My Boyfriend Faked His Death, So I Made Him Regret It

Seven years with Jacob Gilbert, and our engagement was almost here.

On a whim, I called him pretending to be the girl I'd been ten years ago.

He picked up, and I asked, my heart full of hope.

Jake, how are we in the future? Are we happy?

There was a long silence on his end before he spoke, slow and even.

"Audrey, I'm going to fake my death before the engagement. I'm with Valerie Fox now."

"She's pregnant. I have to give her a name."

"The whole family knows. We just kept it from you.

With your temper, if you found out, there's no telling what you'd do."

"I want you to let us have this.

You're strong. You'll be fine without me.

But Valerie isn't like that. She needs me."

My hand shook around the phone, and I couldn't stop it.

I opened my mouth to say something, and the line went dead.

Then Jacob's mother called, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Audrey, Jacob was in a car accident on his way to buy you a gift.

He died on the spot. They've already taken him to be cremated"

""

After I hung up.

For a moment I couldn't tell which was more absurd, or which was more vicious.

When I came back to myself, I was standing outside Valerie's door.

When she moved in, she'd insisted on registering my fingerprint.

Because she said it only felt like home with me here.

She heard the door and saw me, and her eyes went red.

"Audrey, I already heard what happened."

I didn't say anything. I stood in the doorway, and the room still held the warmth of two people.

I forced down everything rising in my chest.

I looked at the plate on the coffee table, half-eaten cherries.

The kind Jacob had specially flown in from overseas.

Two weeks ago, I'd said I wanted some.

Jacob had only said, flatly,

"I've been too busy. I'll get them when I have time."

So it turned out he hadn't forgotten. He just hadn't wanted to give them to me.

Valerie seemed to sense it and hooked her arm through mine.

"Jacob wouldn't want you this upset. You still have me."

I tilted my head and looked at her, my eyes blurring.

From the orphanage to college and all the way to now.

Valerie had always been the warmest light in my barren years.

Back at the orphanage, I was thin and timid.

The older kids were always taking the little bit of snacks I got.

Every time, Valerie charged in and gave those older kids a beating.

Then she'd push the candy back into my hand, scratches on her face.

"From now on I've got you. Anyone who dares bully you, I'll bite them to death."

Later I got into college.

Without a second thought she handed over all the money she'd earned working and put together my tuition.

Back then she said,

"Audrey Delgado, when you make it big, don't forget me!"

So the first time Jacob told me he thought Valerie relied on me too much.

I chose to protect her without hesitation.

"Without her, there'd be no me. If you love me, you have to accept her."

Valerie grew uneasy under my stare and tightened her grip on my arm.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I yanked my hand back.

Her hand froze in midair.

I spoke slowly, the tears and the question falling together.

"Stop pretending. You and Jacob, when did you two start this?"

"Honestly, I wouldn't even mind you being the other woman. But why did it have to be me?"

Valerie's face changed in an instant.

She stumbled back a step.

We stood there facing each other, nothing left in the living room but the laughter from the TV.

After a long moment, she sighed.

She sank onto the couch, her voice as faint as talking in her sleep.

"Audrey, all my life I've given in to you.

This time, just let me have Jacob, okay?"

Her words nearly made me laugh out of sheer anger.

My heart felt like a hand had it in a tight grip, hurting so much I couldn't breathe.

"Valerie, taking without asking, that's called stealing."

She lifted her head, wearing that pitiful, heartbreaking look.

"I didn't want this either. I didn't want to hold on to him"

"It's just I'm carrying his child."

She grabbed my hand, crying.

"Audrey, you're so capable. You'll be fine without him.

But I can't. I can't lose him"

I shook her hand off, a rush of blood-tinged sweetness coming up my throat.

"The two of you really make me sick."

With that, I turned and left.

At some point it had started to rain outside.

I rushed out of the apartment building and walked through the rain with nowhere to go.

Until a taxi pulled up beside me and the driver leaned out.

"Miss, where to? It's really coming down, get in."

Numbly, I pulled the door open and sat down.

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror and passed back a pack of tissues.

"Fight with your boyfriend?"

I took the tissues and wiped my face without care.

"No. My boyfriend's dead."

Back home, my phone rang again and again. Every call was from Jacob.

After all, in his plan,

I was supposed to be drowning in grief right now, not vanishing off the face of the earth.

Early the next morning, a message came through from Jacob.

Audrey, there are things I need to explain to you in person.

I'm sending you an address. I'll be waiting.

At seven that evening, I walked into the restaurant right on time.

Jacob was already there, and he looked worn down.

It gave that handsome face of his a touch of melancholy.

Jacob really was one of life's favored children. The years had left no obvious mark on him.

Only, there was less of the old openness in his eyes now.

The moment he saw me, he stood up at once.

"Audrey, you came."

He pulled out my chair with the ease of habit and slid the lemonade to my hand.

I said nothing, just looked at him coldly.

Then, the way it had gone countless times before,

he pushed the plate of steak he'd already cut over in front of me.

Right then, a server came toward us carrying a bouquet of gardenias.

The server smiled at Jacob.

"Sir, per your instructions.

Whenever you come in, the table has to have gardenias on it."

Jacob's face stiffened, unnatural.

I looked at the flowers Valerie loved most.

And the sneer at the corner of my mouth was one I couldn't hide anymore.

Jacob really did understand romance. He knew to give a girl the flowers she liked.

Back when our business had just started to gain traction, he and I both had to travel to the neighboring city for two weeks.

Before we left, he solemnly handed off the little daisies he'd bought me to a friend.

"Water them every two days, put them in the sun at midday, bring them inside at night."

His friend teased him about it, laughing.

"You treasure them this much, why not just bring them along?"

He looked at me, his eyes full of tenderness.

"Love you keep in your heart. How could I drag her along through all that travel?"

Too bad that pot of little daisies had withered long ago.

"Sir?"

Seeing something off in Jacob's expression, the server didn't know what to do.

"Set them down and go."

Jacob waved a hand, his voice gone cold.

After the server left, the mood at the table dropped to freezing.

Jacob broke the silence. He looked at me, brows knitting together.

"You went to see Valerie yesterday?

You really are heartless. You said such ugly things to her. She cried the whole night."

I gave a cold laugh.

"So what, was I supposed to wait for you to rise from the dead and explain yourself?

And then be so moved by your hard little story that I'd send you off with tears and a blessing?"

"You've been watching too many soap operas."

I stood, leaning forward, and said it word by word.

"I'm not the kind of person who clings and makes scenes.

The two of you want to be together, all you had to do was tell me straight.

But scheming against me like this? You two disgust me completely."

"Audrey Delgado!"

Jacob's voice rose in spite of himself, his eyes complicated as he looked at me.

"I was wrong about this, I admit it.

But ask yourself honestly. In these seven years, when did you ever really lean on me?

Every day it was nothing but work, work. The only thing between us was projects and financial reports.

Did you ever give me the sense of being needed that a boyfriend should have?

I just wanted someone who could depend on me, someone who needed my protection. What's wrong with that?"

He paused, his eyes flickering.

"You said it yourself. In your plan for your life, love takes up only ten percent!"

I froze.

But in that ten percent, Jacob had taken up a hundred.

Back then, the company had hit its worst financial crisis. We were almost bankrupt.

I was the one who took over the project, who worked through the nights with my team, who ran down every investor I could reach.

Kept a smile on my face, drank until my stomach bled and I was rushed to the ER.

Jacob stayed with me all night, his eyes red as he said,

"Audrey, from now on I'll make sure you never have to push yourself this hard."

Leaning in his arms just then, I told him, half joking,

"Work takes up ninety percent of my life, love only ten.

As long as that ninety percent holds, I can't fall apart."

I thought he understood the strength I was putting on, understood that I was trying to comfort him.

Looking at the man in front of me now, all of it suddenly felt pointless.

"So?"

Jacob looked away and lifted his water glass for a sip.

When he spoke again, the tenderness was gone.

"Audrey, you're a smart woman. You know what reality means. With the position I'm in now, ending your career in this industry would take me one sentence."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"And this is only a breakup, not a war. We can still be friends. You're going to need my help down the road, so there's no point making this ugly. That does neither of us any good."

For a moment I couldn't think.

People in the industry had always said Jacob had an iron hand.

I never used to believe it. Now I did. The rumors weren't wrong.

"Think it over. When we get engaged, I'd like you to be a bridesmaid. Val values you as a friend more than anyone. A person only gets one wedding. I don't want her to have any regrets."

With that, he stood and left.

I turned my head a little. The day we graduated high school, Jacob had confessed to me in front of the whole school,

his eyes full of sincerity.

"Audrey Delgado! In this life of mine, there will be no divorce, only widowhood!"

I couldn't help laughing. How was this not him keeping that promise?

Just then a familiar figure appeared at the restaurant door.

Valerie stood there uneasily, scanning our way.

When she saw Jacob her eyes lit up, and she hurried over.

She reached the table and glanced at me, timid.

Then she stepped behind Jacob and rested a hand lightly on his shoulder.

"Jake, I... I was worried about you."

Jacob reached back and took her hand, giving her a reassuring look.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay home and rest?"

"I was afraid Audrey would make things hard for you."

Valerie bit her lower lip, and her eyes reddened in an instant.

She looked at me, her voice full of pleading.

"Audrey, don't blame Jake. If you're upset, you can hit me, yell at me."

She took a step toward me as she said it and grabbed my hand.

I shook it off on instinct.

Valerie gave a small cry and fell backward, her elbow knocking a glass off the table.

Shards flew everywhere, one cutting my arm, and beads of blood slid down at once.

Jacob caught her, steadying her.

His gaze paused for a beat when it landed on me.

Then he turned all his anxious concern on Valerie.

"Are you all right?"

Valerie shook her head, her face white.

"Don't blame Audrey."

Jacob's face darkened.

"Audrey Delgado, she's your best friend. You'd really raise a hand to her?"

I shot back,

"So now you remember she's my best friend?"

Valerie quickly pulled at his arm, urging him, anxious.

"Jake, don't be angry."

"Audrey just can't take it right now. Don't fight with her. Let's go. Give her some time alone to calm down."

Jacob drew a deep breath.

As if forcing down his anger, he wrapped an arm around Valerie's shoulders.

The two of them turned to go. A few steps out, Jacob looked back.

"Audrey Delgado, in a month Val and I will hold our engagement dinner. Take your time thinking over what I said."

Then he looked at me no more. Holding Valerie close, he walked out of the restaurant without a backward glance.

I watched the two of them go, picked up my phone, and dialed a number.

"I need you to do something for me..."

Over the next month.

Word of it tore through the circle.

Some sent messages to check on me. Some came just to twist the knife.

An old rival of mine texted first.

"So you're finally getting yours. Though this Gilbert really did go too far."

"You just don't touch a friend's woman, do you."

Several of the major projects I'd taken on stalled out when the clients suddenly pulled their funding.

Every partner I had wanted nothing to do with me.

Overnight, the whole company lost its footing.

Even Greta Finch, who'd fought her way up through the years right beside me, handed in her resignation with her whole team.

"Audrey, I'm sorry." She couldn't meet my eyes.

"Gilbert's offering triple the salary, and he's promised me equity.

My son's going overseas. My family needs the money."

I looked at her. Back when the company hit its cash crisis, her mother had fallen gravely ill.

I was the one who'd advanced her six months of pay so her mother could have the surgery.

My voice came out hoarse.

"That project we pulled three all-nighters to win. You're planning to take that over too?"

Her face went pale, and she stumbled over her words.

"Audrey, people go where the opportunity is. Don't hold it against me.

Without Gilbert, this company of yours is going to be an empty shell sooner or later. We've got to look out for ourselves."

I nodded.

"Go handle the handover."

Olivia Dickerson rushed in, watching Greta lead her people out the door, shaking with anger.

"Ms. Delgado! This is too much! They're nothing but backstabbing traitors!"

"And there's this too. Look."

She held out her phone. Jacob had posted a video going public with Valerie.

The comments underneath were all the same:

"A perfect match, no surprise there!"

"Looking at this one, she's a big step up from that Delgado woman!"

"Faking your own death to get out of it? I've only ever seen that on a soap opera!"

Olivia's eyes went red.

"Ms. Delgado, if we don't figure something out, we won't be able to make payroll next month."

"Sanchez is putting a lot of pressure on our partners, and right now everyone in the circle is treating us like..."

I patted her on the shoulder and tried to reassure her.

"I'll think of something. Go on, get back to work."

But Jacob had miscalculated. I was never some caged canary living off a man.

I'd clawed my way out of the mud before. I could stand on my own two feet again on my own merit.

I sold off every asset in my name to cover the funding gap, and I gritted my teeth and held on.

Right up until their engagement invitation arrived, my heart still gave a hard twist.

I stared at that piece of paper for a long time.

Until a message popped up on my phone.

"Everything's ready."

I replied okay and shut off the screen.

The day of the engagement party, I arrived right on time.

Jacob was in a custom-tailored suit, striking and polished.

Valerie, her belly slightly rounded, stood tucked against his side like a delicate little bird.

At a glance, they really did look the part, well matched, the two of them.

The moment they saw me, the smiles on Jacob's and Valerie's faces froze.

The room fell silent at once, and countless eyes swung toward me together.

The whispering started through the crowd.

"She actually showed up?"

"Ugh, I told you. Walking around with that gloomy face all day, what man would ever want her?"

Jacob instinctively pulled Valerie behind him.

Valerie looked at me, her eyes reddening.

"Audrey... you really came..."

"I knew it..."

I slowly curved my lips and cut her off.

"A moment this important. How could I possibly miss it?"

The words had barely left my mouth when the doors of the banquet hall were pushed open.

Funeral wreaths were wheeled in and set out in a row.

And the screen behind Jacob went dark.