The Christmas Reunion: Secrets, Lies and Love

The Christmas Reunion: Secrets, Lies and Love

mmaduekechinenye2020 · Completed · 136.4k Words

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Introduction

Fiona,a hardworking and career oriented woman, swears off love or any romantic relationship, due to a severe heart break she faced back in college. One that left her traumatized, and paranoid, which she still struggles to heal from.

She couldn’t decline a three-week Christmas reunion set by her childhood friends, which required everyone to come with their partners. Not wanting to be the only one without a partner, she convinces Nicholas, a young intern at the company she manages, to pose as her boyfriend for the reunion. Only for her to come face to face with the one person she dreaded most, the man who broke her and abandoned her years ago, now her best friend’s husband. How does she survive under the same roof for three weeks with a man who was her first love and also left her shattered?

What should have been a simple reunion for three friends and their partners turns into something darker, bearing dirty secrets.

What happens when the secrets she thought she buried at the reunion comes back to bite her, just as she starts to find love again?

Chapter 1

~Fiona~

“Why did you agree to it?” I tried to break the awkward silence in the car

“Because you sounded desperate”

Desperate? I felt triggered, my ego wounded but where was the lie?

“You didn’t think it twice and agreed almost immediately” 

He adjusts rather comfortably in his seat and tucks his phone into his pants’ pocket

“I love helping people in need” I see a playful smile form on his face. 

I inhale sharply at the disrespect thrown to my face.

“Okay” I dismiss, praying we reach the guest house sooner, which I doubt is possible given the amount of snow on this road 

“How old are you?” My head sways immediately to the bold question 

“And why the fuck should you know?”

“Easy” he starts with that smile still there 

“If we are to do this and make them buy it, your age should be the least of things I know. Do you know my age? Do you know where I’m from?” 

I hate that he is so damn right. I barely know this guy.

For Steph and Alfred to believe that we are truly dating, there are certain information we need to know about each other. 

I scanned his face quickly to try guessing his age rather than swallowing my pride and asking him

“Twenty five” this time around, I could feel his eyes burning into my skin like he’s asking me to return the favour. 

It’s already awkward that I made one of my interns follow me to a reunion and play a boyfriend role, he didn’t have to make it any more weird.

“Thought as much, you’re just a baby” I throw at him

“And you are like sixty?” I see him bite his lower lip holding his laughter. 

The playboy charm is evident not just in his beautiful features, but his aura as well.

“Twenty eight” I said with a formal tone 

“Oh” was all he said and returned to his phone. 

“If asked, say you are thirty”

He snorts and finally laughs out

“Hell no. I want to achieve more before thirty”

“I never said you should go edit your birth certificate. Besides, It’s just three weeks, you can’t back out now” I probe, I hate feeling this way.

“I don’t look thirty. But if that’s what you want babe, I’ll be a hundred-year-old for you”

I cringe at the word ‘babe’ he does seem to be enjoying this.

“Did you read the mail…” I start but he cuts me off immediately 

“You are my boss at work, not here. You made that clear.” 

“Can you at least let me finish. I wasn’t talking about work mail, I sent a mail to you with rules for the rest of the three weeks at the reunion”

“You could have just texted me. Girlfriends don’t mail their boyfriends” he winked

Fuck! I’m running out of patience with this guy and I can clearly see he is enjoying it, but I can’t go back.

I can already see the guest house sign from here. 

DUNCAN CREST GUEST HOUSE

“I take that you didn’t read it then”

“I will tonight” 

“You can’t keep being carefree about all these” 

something in my head keeps ticking like a bomb and I might actually explode 

“Teach me how to be then.” The audacity!

I opened my mouth to say something, but words failed me

“Miss Fiona. The mail clearly said we should be natural about all these and not let either of your friends suspect that it was all an act” so he did read the mail. 

He continues

“And for that to happen, professionalism has to be thrown out. I’m Nicholas by the way, I bet you don’t know my name. So much for being my girlfriend”

“Jokes on you, every intern file comes to me, Mr Nicholas Duncan” I retort 

I see his smirk form into a full smile and his left cheek deepen into a dimple.

“Sounds good when you say it” his eyes holds mine for a split second 

“Shit”

My car hit a pile of snow a few meters away from the guest house leading to an abrupt stop. 

I dash out of the car almost immediately to check if all was good. I’m too broke right now for a car repair.

“Day one of being a boyfriend, and I almost died” I shoot him a glare as he stands beside me to examine the car.

“It looks just fine” a sigh of relief left my lips

“Go on, I’ll get the bags. It’s freezing outside”

“Can your baby hands handle all the bags or do I get someone to help out?”

I mock 

“Should I carry you alongside the bags to prove that?” 

Brushing his words away, I state the obvious

“I need to properly park the car”

“Hand me the keys, it’s cold outside” I could tell the worry in his voice.

Reluctantly, I throw the key at him, which he catches and I head towards the guest house door. 

As I stepped into the reception, my eyes locks with that of the receptionist who gives me a warm welcoming smile.

“For the Christmas reunion?” She asks 

“Yes.”

She hands me my room card and directs me to the lounge area where others were.

In anticipation, I open the lounge door. Before I could take in the faces of the people there, I feel Steph rush into me in a very tight hug. 

She felt really different, of course she should, it’d been six whole years since we last saw.

As I pull out of the hug, smiling ear to ear, about to point out the obvious change, my eyes caught sight of the person I’ve dreaded running into

It felt like my whole world just stopped and everything disappeared but him.

The air leaves my lungs

Same face. Same eyes.

Desmond?

“Meet my husband” Steph says brightly “Charles”

My world tilts.

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