Imdiately Malisa’s eyes widened slightly. "Clinton? His only son?"
Cora nodded. "Yes. His only child. Just imagine it, Malisa. What is my dad really trying to do? What is the whole point of all of this? Uncle Festus is already enough of a thorn in my life and now his son too? That’s a con artist right there. A chaleon. You can never really tell who Clinton is unless you catch him slipping. I an, co on."
She buried her face in her hands for a second before looking up again, shaking her head in disbelief. "I just can’t even get my head around any of this. I really can’t."
Malisa sat there silently for a mont, just taking it all in. Then, she slowly turned her head and looked around the room as if scanning for sothing. Her tone was sharper now. "Don’t tell ... you’re still not seeing the clear picture yet."
She looked directly at Cora now, eyes fixed. "Why is your father even doing this, by the way?"
At that mont, Cora nodded again with a heavy sigh, her frustration building up like a balloon ready to pop. "I really don’t know why my father is doing this," she muttered, her voice a mix of anger and confusion. "It’s annoying, Malisa. Seriously. After everything we’ve been through, he should know better. He should know who these people are. He should know what they’re capable of." She paused, trying to control her emotions, but the bitterness in her chest was already bubbling to the surface.
She leaned forward a little, pressing her fingers into her temple. "But no," she continued with a slight scoff, "they’re family, so that ans everything. Family this, family that. They an a lot to him. That’s always his excuse. That they’ve done this and that for him in the past. He just can’t see the truth."
Malisa was quiet for a mont, watching Cora’s expression shift between disappointnt and disbelief. Cora’s eyes flickered, and then she exhaled sharply. "And you know what makes everything worse?" she added. "That’s not even the biggest part of the problem right now."
Malisa raised a brow. "There’s more?"
Cora nodded quickly. "Yeah. A lot more. My dad said it’s ti. Ti to bring a man ho. Ti to show the family I’m serious. That I’m building sothing aningful. You know, ever since I left Jas, it’s been a ss. That relationship, that whole thing" she waved her hand like she was trying to erase a mory from the air, "it never really made sense. And my dad has finally decided it was a mistake. He said I should forget about that route entirely."
Malisa tilted her head. "So... now what?"
Cora’s mouth twisted in irritation. "Now he’s talking about marrying into a wealthy family. He said he has suggestions." She added the last word with clear disgust, like it tasted bad in her mouth. "But I told him no. I’m already seeing soone."
"You are?" Malisa asked, her eyes narrowing.
"That’s the thing," Cora confessed, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "I told him that just to get him off my back. I said I was dating soone soone serious. Soone that wasn’t up for discussion. And that made him even more curious. He said he wants to et the guy."
Malisa blinked, her jaw tightening. "Cora..." she began slowly, trying to process everything. "You... lied?"
Cora looked down. "I didn’t know what else to do. It just ca out. I panicked."
Malisa stared at her, speechless for a second before finally blurting out, "Where are you going to find soone now? Like, who exactly are you planning to introduce? Because your dad sounds like he’s already preparing a whole welco parade for this imaginary boyfriend of yours!"
Cora buried her face in her hands. "I don’t know, Malisa. I don’t know what I was thinking..."
At that mont, Malisa shook her head slowly, eyes filled with disbelief and frustration as she placed her hand firmly on her waist. "Cora, you’ve really boxed yourself in this ti," she said, her voice tinged with a kind of helpless amusent. "Like, seriously, how do you plan to get out of this one? You told your dad you’re dating soone? You? The sa you that’s been single since Jas ssed everything up?"
Cora let out a long sigh, dragging her hand across her face in defeat. She slumped back into the couch like her whole world had just collapsed. "I know," she muttered, "I know it was stupid, but I didn’t know what else to say. He was going on and on about needing to settle down, and I just blurted it out."
Malisa narrowed her eyes. "You do realize he’s not going to let this go, right? Your father is like a hound when he catches a scent. He’s going to want to et this mystery boyfriend of yours. And not just that he’ll investigate. He’ll watch the guy, ask questions, compare family lineages. You can’t just throw in any random guy."
Cora threw her head back against the sofa cushion, groaning. "Exactly! That’s the problem! I can’t lie now and say I was joking. If I do, he’ll make it worse. He’ll bring in one of those boring sons of his business friends. You know, the ones he’s always trying to match with the rich, polished, soulless ones."
"And you told him you were already in a relationship," Malisa repeated with a dry laugh. "You basically just gave him the bait and told him to chase. Cora, why are you like this?"
Cora sat up and pointed a finger at lissa. "Don’t make it sound like I had a choice! The man was practically threatening to arrange a marriage right then and there. He said I’ve wasted enough ti trying to follow my heart. That my marriage with Jas was a disaster, and he won’t let repeat the sa mistake."
Malisa raised an eyebrow. "And he’s not wrong."
Cora ignored the jab and continued, "Now he’s talking about legacy and alliance, like we’re in so dieval era. He’s saying that since love failed once, it’s ti for power and influence to take over. And he’s already lining up suitors from those old-money families he’s so obsessed with."
Malisa folded her arms and leaned in. "So what now? You’ve got to find soone to pretend to be your boyfriend soone who knows you well enough to fool your father and everyone else. Not just fool them, but actually impress them."
Cora nodded slowly, biting her bottom lip. "And it has to be soone sharp. Soone confident. My dad’s no fool. If I bring in so actor or fake boyfriend-for-hire, he’ll sniff it out in one conversation. And then it’s over. I’ll have to go with whoever he picks for ."
Malisa tilted her head and smirked. "So what you’re saying is... you need soone who can play the role perfectly. Soone who knows your story, your moods, your strengths, your weaknesses. Soone who won’t buckle under pressure."
"Exactly," Cora said, her eyes pleading. "Soone who knows inside and out."
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