The Fake Wedding That Changed Everything
Being a single mom means your brain never stops spinning. You’re always thinking, worrying, juggling—lunches, shoes that don’t fit anymore, surprise dentist appointments, and bills that don’t care if you’re tired. And on top of all that, you’re holding down a job because there’s no backup plan.
Even during quiet moments, your mind races. Lying in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, you go over your to-do list—what you forgot, what needs fixing, what could go wrong. It’s like there’s a checklist taped inside your eyelids that never gets finished.
That’s exactly what I was doing—multitasking, drowning in my color-coded calendar and trying to squeeze Lily’s dentist appointment between Nathan’s nonstop meetings—when my phone buzzed.
The screen flashed again. I sighed, rubbed my forehead, and grabbed it without looking at who it was.
“Hello?”
A calm, almost cheerful voice answered, “Hello, this is the admissions office at St. Helena Academy. I’m calling about your daughter, Lily.”
My stomach dropped like a rock. I gripped the phone hard. “Is she okay?” I asked quickly.
“Oh yes, she’s perfectly fine,” the woman said. “This is about the tuition grant.”
I sat up straighter, heart pounding. “What about it?”
There was a pause.
“We regret to inform you that the scholarship has been reassigned. There was a reassessment of eligibility. Your daughter no longer qualifies.”
My hand shook. “She’s already enrolled! It’s been a month since school started. You can’t take it back now!”
“I understand your frustration,” the woman said gently. “But if you wish to keep her enrolled, the annual tuition is—”
I didn’t wait to hear the number. I hung up.
For a second, I just sat there, frozen. I couldn’t breathe. My body felt tight and heavy, my skin buzzing. The room blurred as panic set in.
That school meant everything to Lily. She finally felt safe. She had friends. She belonged. I promised her this was her chance. That she was lucky. That we caught a break. And now it was slipping through my fingers.
By noon, I couldn’t pretend to work anymore. My eyes scanned my emails, but nothing stuck. My fingers hovered above the keyboard, frozen. All I could think about was Lily being pulled out of that school.
I needed help. Fast. But asking for help felt like swallowing glass.
Still, there was one person I could go to.
Clutching my phone, I stood and walked down the hallway to Nathan’s office. My heart thudded with every step. When I reached his door, I stopped, took a deep breath, and knocked.
Nathan looked up from his laptop. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” My voice came out too soft, too shaky.
“Sure.” He closed his laptop and gave me his full attention.
I stepped inside and shut the door. “It’s about my daughter.”
He nodded slowly. “Go on.”
“She lost her scholarship,” I said, barely holding it together. “The school said we have until the end of the week to pay tuition. If we don’t, they’ll give her spot to someone else.”
He leaned back in his chair. “How much are we talking?”
I told him the number.
He didn’t even blink, but I felt ridiculous saying it. “I know it’s a lot. I’m not asking for charity. Just a loan. I’ll pay you back every month.”
Nathan stood and walked to the window. He stared outside for a moment, completely quiet. Then he said, “There might be another option.”
I frowned. “What kind of option?”
He turned around and looked me dead in the eyes. “I need to get married.”
I blinked. “I’m sorry—what?”
“My grandmother is very traditional. Her will says I can’t take control of the family estate unless I’m married. She wants to see a wedding before her birthday.”
I stared at him like he had grown another head. “What does that have to do with me?”
“I need someone who can handle this. Someone I trust,” he said calmly. “You.”
I laughed. A stunned, awkward laugh. “You want me to fake-marry you?”
“Yes,” he said. “We go to her estate. Pretend we’re a couple. The wedding’s on Sunday. After that, we go our separate ways. In return, your daughter’s tuition is covered. For good.”
I was speechless. “This is crazy.”
“Maybe,” he replied. “But I don’t trust many people. And you have a reason to say yes.”
I opened my mouth to say no. This was beyond weird. But then, my phone buzzed again.
A message from the school: Please confirm your payment or let us know if Lily will be withdrawing. We have a waitlist.
They were already preparing to give her spot away.
I looked up at Nathan. “You’re sure she can stay if I agree?”
“She will never have to worry about tuition again.”
I exhaled, hands shaking. My heart felt like it was caught in a storm.
“Then… okay. I’ll do it.”
He nodded. “Good. We leave tomorrow. Bring Lily. It has to look real.”
Nathan’s grandmother’s estate looked like something out of a fairy tale. Huge white stone walls, thick green vines curling up the sides, and a fountain that sparkled in the sun. As soon as we pulled up, Lily jumped out of the car and ran straight to it.
“Lily, slow down!” I called, already chasing her with my bag over my shoulder.
Nathan chuckled. “Let her run. It’s just water.”
“She gets excited,” I said, half-apologizing.
He smiled at me, really smiled. “Yeah. I can tell.”
Then, without warning, he jogged over to the fountain and started chasing Lily around it.
She squealed with laughter. “You can’t catch me!”
Her giggles filled the air like music, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I just stood there and watched. Nathan wasn’t being the serious boss I knew from the office—he was laughing, playing, being silly.
He looked like a man who liked kids.
And something about that hit me hard.
Then I noticed an elegant older woman standing on the wide porch, watching us. Silver hair in a bun. Long dress. Calm face, sharp eyes.
“Grandmother,” Nathan said, standing tall. “This is Grace. And that little hurricane is Lily.”
She walked down the steps with slow, confident steps, her eyes sweeping over me.
“So this is the woman who finally tamed my grandson,” she said with a warm but calculating smile.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, giving her a polite smile.
She took my hand and gave it a strong squeeze. “Let’s have dinner. There’s a lot we need to talk about.”
The dining room was massive—gold chandelier, velvet chairs, a table built for twenty. But only the four of us were seated.
She sipped her wine and asked, “So, how did you two meet?”
Nathan hesitated. I jumped in. “At work. I spilled coffee on his laptop.”
“She didn’t even say sorry,” Nathan added with a teasing smile.
The older woman laughed, her eyes twinkling. “Well, it’s about time you brought someone home.”
She clapped her hands together. “Sunday, then. A small wedding. I’ve already alerted the planner.”
And just like that, I went from begging a school to keep Lily enrolled… to planning a wedding.
The next few days were a blur. Lily and I stayed in a guest room with soft quilts, lacy white curtains, and fresh flowers that changed every morning. I never figured out who brought them in. It was like magic.
We had garden tours, brunches, and hours spent choosing flower arrangements and table settings. I tried on dresses that felt like costumes at first, but little by little, I stopped feeling like I was acting.
One night, I found Nathan kneeling by Lily, helping her color a butterfly. Another night, we sat on the kitchen floor eating ice cream from the tub, laughing over a ridiculous rom-com.
Then I saw Lily’s note on the fridge in her big, crooked handwriting: “I like Nathan. He’s funny.” I tucked it into my pocket and smiled like an idiot.
That evening, I stepped out into the cool night air. Nathan sat on the porch swing, staring at the stars.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked without looking at me.
I shook my head and sat beside him. The swing creaked gently as we rocked back and forth.
“It’s peaceful here,” I said.
Nathan sighed. “Being here brings back stuff I try not to think about.”
“Like what?” I asked softly.
“My dad. He never stood up for me. He let my grandmother run the show.”
“That must’ve hurt,” I whispered.
“It did,” he said. “I spent years trying to impress him. It was never enough.”
He looked at me then, his eyes full of something raw and honest. “But with you… it’s different. It feels real. Easy.”
“Nathan… this is still fake,” I said, even though part of me didn’t want it to be.
“I know. But sometimes fake things… start to feel real.”
I didn’t know what to say. We just sat there in silence, but the kind that said everything.
The night before the wedding, I couldn’t sleep. I went downstairs to get water for Lily, but as I passed the kitchen, I heard voices.
“…a single mother, Nathan. You can’t be serious.”
It was his grandmother.
“She’s not just some woman I found on the street,” Nathan replied. His voice was steady, but I could hear the tension.
“She’s a burden. She comes with a child. You’re humiliating yourself,” she snapped.
“She’s not a burden. And Lily isn’t either.”
“This isn’t love, it’s fear. You’re afraid of being alone.”
“I’m not going to argue with you.”
“If you go through with this farce, you’ll lose everything. Not one cent from this family. You’ll be cut off.”
I didn’t need to hear more. My heart shattered. I turned and ran upstairs.
I dressed Lily in silence, packed our bag, and before sunrise, we were gone.
The next morning, there was a knock at the door of the small rental house.
I opened it, and there he was.
“You left,” Nathan said quietly.
“I heard everything,” I shot back.
His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Your grandmother. Last night. The kitchen.”
He took a slow breath. “If you’re this angry, then you didn’t hear all of it.”
“She called me a burden. She threatened you. She said you’d lose everything!”
“She did,” Nathan nodded. “But I told her I didn’t care. I told her I love you. And I love Lily. That I’d rather lose everything than lose you both.”
I stood frozen, tears threatening to spill.
“And my father,” he continued, “for the first time in my life… he backed me. He told her she had no right to control me. That she couldn’t take the company away.”
My throat tightened.
He smiled gently. “So no, I haven’t lost everything. I’ve gained everything I ever wanted.”
I reached for his hand.
And when he kissed me, it wasn’t fake. It wasn’t part of any plan.
It was real. All of it.
