FAKE: An Enemies to Lovers Standalone Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  He took me to the neonatal intensive care unit or NICU. The room had subdued lighting and was filled with incredibly complicated, plastic enclosed cribs in which lay tiny babies nearly hidden by tubes and wires. One of them had a name scrawled on tape – Blair. My son. Our son. He was pink and perfect. But small. Maybe too small. I couldn’t bear it. A nurse escorted me back to Kylie’s room.

  I dumped myself in the chair beside Kylie and just watched her breathe in and out for hours. I don’t know how long I sat and stared, but eventually, a notification on my phone brought me out of my reverie. I glanced down, and already we were news, of course.

  Kylie Morgan collapses from exhaustion, loses the baby. Alec Blair is blamed for pushing her too hard.

  Fuck them. I did everything I could to keep myself from crying or going off the rails. On impulse, I opened my Instagram account and started loading all the pictures I’d taken of Kylie over the last four months. Pictures of her smiling on my boat, of her playing video games, and her funny sweet grimace, the dear picture of her shocked face when she received the necklace, which she was wearing when she was brought into the hospital. There were pictures of her with messy hair and wearing my clothes. There was a photo I snapped of her on our terrace overlooking the city with her hand lovingly on her belly, and one Avery took of us kissing that I’d begged for. I posted every one I had. And then I hit Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the same message.

  I’m sitting in the hospital with my fiancée and our son as they both fight for their lives. I’m praying my family lives. I’m begging God to let me bring them home. If Kylie doesn’t survive this, I want the world to know we’ve lied to you. She’s never been a playgirl. It’s always been for you ... She’s the sweetest woman in the world, and she saved my life. I want to share the beautiful moments you’ve never seen of the woman who I will be honored one day to call my wife. Thank you, my love, for showing me who you really are. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you … #fightthegoodfight #survive #mommyiseverything #nowyouknow

  Through a haze of tears, I sent the post to the world and waited ... for a miracle.

  **************************

  Kylie

  “You sent this to everyone? The whole world?” Kylie looked at me with a mix of shock and irritation. “All these pictures ... this one with the hair? Alec, really? That’s just fucked hair, you know, that right?” Ooh, I was worked up; too bad I was still hooked up to monitors and crazy things that beeped all the time.

  Alec just sat there smiling that ‘I’m so in love with your smile.’

  “At least they know we’ve had sex.” He laughed, almost delirious.

  “Um, Elijah is a pretty good proof of the fact that we’ve had sex.” I couldn’t be mad at him, so I started laughing, but oh, it hurt.

  Every part of my body hurt so much, but as I looked over to Elijah sleeping sweetly in his little incubator crib, I knew it was all worth it.

  “You okay?” Suddenly Alec was that super stressed out worried guy I woke up to a week ago, the one that thought I might die at any minute.

  I don’t remember much of what happened. I knew I wasn’t feeling well, but we had such big important events to attend, I couldn’t give in to the queasy feelings that had overwhelmed me that day. I couldn’t catch my breath, and the world kept spinning off-kilter. I only remember stabbing pain, then nothing.

  “I’m good, just sore. There has to be a better way to get a baby out of you than Ginsuing you through the middle. I mean he’s like an itsy-bitsy guy.” I looked over to little Elijah with love. He was so super tiny, but the doctors said he was strong. We were both fighters.

  “I get it. Try sleeping on a chair for a week. I definitely have sympathy pains.” He rolled the kinks out of his back.

  “You’re a billionaire, dude. You need to demand some shit.” I threw my fist up in the air ... ouch, that hurts. “Like a bed and a private suite.”

  “Well, I did demand they save my family.” His voice was soft and loving.

  “Or that.” I smiled, God I loved him.

  At that point, the nurse came in to give Elijah his skin time.

  “How are you feeling this morning, Kylie?” she asked in a bright, chipper tone.

  “Better, but still like Freddie Kruger was in charge of the surgery.” I flashed an impish smile.

  “C-sections take a long time to heal; it’s only been a week. What about the shortness of breath? Irregular heartbeats? Have you gotten your two hundred steps in today?” She was so sweet.

  “C-sections suck. I’m feeling good breathing but still can’t blow that ball past 700 on the breathalyzer. No irregular heartbeats and I walked seven hundred steps today! Ha.”

  “Kylie,” Alec scolded.

  “No more than three hundred steps, Kylie, we’ve gone over this. Take your time. The last thing you want is to stress your heart again.” Boom! There was the death sentence again.

  So, I had a bum ticker. Actually, it wasn’t life-threatening, but I’d have to watch it for the rest of my life. I could have more children, but my pregnancies would be considered high risk. At that moment, I didn’t care; all I wanted were my men. In another week, I was going to be able to go home and hopefully we could bring Elijah home soon after.

  Too many people knew where the penthouse was, so Alec was planning on turning it into an office for both of us, and the downtown apartment was where we’d stay when we had to be in the city, but our time would be spent primarily at the lake house. That made me the slightest bit nervous because I hadn’t even seen the whole place, but we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. What I was most excited about was continuing to live with Alec and raising our son together.

  I looked over to him, and he had that look he’d get when he was about to pull out either his cock or his camera.

  “What?” I said knowing he couldn’t be staring because of my beauty. I hadn’t showered for over a week, and I was wearing a backless cotton hospital gown. I probably had never looked so hideous.

  “Nothing. I just love you.”

  “So, which one of you gets him?” the nurse asked with little Elijah in her arms.

  I glanced at Alec and loved the excited look on his face hoping he’d get to hold his son.

  “It’s Daddy’s turn,” I said settling into the covers. “Shirt off, Daddy.” I leered at him with smoldering eyes as Alec unbuttoned his shirt.

  “You like this too much,” he teased as the nurse placed Elijah on Alec’s bare chest to give the baby some skin-to-skin contact, which helped him grow.

  “Oh yes, I do.” I blew a kiss and watched my two men as Alec fed Elijah his bottle and stroked his soft skin. “I could watch you two all day.”

  Our eyes met and there was a comfort there, a knowingness that told me, I finally had a family and a home.

  Epilogue

  Alec

  They finally let us take Elijah home two weeks later. We spent most of our days relaxing on the lake as Kylie continued to recover. We decorated Elijah’s room, which was just next to ours, but we both knew he wouldn’t be in it much. There were plenty of places in the house for Kylie and me to get away and enjoy some private time, but our baby came first. We planned on co-sleeping with him so that both of us could get up with him in the middle of the night.

  I dialed back my workload significantly and decided to work exclusively from home. Kylie decided to quit modeling and focus on Elijah and her foundation. She helped Avery with her fashion line, and the roommates were at our lake house more often than I wanted them there, but it was because I was still a little selfish; all I wanted was time with Kylie and our son.

  Elijah was still tiny but getting stronger every single day. He was so remarkably beautiful. I found myself staring at him all the time, just marveling at the incredible person she and I made. We never did end up having a wedding or a honeymoon, and for a while, it didn’t bother me until it made me crazy.

  “I don’t know if I feel comfortable
with him having a babysitter. Can’t we just spend Valentine’s Day together at home? Neither of us cares much about the holiday.” Kylie was putting on makeup for the first time in forever

  “I promised Greg I’d stop in. It was a year ago that we met at St. Marks, and he has this thing planned. I don’t want to let him down. It will be an hour, in and out.” I tried to get her to rally.

  “But it’s like two hours there and back,” she continued to grumble.

  “The girls want you to stop by the apartment and say hi, you promised. We’ll be back in time to give Elijah his last bottle, I promise. The babysitter is a registered nurse, we’ve got Dr. Alden on speed dial ... and I want to go out and have a drink with you.”

  “Why are you so hard to resist?” She stuck her tongue out at me.

  “Do that again, and I’ll make more babies with you on the drive into Manhattan,” I playfully threatened.

  “Oh, yes, please.” She slapped my ass, and we were off.

  We put up the privacy screen and enjoyed the comfort of the U-shaped lounger. We weren’t ready for any more kids for a long time if ever since it would be hard on Kylie to carry another child, but we sure did like trying …

  *******************************************************

  Kylie

  I was a little sore when we arrived at St. Marks after not being in the saddle for so long, but it was good to feel Alec in me again. Since coming home from the hospital, Alec was so afraid he was going to break me. We went really slow ... painfully slow with nothing more than fingers and mouths in the limo on the way to Manhattan. I was both exhausted and rejuvenated when we arrived at the bar, but more than that, my love for Alec had bloomed to monumental heights.

  We walked into the bar, and Greg greeted us warmly. It was a Thursday night, yet there weren’t many people. Just two tables were occupied, and it was Valentine’s Day; there should have been a few more, I’d think. Poor guy, it seemed that business wasn’t doing very well; maybe that’s why he wanted Alec and me to come out of hiding so that he could get some customers.

  “Hey Greg,” Alec greeted him pleasantly, and we all had a nice chat until he and I sat down to order drinks.

  Just having a craft beer and a nice conversation was a romantic way to spend Valentine’s. I didn’t want to talk about my foundation or my illness or his work. We could talk about the baby and other stuff, but work was off-limits.

  I felt my neck for my necklace as I often did, one, to make sure the most expensive thing I’d ever owned was still on my neck, and two because I loved it. I had stopped wearing the engagement ring he’d bought me, not because I didn’t want to wear it, but rather, I couldn’t find it. I always put the ring on my bedside table with my necklace, and when I woke up one morning last week, it was gone.

  “Stop touching it, honey. It’s not going anywhere.” Alec reminded me not to always call attention to the necklace, but I couldn’t help it.

  “I just ... I’m worried about the ring you gave me. I want to give it back. I swear I put it on the nightstand.” I bit my lip.

  “I know you did,” Alec said casually as if losing an expensive diamond engagement ring that wasn’t really an engagement ring was no big thing.

  “So why can’t I find it?” It was so frustrating, and then, Alec stood up and bent down on one knee.

  I looked down at him and watched as he pulled a ring box out of his pocket. “Um …” I did everything I could not to cry.

  “I know you put it on the nightstand because I stole it so I could have Tiffany and Company modify this.” He opened the little blue Tiffany box, “To match your necklace. Kylie, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  “Yes, yes, yes, yes …” I couldn’t stop saying yes.

  And that’s when all hell broke loose. Suddenly, Avery, Madison, and Christian burst through the doors as did Maralis and some people from Alec’s work and other models I’d worked with in the past filed into the bar.

  “CONGRATULATIONS!” They all shouted.

  Suddenly, I was worried the press would see Alec proposing again, but Maralis assured me she didn’t alert the press on this one, and we were pretty much off the radar after we went media silent following Alec’s post with all the pictures he’d shared. The real me gave me the chance to live my own life. I left modeling and focused on the things I cared about. I certainly didn’t need the money, and I was invested in something I believed in with my non-profit and now a husband and child to care for.

  “You know I’m the happiest person on the planet,” I told him as we danced in the center of the room, the two of us just letting loose.

  “I know you are not because I am.” He kissed me as if no one was looking. When we came up for air, we discovered no one was.

  We’d finally found our place in the world ... together. We watched Elijah grow, and our love got deeper and better every day. Gone was the darker side of Alec, which now only showed up when we played together in the bedroom, and instead, he was a remarkable husband and father, but better, he had become my best friend. The world that I didn’t believe would ever be that good to me had become amazing. And though I’d never replaced Ava, his first wife, I was happy to be the second Mrs. Blair and give him the love he denied himself all those years after her death. Things really couldn’t have been better, and we were both grateful for the twist of fate that changed our lives.

  THE END

  Preview: Unexpected Surprise

  Chapter 1

  Sinclair

  There was a time when I loved going to movie screenings. I lived for them. I didn’t really have as much enthusiasm for the one-hundredth screening of our most successful film, The Dark One. I’d seen it so many times I could recite the entire movie as a one-man show. This particular showing was a special sunset screening on Halloween with a producer’s Q & A afterward. I had to go. The sunset timing was important. Our marketing department had timed all the promotions at sunset because that’s when the Dark Ones would emerge from the sky. It added an element of scary to all things Dark One.

  “They always come just before the night when the sun retreats safely behind the horizon, leaving the rest of us out here on our own… their prey,” a girl’s voice-over grips us as winged creatures fly down from the heavens.

  On-screen dark-winged figures fly out of the dimly lit sky and descend onto the streets of New York City. “They’d come before. I’d seen them in my nightmares,” the woman’s voice continues as one very large black-winged creature approaches her.

  A heavily armed stranger stops in front of the woman and bears his weapons.“Don’t you touch her you filthy flying worm!” the man with thickly corded muscles and deep brown skin yells out to the creature.

  The woman dips back into his shadow as the hulking man brandishes a machete he unsheathes from a leather holster at his back. The dark angel steps towards him. “Out of my way, maggot.”

  Without any response, the muscled man stabs at the dark angel with valiant intent. The fallen angel merely waves his hand, and the machete flies out of the man’s hand and out of sight.

  Undaunted, the man has an arsenal of sharp implements strung about his body. He dislodges a knife and wields it with fervor as he dodges and moves around the angel kicking his kneecaps inward to throw him off balance. The angel curls his long pale fingers around the man’s throat. Squeezing with little effort, the man’s eyes bulge from his face. His tongue gapes, and he gasps for air. The knife drops from his hand as his body goes limp.

  The angel’s face stays peaceful, a complete juxtaposition to the horror he’s just inflicted. He slowly takes a step towards the girl shivering in the shadows.

  “These streets are dangerous,” the dark angel growls, his voice deep and husky. “You should be inside, locked up. Don’t you know there’s a war?” He laughs, making her nervous as he continues to approach.

  “Leave me alone!” she screams as she throws punches at the angel’s bare chest...

  “GO! GO! Gir
l go with him. He’s gonna give you the best sex you’ve ever had… toe-curling good,” a woman shouts from the audience.

  Her outburst is met with snickers and words of agreement.

  “And his fine ass is going to save the world!” another woman chimes in.

  Obviously, a few people at the Halloween screening had seen the film several times. They were right. Among the fallen angels, the Dark One is their vigilante justice, trying to keep them from obliterating humans. He has a band of followers who are trying to petition God to let some of them back into heaven for the good they’ve done for humanity.

  The lady in the audience is right; he is going to give her a night of unbridled pleasure. He’ll give her so much pleasure; in fact, the film initially had an NC-17 rating. We had to trim a few thrusts and cut away just before any male genitalia was revealed to get an R instead. I didn’t want to limit the film’s sexuality. Dante, the fallen angel, was going to be one of the sexiest heroes in action film history. The character straddled the line between good and evil in such a provocative and alluring way that he was already becoming a cult figure.

  All in all, the film was a controversial success. It garnered pretty high box office returns and decent critical acclaim. It was the first film of its kind to make an impact on the film industry and finally put my production company on the map.

  While I was already a multi-millionaire thanks to a trust fund my oil-rich grandfather had set up for me, I wanted to make my own money. I invested some of my trust funds into the company, which was just starting to turn a sizable profit after the success of the Dark One.

  We were working on a sequel. The writer had a lot of mediocre ideas he was throwing around, but nothing was clicking with me yet. We needed to create a great next chapter for the Dark One saga. I wasn’t worried about finding a story, even if it meant discovering a new writer. He had let fame go to his head. He wasn’t working with the same passion he once had now that he was fielding six-figure deals for multiple projects. I was ready to move on.