Shattered Hearts

Chapter 3

Madelyn
Present Day
Just as I exited my first lecture of the semester, my phone stared ringing.
Everyone in the hallway who was already up to their eyeballs in assignments on the first day shot me dirty looks for interrupting the silent study space with my dumb ringtone.
Even though it'd been four years I never had the heart to change it.
As soon as I heard "My First Kiss" by 3OH!3, I knew who it was.
Liam's name flashed on my screen, and I almost ignored the call immediately.
I stared at my screen, my thumb hovering over the ignore call button, until ringing stopped.
I stood in the middle of the hallway, dazed for a minute.
It's been four years, why the fuck was he calling me?
We had ignored each other at every family holiday, and during every school vacation. I hadn't said more than the obligatory hello since he'd left for college, so why was he calling me out of the blue?
My curiosity was screaming louder than my sense was in that moment, so as I headed for the doors, and exited onto West Third Street I dialed him back.
It took three rings for him to pick up.
It was silent for a second. Then he spoke.
"Madelyn King." He breathed out. I didn't want it to, but just him saying my name made my heart skip a beat.
I sighed, trying to hide that fact that his breathing over the line was making my heart race, "What do you want?"
"What, no hello?" He asked, a soft chuckle crackling over the line.
"You called me first remember?"
He laughed softly again and I could practically see him shaking his head.
"I need your help with something."
The line went silent for a while. I couldn't bring myself to tell him to fuck off, but I also couldn't agree yet.
My Uber driver probably though I was insane for sitting silently on the phone for so long, but oh well.
I heard him sigh after a few minutes, and he broke the silence, "I'm going to take your silence as a clue that you're at least willing to listen."
When I didn't answer, he continued, "So I'm sure Charlotte has told you about my engagement already." He paused again, clearly embarrassed about something, which was surprising. I don't think he'd ever been embarrassed about anything in his life.
Well maybe one thing, but I was trying to forget about that.
"So... it's not as official as my parents made it sound."
I stopped in my tracks as I was getting out of my Uber. My hand gripping the door but not closing it. My Uber driver shot me a couple of dirty looks until I shut the door so she could drive off.
"What does that mean?"
"It means they... uh sort of are trying to force me into it." He sounded like he was forcing his words out. Whatever was going on, he was going to have a hard time asking for what he needed.
"And? Why does that involve me?"
The line went quiet again.
My heart was beating at a thousand miles a second in anticipation.
"I might have told them we'd reconnected... And that we were together..."
My heart? Yeah it fucking stopped in it's tracks. What the fuck? He'd said what?
"What the fuck Liam?"
He sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. I panicked. I just... I really don't wanna marry someone I'm not in love with. I just need you to pretend we're together for a little while, until my parents drop all of this, then we can have an amicable breakup and go our separate ways again."
Oh my god. He'd gone insane.
"Yeah. No. No fucking way."
"Please Maddie. I wouldn't have called you if I didn't really need your help."
"You don't have some other poor girl you could drag into this?"
"Not one that my parents like as much as you."
I paused to think. This wasn't a good idea, but I still couldn't bring myself to say no.
"You do realize what this means right? All the media attention? All the privacy I'll lose if I become your girlfriend?"
He sighed, "Fuck, Maddie I know. I just... I don't have anyone else..."
God was he trying to break my heart again?
"What's in it for me?" I asked, curious to see how much he actually needed my help.
"A life time supply of chocolate truffles and anything else you could ever want, just ask."
He knew me too fucking well.
"You're lucky." I said as John, our door man, opened the door for me, "My girlfriend and I broke up two weeks ago."
He forgot to put himself on mute, and I could hear him practically dancing for joy.
Man. He really didn't want to get married.
•••
Liam
4 Years Ago
I don't think I've slept through the night ever in my life. None of the insomnia therapy has worked, and the sleeping pills worked too well, so I guess I was relegated to getting up at two am every morning for the rest of my life.
The twins had had a party tonight, which had kind of become a tradition every Saturday night since they'd started high school.
Our parents had basically moved back to England at this point, leaving us to our own devices in the rich New York suburb they'd moved to to raise a family out of the spotlight.
That never really panned out, but I think it eased their minds keeping us out of the sight lines of the British tabloids most of the year.
As I went downstairs to get my nightly snack, because not sleeping also made me hungry in the middle of the night, I scrolled through my Instagram feed.
Half of the photos were from the party tonight, the other half were other kids of nobles who were around my age, and my mom forced me to follow because she's going to try to arrange my marriage some day.
Fat chance I let that happen.
I wasn't paying attention, and I almost tripped over something on the kitchen floor.
I had to catch myself on the island, and when I looked down, I found Madelyn sitting on the tiled floor with the bag of chocolate truffles that my dad used to stock the bowl in his study.
"Oh. Hi. Sorry. I'll get out of your way." She said, starting to close the bag and pushing herself up from the floor.
"If you give me some of that chocolate you can stay."
She raised an eyebrow at me before holding the bag out.
I slid my back down the cabinets and took a seat next to her. I popped a truffle in my mouth and passed the bag back over to her.
"What are you doing down here?" I asked as she started to fish around in the bag.
She shrugged, "Couldn't sleep."
She was dressed for bed, wearing a big teeshirt and her hair was still damp from a shower. Her legs were bare, and there were a bunch of small sharpie drawings on her thighs.
Down by her right knee was a green four leaf clover, it was the only one done in color, and she was absentmindedly stroking it as she popped another truffle into her mouth.
"Why a clover?"
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she looked down to the clover before looking back at me.
"Uh... My mom used to pick them for me." A wistful smile crossing her lips, "She had crazy luck and could find a four leaf clover anywhere. Fat lot of good it did her in the end, but..."
Her lips trembled, and I reached out and took her hand instinctively.
Fuck. I didn't mean to bring up her dead mom.
"It's ok." I offered her a small smile.
She squeezed my hand and smiled back.
"I want to get it tattooed some day, but my dad would murder me if he found out."
"I'll take you." I blurted out. I really lost my mind around this girl. She almost cried and I am ready to do anything she asked to put a smile back on her face.
She laughed softly and let go of my hand, "Thanks, but maybe in another lifetime."