𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀 - Alejandro balde

☆ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 ☆

📸𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀📸

The sound of the front door opening early in the morning woke Amira from her light sleep. She rubbed her eyes, glancing at the clock on her nightstand. It was just after 7 a.m. She could hear her parents' voices downstairs, and she suddenly remembered—today was the day they were dropping off Amir and Amara before heading out for their two-month anniversary vacation.

Amira slipped out of bed and quickly threw on some comfortable clothes. As she made her way downstairs, her parents were already chatting in the kitchen, Amir standing by the counter, scrolling through his phone, while little Amara sat on a stool, swinging her legs.

"Morning, honey!" her mother greeted cheerfully, coming over to give her a quick hug. "We didn't wake you, did we?"

Amira shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm up now. Ready for your vacation?"

Her father chuckled as he finished pouring himself some coffee. "You bet we are. Two months in Europe, just us—no work, no kids. It's long overdue."

Amira smiled. "You two deserve it."

Her mother leaned in, lowering her voice with a playful grin. "Speaking of things overdue... why didn't you tell us about your boyfriend?"

Amira blinked, taken aback. "What?"

Her father chimed in, pretending to be hurt. "Yeah, we find out through social media that our own daughter is in a relationship? We had to see the cute couple photo online like everybody else?"

Amira's stomach dropped. She had posted that picture yesterday, the one with Alejandro at the amusement park, as part of their "fake dating" contract. Her parents had obviously seen it and jumped to conclusions.

"Oh, um... that's..."

Her mother smirked, clearly enjoying her discomfort. "We're not mad, sweetie. Just teasing. But you really didn't think to tell us before going public? I mean, he's cute! When do we get to meet him?"

Amira forced a smile, but guilt gnawed at her. Her parents were so happy for her, and here she was, lying to them. She hated it, but the contract with Alejandro's team was ironclad. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone about their fake relationship—not even her parents.

"I... uh, we're still figuring things out," she said awkwardly, trying to play it off.

Her mother laughed. "Sure, sure. Just don't keep us in the dark for too long, okay?"

Amira nodded, feeling the weight of the lie heavy on her chest as her parents continued packing up their bags and saying their goodbyes. After a few more minutes of teasing, her parents left, reminding her to call if she needed anything.

With the house quiet again, Amira turned to her siblings. "Okay, who's hungry?"

"Mimi, I want pancakes!" Amara called out from her spot on the couch, her big brown eyes wide with excitement.

"Alright, Mara, pancakes it is. What about you, Amir?"

"I'll have whatever," Amir mumbled, still focused on his phone. "But can you make them fast? I have practice later."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be quick," Amira said with a smile as she headed to the kitchen. She whipped up a batch of pancakes, berries , whipcream placing plates in front of her siblings as they gathered around the table.

Just as they were finishing up breakfast, Amira's phone buzzed. It was a message from Alejandro: Hey, can I come over?

Amira hesitated, thinking about her siblings. But then she shrugged and replied: Sure, Mara and Amir are here though, just a heads-up. But you can come if you want.