Chapter 35 - The Impending Doom (2/2)

--”I know about your mother. But why does she want to meet me?”

A beat, as Gabriel looks at her. ”She wants to meet my fiancée.”

Jesus Henry Christ! ”Are you even serious? You know this is pretend, right? How can you even dare lie to your mother?”

”I can't…I know that, but my mother bats for the other team.”

”She likes Michelle for you?”

Gabriel says nothing at first. He just gazes at her. Ten million years later, he mutters, ”'Like' is an understatement. She's obsessed about the idea of me marrying Michelle and producing twelve babies with her.”

It's now Claire's turn to be speechless. Her mouth hangs open, unsure of what to say. She looks out the glass wall, as always, maybe to read on the sky whatever message Fate has for her. But sadly, there's nothing there but an endless blue.

”Two weeks ago, having babies with Michelle would have been totally fine by me,” he says. ”But now, I find the idea repugnant and disgusting. My love for her has been replaced with outrage. But my mother does not—would not—acknowledge that. 'Forgive her, she's one in a billion', she says. 'She's the most beautiful, smartest woman on this planet', she says. I don't know what Michelle has fed her, but she's always been like that for the longest time. And it's a total mystery because my mother is a cunning, vicious, bullshit-hating woman, and she's obsessed with Michelle who is full of shit. She doesn't acknowledge what Michelle has done. She thinks it was just a phase, like something Michelle would get over with and move on. She doesn't seem to appreciate the fact that once trust is shattered, it can never be rebuilt.”

”I don't disagree with that,” she says. ”But are you sure you want me to lie to your mother?”

”I have no choice,” Gabriel says. ”At least for now.”

There are a million things she wants to say, but they all lodge in her throat.

”Just so you know, she doesn't know that I have purchased this hotel for you, unless she actually peruses the books, which she never does.”

”Well that's nice to hear,” she says, and Gabriel winces as he realizes the sarcasm.

”Well, you're paid,” he says, coldly. ”This is part of your job.”

I know that, she thinks. You don't have to remind me all the freaking time. ”But what about a little reality check? What happens when my job is done and we'd have to go our separate ways? How do you break the news of your big lie to your very own mom? How do you face the music, Gabriel, now that you're taking this little ruse to elaborate levels?” Claire sighs. ”How do you tell the world it was all a big shitty acting production?”

”Let's cross the bridge,” Gabriel says, ”when we get there.”

They fall silent for a while, as though they've exhausted all the words they can throw on the bonfire of this unraveling tragedy. It all seemed so innocent just a few days ago. It all seemed fun. Now, it's unraveling. Claire's biggest fear, if she's really honest, is what she'll do when she gets used to this? This privilege, this attention, perhaps, even this fake love? Because truth be told, it's hard NOT to love Gabriel Tan. She's every girl's dream. She'll readily admit she agreed to this set-up because she's attracted to him, while still having enough sense to remind herself time and again that keep your distance, stay sane, don't get dragged into his world of delicious make-believe.

Let's cross the bridge when we get there, indeed.

”So when do we expect your mother to arrive?” she says after a long silence.

Gabriel makes a face that says something between ”there's an angry bee up my buŧŧ” and ”I want to take a shit the size of my leg.” ”That's the big problem,” he says. ”She's arriving tomorrow night.”