what happens when two people haven't spoken in two years."

His expression didn't change. "Emily."

Something in his tone made me look down at the phone.

He was right. We had nothing.

Not one selfie. Not one photo over coffee. Not even an accidental group photo.

"This isn't just pretending anymore," Austin said.

I looked up. Our eyes met.

"An engagement needs history."

Somehow, hearing him say it made it feel frighteningly real. 

Families remembered things. They would ask questions and compare stories. And right now, our entire relationship existed because Lily had left one very enthusiastic comment on WhatsApp.

Austin got to his feet and picked up his car keys.

"We’ll build one."

"And... how?"

"We're going on a date."

"Wasn't putting me through practice enough torture for one day?!"

"It's the only way."

"I hated history in school."

"Different history. Let's go."

I remained firmly planted on the couch.

"We don't have time."

"I need time."

"We have four days."

"I need at least an hour."

"You have an elevator ride."

Austin was already heading for the door.

Cursing silently under my breath, I got to my feet and grabbed my bag.

"You're impossible!"

Without another word, he opened the apartment door. I rolled my eyes and followed him.

Fake fiancé.

First date.

I had absolutely no idea which part terrified me more.