She gave me $1,000 to act like her fianceé for 3 months. But at the wedding, I spotted my ex with my best friend, and she suddenly told me I had no idea about Ken. I just turned around and left. That was 2 months ago. This morning, she appeared at my door, hands trembling, with nothing left to say. You ever have one of those moments where life throws you a curveball so wild you think it has to be a joke? Well, my first month at a new job, I got hit with one.

Wars are rarely fought on a single front. While the internet battle raged, the fracture within Renee’s family deepened into a chasm.

On Thursday evening, Renee’s phone rang. It was Aunt Elena.

“Put it on speaker,” I said, sitting beside her on the couch.

“Renee,” Elena’s sharp, aristocratic voice filled the room. “There is a family summit tomorrow night at my house. Sasha and her parents will be there. Your mother and father will be there. And I expect you to be there as well.”

Renee swallowed hard. “Aunt Elena, if this is an ambush to make me apologize to Sasha—”

“It is a court of inquiry,” Elena interrupted smoothly. “And you will bring that young man of yours. Alan.”

I looked at Renee and nodded.

“We’ll be there,” Renee said.

“Good. 7:00 PM. Don't be late. And Renee? Tell Alan to wear that suit. The one that makes him look like a secret agent. We’re going to need some backbone in that room.” Elena hung up before we could respond.

The next night, the tension inside Elena’s pristine, sprawling suburban home was thick enough to cut with a knife. Sasha sat on a white leather sofa, wrapped in a designer shawl, looking pale and dramatically fragile. Kian sat beside her, his arm draped over her shoulders like a protective shield. Sasha’s parents stood by the fireplace, looking like they were ready to file an injunction on sight.

Renee’s parents sat on the adjacent chairs, looking deeply uncomfortable.

Uncle Marcus was by the bar, quietly pouring scotch. When we walked in, he caught my eye and gave me a barely perceptible nod.

“Sit,” Aunt Elena commanded, gesturing to two straight-backed chairs opposite the sofa.

We sat. I kept my posture straight, my hand resting firmly on my knee, right next to Renee’s.

Sasha’s father, Richard, didn't waste time. “This farce has gone far enough. Renee, your little stunt has cost my daughter her reputation, her honeymoon, and her peace of mind. The legal team at my firm is already drafting a defamation lawsuit.”

“Defamation requires a lie, Uncle Richard,” Renee said, her voice surprisingly calm. “Everything stated at that microphone was entirely true. Sasha did cheat. She did take Alan's best friend. And she has spent her entire life trying to step on me to make herself look taller.”

“You hired an actor!” Sasha shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at me. “You paid him to lie to our faces! You brought a stranger into our family dinners just to mock us!”

Suddenly, a small voice broke through the shouting.

“Uncle Alan isn't a stranger!”

We all turned. Nathan was standing at the top of the stairs, clutching his plastic T-Rex, his eyes wide with distress. Grace, his mother, rushed up the stairs to scoop him up, but he resisted, looking straight at me. “He knows what a pterodactyl sounds like! He’s my friend!”

Sasha’s mother scoffed. “Great, you manipulated the children too.”

I stood up. The room went quiet. At over six feet tall, in a tailored suit, I tended to command a room when I actually decided to speak.

“I wasn’t an actor,” I said, looking directly at Sasha’s parents. “I was a broke kid who was profoundly hurt by your daughter and my former best friend. When Renee approached me, I didn't know who her family was. I took the job for the money because I couldn't pay my rent.”

I turned my gaze to Kian, who shifted uncomfortably under my stare.

“But something happened that none of us expected,” I continued. “I got to know this family. I talked football with your husband, Richard. I learned how to cook your sister’s favorite sauce. I played with Nathan. And I fell in love with Renee. Not because of a contract, but because despite her flaws, she is the most honest, fiercely protective person I have ever met. Which is a concept your daughter wouldn't understand if it hit her like a freight train.”

“How dare you—” Richard started, stepping forward.

“Let him finish,” Uncle Marcus’s voice boomed from the bar. He walked over, placing a heavy glass of scotch in front of me and another in front of Renee’s father. “The boy is speaking the truth. We all felt it. You could see how Renee looked at him for weeks. You think that can be bought for a thousand dollars? Richard, your daughter is a spoiled brat who got caught doing something despicable, and now you’re mad because the bill came due.”

“Marcus!” Elena warned, though her eyes were gleaming.

“No, Elena, I’m sick of it,” Marcus said, turning to Sasha. “You’ve been throwing tantrums since you were five, and your parents have been writing checks to cover them up. Well, you can't buy your way out of the internet. You made your bed with Kian here. Now lie in it.”

Sasha burst into actual, hysterical tears, burying her face in Kian’s shoulder. Richard glared at us, realizing he had lost the room. “We’re leaving. This family is dead to us.”

As they slammed the door behind them, the silence in the living room broke. Renee’s mother ran over and threw her arms around Renee, weeping. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I should have seen how hard she was pushing you.”