𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

𝘛𝘸𝘰

"Excuse me? Your what now?" Richard asked. A stunned silence falls over the room. Aurora's uncle stares at her, his eyes narrowed with rage. Granit tugs her into the curve of his arm. Aurora can feel how fast his heart is racing. Granit Xhaka... what the hell are we getting ourselves into?

Granit meets her eyes with a private, determined nod, silently begging her to play along. "How convenient of you to suddenly land yourself a fiance, Aurora." Richard spoke. "That didn't seem to come up when I first met this guy a few minutes ago." He said.

"Why the hell do you think I stood by his side when you threatened him?" Aurora replied. Granit turns to her with a sweet smile, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. "Oh, we've been together for months. Isn't that right, love?" He said.

"Oh... we're keeping it on the private level." Aurora said. "My Aurora is so private. But I just couldn't keep it any longer." Granit said. "Everyone will find out eventually, right?" Aurora said. Richard's face purples. He looks like he could explode any second now.

"Do you have a wedding date?" He asked. "Still ironing out the dates." Granit replied. He smiles smoothly at her uncle and gives Aurora's hip a gentle squeeze, urging her to play along. Richard chuckles darkly under his breath.

"Quite a clever little ruse. No ring, I notice." He said. Crap. Okay. Think fast. "I'm a baker, uncle Richard. I can't afford to lose my beloved wedding ring in the muffin batter, can I?" Aurora said. "And this guy is some sort of struggling actor, I'm assuming? Are you compensating him? Infomercials aren't paying the bills these days?" Richard said.

"I'm a footballer." Granit said. "So you just run around with a ball for money? Respectable. Charming. Let me guess. You lost your ring on the pitch, Cinderella man?" Richard said. "First off, don't insult his career. And secondly, this is real. Deal with it." Aurora said.

"I won't deal with anything, Ro. This isn't real. It can't be." Richard said. "Why? Because it messes with your little plan?" Aurora asked. "This isn't happening." Richard said. "It is. The sooner you face reality, the better." Aurora said. Her uncle's hands slowly ball into fists.

I still can't believe we're actually committing to this. I like messing with my uncle, but this plan is too crazy to actually work... isn't it? "So you're really going through with this?" Richard asked. "Going through with what exactly? I'm not following." Granit said. "He's not the brightest, is he? Your husband-to-be." Richard said.

He throws up a mocking air quotes and takes a threatening step towards her. "Listen to me, Aurora. If this is fake, as I suspect it is, you will pay for this." He said. "Aww, mate... you really think you can talk to my wife like that right in front of me?" A slow, wolfish smile spreads across Granit's face.

He stares down at her uncle like he's roadkill he can't wait to eat. "She's not your wife yet." Richard said. "She will be." Granit said. Okay, this is getting out of hand. "Hey, uncle Richard, back off." Aurora said. Tense silence thickens as her uncle and Granit stand close to each other. Granit lifts his eyebrow.

Finally, with a frustrated exhale, her uncle backs away. Aurora takes Granit's wrist and tugs him closer to her. Granit turns to her with big, apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, my love." He said. His hand finds the curves of her waist again. It feels dangerously huge, swallowing her hip.

He draws her close, his eyes locked on hers. "I let myself get carried away. You seem to do that to me." He said. Aurora's pulse races as Granit slowly closes the gap between them, until he's just a breath away. Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees her uncle watching her closely, suspicion hitting every inch of his face.

"Forgive me?" Granit asked. Aurora can feel the heat of Granit's breath on her cheek. He's so close she could count his eyelashes. Then his lips brush against her cheek, making her breath catch in her throat. "Aurora?" He said. I need to play along. I'll handle Granit's PDA like a pro. She leans into Granit's touch, letting the brush of his lips on her cheek become a kiss.