Juliana Haygert - Playing Pretend

For one, Mason hadn’t accepted the deal with Donnie, and he let Donnie expose us. Sure, if it were me, I would also think Donnie was bluffing. He would never do that to me. But he did. Donnie was the one responsible for this mess. He was the one responsible for damaging my mother’s career.

Not Mason.

Oh, crap, Mason. Relief coursed through me, sending all the hate and pain away. My feelings for him, the ones I had kept locked away since this bomb exploded yesterday morning and thought I would never allow myself to feel again, resurfaced and I welcomed them.

With a tiny smile, I reached for my phone, but then I remembered it was stashed in Liana’s bedroom, turned off since yesterday.

“What are you going to do now?” Liana asked.

I frowned, thinking about it for a moment. “I need to find a way to fix this.”

Charlotte

Without wasting time, I called my mother’s assistant and asked her if my mother was having dinner in.

“No, but tomorrow she has a dinner scheduled with Senator Williams,” Sarah said.

“Oh, do you think I could stop by? I need to talk to her.”

“I think so.” She paused. “I know she’s upset but I know she really loves you, in her way. She’ll like it if you two can patch things up.”

That wasn’t exactly my plan.

“All right. I’ll be there,” I said. “Don’t tell her anything. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Okay. I won’t say anything,” Sarah responded.

Good. Next, I called Donnie and asked him to have dinner tomorrow with my mother and me at the Executive Mansion, if he could.

“For you, I can,” he said, sounding way too happy.

“Great. See you tomorrow.” I turned off the call before he could say anything else and try to keep the conversation going.

The next day, I arrived at the mansion a little past six. Sarah met me at the front door and guided me to the empty dining room, where the table was set for two people.

“Your mother will be here in fifteen minutes,” she said.

I took my usual chair at the table. “Thanks.”

With nothing to do, I looked around the formal dining room. Dark wood floors were polished to a perfect shine, the walls were dull white, big windows were covered with lush curtains, a crystal chandelier hung above the mahogany table, and several chairs with beige velvet cushions were set around the table. A china hutch stood against a wall, showing off all the crystal flutes and glasses, and a few crystal picture frames. My mother behind her desk on the first day as the governor of Virginia, my mother and I at my Sweet Sixteen birthday party—which was exactly how she wanted it, not how I wanted it—my father and her on their wedding day, and one of my father in his military uniform in front of a platoon somewhere in the world. Every picture on display had been carefully selected to show off our happy family and our accomplishments.

The doorbell rang, catching my attention.

Soon, I heard voices. Donnie must have arrived and my mother didn’t even know I was here yet. The voices grew louder until my mother, Donnie, and his father stepped into the dining room. Then silence reigned for a few moments.

“Charlotte,” my mother said my name as in a prayer, and I felt bad for deciding to confront Donnie before her and his father.

I stood. “Hi, Mother. Hello, Senator Williams. Donnie.”

Donnie smiled. “Hi, Charlotte. How are you?”

Not very well. I gestured to the table. “Let’s sit and talk.”

My mother took her usual place at the head of the table. Senator Williams sat across from me, and Donnie sat by my side.

As if on cue, one of the maids appeared with two sets of plates, cutlery, and glasses. Then two other maids brought the food to the table.

When they disappeared into the kitchen, my mother turned to me. “This is a wonderful surprise.”

I wouldn’t let her shift me off track. “We need to talk.”

“Of course,” she said.

“Mom, I want to tell you about me. I like to draw and roller-skate. Tracy isn’t my best friend—Liana is. And MaryAnn and Becca. The three of them are not rich, but they aren’t poor either. Speaking of people without money, I was dating Mason, the guy the newspaper accused of sending those photos.”

My mother cringed. “Charlotte, why are you telling us this?”

“Mason is a simple guy from California, who has little money, and he’s not ashamed of it. I wasn’t ashamed of it.” My mother gasped, but I kept on going, “You also don’t know that Donnie found out about this guy and me. Donnie sent someone to follow me, taking pictures of everything I did, and then he threatened Mason. If Mason didn’t break up with me, Donnie would send the pictures to the newspapers.”

“That’s not true,” Donnie interjected.

I pulled out my phone from inside my purse and put it on the table, in a place everyone would hear it. I pressed play on the voice recording of Donnie talking with Mason about the threat, the blackmail, and the pictures.

My mother gasped, Senator Williams pressed his mouth into a thin line, and Donnie looked everywhere but at me.

“There,” I said, taking my phone back. “It’s all out in the open. You can’t blackmail me or Mason anymore.” I turned to my mother. “And you can stop blaming Mason and me for what happened.”

Surprising me, my mother was the first one to speak. “When we agreed to have Donnie and Charlotte together, I didn’t think you would stoop this low, Senator Williams.”

He shrugged. “I had to do what I had to do.”

A new bomb had been armed. “What?”

My mother looked at me with shielded eyes. “Some time ago, Senator Williams and I agreed that you and Donnie should be together. You could be wonderful together, even if you didn’t want to pursue a political life. You would be the perfect wife for an important politician. We knew this and we knew the entire country couldn’t help but fall in love with you two, leading Donnie to be everything, including president of this country in the future. I thought your relationship with Donnie would happen naturally if he was always by your side, here and at every event we attended, if he asked you out on dates.”

I gaped at Donnie. “You knew of this agreement?”

He nodded. “When they told me, I was all in. Come on. Look at you. You’re gorgeous. If I have to spend the rest of my life with the same woman, you are the perfect candidate.”

“Holy crap,” I muttered, feeling like a used plastic bag.

My mother reached for my hand. “I’m sorry, Charlotte. I just wanted what was best for you. I never thought this would happen. I didn’t know what they were doing to keep our agreements.”

I pulled my hand away from her. “I can’t believe this. First, you want me to live a life I don’t like. Please, respect me. Learn to respect me, to respect who I am and what I like. Only this way we’ll be mother and daughter again. And you can start by sending these two out.” I pointed to Donnie and his father.

“Don’t underestimate me, girl,” Senator Williams said, his voice outraged.

I shook my head at him. “I don’t. I knew certain politicians used all the resources available to get what they want. I never thought you would be one of those. Worse of all, you went too far. I won’t let you or your son treat me like a doll that can be bought and used for whatever you like. I have my own dreams, my own path, and I want distance from both of you.”

My mother looked at them, and for a moment, I thought she wouldn’t do anything. “I lost my husband. I won’t lose my daughter. I’m sorry, Senator Williams, but I need to ask you to leave.”

The man glared at her. “You do know what this means? Our alliance will be compromised. You won’t have my support anymore.”