Chapter 216:
Confrontation and Confession
Chris’s Point of View:
I sat there in my dingy apartment, staring at the blinking cursor on my laptop screen. The biography was almost done, but Megan’s story was incomplete. There was a lack of that ‘real emotions’ factor in it. True, she had opened up about her past, her fights, and even her heartbreak, but I knew she held more. It was as if she had ringed her heart with fortresses, and I had to find the key to break it down if her book was to have any chance of succeeding.
My phone buzzed with a text from Megan: We need to talk. Can you come over? I felt my pulse race. Unless it was very serious, Megan would rarely invite me over. I took my jacket and scurried off, my mind running faster than my sweat.
Megan was pacing when I came into her place; she was tight and taut in the face. She turned around to look at me, ceasing her movements, and crossed her arms-her eyes boring into mine.
“Megan, we got to talk about something,” she said, her voice firm with a veneer of vulnerability.
“Sure, Megan, what’s going on?” I asked, really trying to sound casual, though I could feel the tension.
She took a deep breath, gestured for me to have a seat, and stood her ground with her eyes trained on mine.
“I’ve been thinking about our arrangement,” she began. “This fake relationship-it’s starting to feel way too real. I mean, it was only supposed to be for the public eye, just to shut down the rumors and help you with your career, but…something changed.”
I felt a lump in my throat as I tried deciphering her words. “What do you mean, Megan?”
She sighed greatly before running her fingers through her hair. “I mean that I am really starting to have feelings for you, Chris. And that’s what scares me.”
The room fell silent. My heart raced with the interpretation of what she had just confessed: Megan, the strong-hearted, invincible boxer, was confessing her feelings for me. I stood up and closed the distance between us.
“Megan, I,” I began to say, but she held her hand out, halting me.
“Let me finish, Chris. I have put in so much time trying to prove that I don’t need anybody, that I’m strong by myself. But being with you, well, even if it was just pretend, I started realizing how lonely I have been. I’ve been so damned scared to say this out loud, but no more pretending anymore.”
Her eyes flashed with tears, and a blade of guilt sliced through my chest. This had been, throughout, an easy deal for both of us, but somewhere in the middle, it had turned into so much more.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Megan,” I murmured. “I never expected to feel this way either.”
Megan’s face softened, and she took a step closer to me. “Then what now, Chris? How do we go on from here?”
Just then, the door burst open and Jane stormed in, her face creased with anger. “Megan, we need to talk about the fight schedule. And who in hell’s name is this?” She jerked her thumb in my direction as her eyes blazed.
Megan squared her shoulders and turned to her coach. “Jane, this is Chris. And he’s not just my ghostwriter. He’s my. boyfriend.”
The surprise on Jane’s face was unmistakable. “Boyfriend? Megan, we agreed that distractions were the last thing you needed right now.”
“This isn’t a distraction, Jane. Chris is important to me. And I think it’s time I stopped hiding behind my career and faced my feelings,” Megan said firmly.
Her anger bled slowly away to understanding as Jane’s gaze flickered between us. “Alright, Megan. If this is what you want, I’ll support you. But you have to be sure.”
Megan nodded. “I am. I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
Jane sighed and nodded before giving me a curt nod and turning back to Megan. “Just remember, the fight is in two weeks. We need you at your best.”
Megan smiled, as though something heavy had slid off her shoulders, and said, “I will. Thanks, Jane.”
When Jane left, Megan turned back to me. Her expression softened. “So, where were we?”
“I think we were discussing our feelings,” I said, and my lips tugged into a small smile.
Megan laughed, a sound that was both relieved and happy. “Right. Our feelings. Chris, I want to give this-us-a real shot. No more pretending.”
“I grabbed her hand, and with that, grabbed it into mine. ‘I want that too, Megan. More than anything.'”
We stayed like that, holding each other, as the weight of our confession or what came after settled between us. Where once had been fear and uncertainty in our fake relationship, was being replaced by hope and real affection.
It was on this couch, with the soft glow of city lights through the window, that we talked about everything that night: our fears, our hopes, our future.
“Megan, there is something I want to tell you,” I said, my heart pounding. “I was working on your book, the last few chapters, and I realized it’s missing something-your true feelings. Readers need to see the real you, vulnerable. And I think that this, what we have, needs to be a part of it.”
She then turned to me with searching eyes. “You want to put our relationship in the book?”
I nodded. “I do. It’s a big part of your story, Megan. You’ve shown so much strength in the ring, but I think your emotional journey is equally important. It’s what makes you relatable, what makes you human.”
She was silent for a while, then nodded slowly. “All right, Chris. Let’s do it. But only if you promise to be honest with your feelings too. This book is not about me alone; it’s about us.”
I smiled, feeling light with relief and excitement. “I promise, Megan. We will tell our story, together.”
The whole night afterward, we discussed the last chapters. It turned out our journey from a fake relationship to a real one was intertwined. And the more I worked, the more I realized how much Megan had come to mean for me. She wasn’t some subject of my writing or some convenient arrangement. She meant a lot to me-somebody with whom I wanted to build a future.
In the morning, first light gutters at the window, and I leaned back, turning to look at Megan. “We did it,” I said softly. “The book is done.”
Megan smiled, tired but satisfied. “Yeah, we did. And I couldn’t have done it without you, Chris.”
I reached out, taking her hand in mine. “Here’s to new beginnings, Megan. Both in the book and in our lives.”
She squeezed the end of my hand, and beaming eyes, full of so much love, stared back at me. “Here’s to us, Chris. Whatever happens.