My phone rang again, vibrating violently against my palm. I glanced at the caller ID and my stomach flipped. Oh boy. Father.
I hit accept, and his deep baritone rumbled through the speaker, "Richard. Are you on top of this?"
I straightened instinctively, as if he could see me slouching in disgrace. "Working on it, sir. I'm on my way home now. Nita should be a couple of minutes away."
"What were you thinking taking her out for burgers in nothing but shorts and on the street?!" Another sharper, shriller voice pierced through the line.
My mother. Of course, she had wrestled the phone from him. "Do you have any idea how this looks? Your fiancée, the future Mrs. Numero, in cut-off shorts with ketchup on her cheek, and you gnawing on a burger like some frat boy?!"
I winced. "Mom, we were just having a little bit of fun. It was late already. We didn't want something fancy."
"You should know better!" she barked, fury dripping from every syllable. "You should have seen this coming!"
"Mom—"
But she didn't let me finish. There was the sharp, dismissive click of the line going dead.
I stared at the darkened screen. Fun, apparently, was a luxury my position could not afford. And yet, I couldn't regret it.
I called Nita as soon as the call ended. When she finally picked up, her tone was sharp, already annoyed.
"Richard, you have to stop sending cars to pick me up without notice. You could at least ask if I have plans of my own."
"You can yell at me all you want later, but there is a slight issue."
"Is it the burger shack thingy? Yeah, I saw it this morning."
"I will be with you in a jiffy. My parents' place is the safest place for you now."
"Richard, it's a photo," she protested. "It's not like someone is trying to kill me."
"Nita, trust me. You are not ready to face the press," I said firmly.
"Is this going to be my life now?"
The vulnerability in her question lodged in my chest. A hundred different answers swirled in my head, none of them good enough. She deserved honesty, but honesty would only break her spirit. So I swallowed the truth, locked it behind my teeth, and said, "I'll see you soon."
What was my mother thinking, orchestrating this arrangement? Nita might be a great girl—no, she was a great girl. She was brave, stubborn enough to make me laugh even in the middle of chaos. But she wasn't right for our world. Our world chewed innocence and spit it out as scandal. And Nita… she was too untouched by that darkness. Too pure. She deserved freedom, and greasy burger nights without paparazzi.
I arrived at my parents' estate just as Nita was stepping out of the car. The gravel crunched beneath my shoes as I hurried over, but before I could even greet her properly, a sharp sting lit up the back of my head.
"Mother—" I hissed, turning around. My mother, elegant in her blouse and pearl earrings, wielded her palm as if it were a royal decree.
"Nita, I told you," she began. "From the moment you accepted to be a Numero, your go-to look should be elegant."
Not even a hello for me—just an ambush on poor Nita.
Nita, to her eternal credit, shrugged lightly. "I couldn't wear a ball gown to a burger joint. He wore a suit and he looked like a dunce to everyone there."
My hand flew up to the back of my head, rubbing the sting my mother left behind, and I muttered, "How in the hell did I catch a stray bullet in a conversation I wasn't even involved in? I already got a slap."
We entered the estate together.
Mary was already inside. "We have to make a public announcement immediately," she said, pulling a tablet from her bag. "People question what they don't know. Competitors can decide to spin this to their advantage."
"She is right," my father finally spoke. "Give Mary the details and set a date for the wedding, son."
"The pictures are not flattering," Mary jumped in seamlessly, swiping through images on her tablet and spinning it around. "We need to control that narrative also. Miss Williams has to step into the limelight."
"We can have an engagement party," my mother added smoothly. "Something tasteful. Elegant. Exclusive."
Mary was already nodding. "Okay, just give me the date and I'll get some press in. Plus, we have to announce the wedding date today."
Nita hadn't said a word, hadn't even tried to push back. That wasn't her style. She fought me, she teased me, she was fire and teeth and laughter when the world wasn't watching. But now she looked… small.
"Hey," I nudged her gently, stepping close enough that the rest of the room blurred out.
Her eyes lifted to mine. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have taken you to that place. I didn't know… I can't…"
"Hey, ssshhh." I took her hand, fingers lacing through hers. I felt her flinch but I didn't let go. Instead, I held tighter, grounding her even when she tried to pull back. My thumb brushed over her skin, a silent reminder that she wasn't alone in this glittering lion's den.
"Last night was the most fun I've had in a very long time," I said quietly, letting a smile tug at my lips. My parents could play politics all they wanted, but this—this moment—was mine. "You may have been aiming to punish me, but I did enjoy myself. I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Her lips parted slightly, surprise flickering there. And because I couldn't resist, because I needed to remind her she could laugh even here, I added, "Besides, I have a meme to tease you with now."
She chuckled softly, but the sound lacked its usual brightness. "How do we fix this?" she asked.
"We fix a date for the wedding," I replied. "Mary will schedule a press conference later in the day. We just have to get ahead of this. And when the world sees exactly how beautiful you are, this will all be old news—yesterday's gossip at best."