The days that followed Noah's sudden exit were very quiet and disturbing. Amara still felt different from the conversation with him at dinner. She found it difficult to control the emotional turmoil inside her, having developed stronger feelings than she anticipated for agreeing to a phony engagement.
During the following days, he hardly communicated with her. He would send her brief messages now and then saying sorry that he was occupied but there was none of that cheer or mild naughtiness in them to which she had become accustomed. Obviously, something was different now and Amara could not avoid thinking if she caused it.
Had their chat gotten awkward? Did he wish he hadn't confided in her? Or maybe there was a problem on his side, especially something to do with his family?
Amara nitpicked over every part of their dinner, playing different scenarios in her head repeatedly. It was obvious even to her that they had crossed a very thin line between pretense and reality, particularly after he had declared openly that he loved her more each day. However, his current distance left her insecure again; she feared another injury.
One Saturday afternoon while at the café, Amara received a text message from Noah.
Noah: Hi. Can we see and have coffee later. I need to tell you something."
Her heart skipped as she read through the message; Noah wanted to talk. Was this the moment? Did he intend on informing her about crossing the line with their arrangement? The thought twisted her insides.
She agreed to meet at their usual cafe and quickly responded. For an hour, Amara tried to calm herself down by telling herself that she must not allow whatever would occur make any impact on her emotions.
She arrived at the cafe only to find him seated near the window looking outside at the busy street. He appeared tensed with a more stern look on his face than ever before, which sent fresh anxiety waves through her although she gathered courage and walked towards him before sitting opposite side of the table as planned. She cautiously said hi, trying to appear at ease although she was clearly anything but that.
Upon seeing her, Noah's countenance softened a bit. "Hello. I appreciate you coming."
"Naturally," replied Amara as she felt a thud in her chest. "What is it?"
Noah pushed his chair back and ran stressed fingers through his hair. It was his usual mannerism and she knew it meant trouble. "I have a confession to make about my family."
Amara gasped silently. So it had to do with his family after all. The previous evening he had left in such a hurry that she suspected something was wrong, but now that he told her this out loud, it seemed like the most terrifying moment for her.
Noah let out a deep breath, looking down at the table. "The family business has become too much of a mess. Certain relatives are giving me heat for…well, for our engagement."
Amara felt sick with worry. "What does that mean?"
"They're eager to see you," he mumbled. "And not just say hello kind of meeting either. He's particularly insistent that we should join them more often as a couple."
His words hit her like a ton of bricks and she stood there blinking at him dumbfoundedly. She hadn't seen this coming at all. She understood that they were betrothed so as to meet his family obligations but hadn't thought it entailed deeper integration into his private affairs too. The idea of facing his family alone now seemed insurmountable given everything she was going through with Noah.
"Why now?" Trying to maintain her composure, she continued, "I thought we were only supposed to pretend at some events."
"Yes," Noah agreed while massaging his temples, "that was the idea. But my uncle is traditional and he wants more family time since we made public our plan to get married. He's asking questions now; he wants to be sure that this relationship is… genuine."
Amara's heart sank even lower than before. Everything was getting out of hand very fast now. They had created the perfect false engagement just like his uncle wanted, or so they thought.… But if Uncle went snooping too much would he find out? Was this whole thing going to backfire on them completely? Noah gazed at her with mixed feelings. "I wouldn't request this if it was unnecessary. My uncle is very influential in the firm, and he may pose a problem if he doesn't support our engagement. It won't just affect me but every person involved."
Amara breathed out for a long time; she felt like the whole world was on top of her. Noah wasn't asking for much more than what they had already agreed to, but the stakes felt higher now. Was there any way that it wouldn't work out? What about if they discover everything?
Reaching out across the table, Noah held hers: his touch warm, reassuring. Despite being accompanied by increased tension between them, it had a sobering effect on her.
"We'll sort through it," he reassured in a low tone. "Don't worry Amara, I have your back on this."
Trying to act normal, Amara suppressed her fear and swallowed hard. She didn't know how they would get through this, but she believed in Noah. Despite everything, she still trusted him.
However, even as they sat holding hands together, one question persisted in her mind: could they continue pretending when pretense was becoming increasingly difficult?