FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 162

CHAPTER 162

– JAMIE

TEN DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING

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If someone had told me a year ago that I’d spend a Tuesday surrounded by wedding dresses, three kids, and my mother, I probably would’ve asked when, exactly, I’d suffered the traumatic brain injury.

And yet, there I was.

“Not that one.”

Lily didn’t even wait for me to make it all the way out of the fitting room.

I looked down at the satin gown the consultant had just zipped up my back, then over at her.

“Can I at least make it to the mirror?”

“You can. It’s still a no.”

My mother laughed from the sofa.

“She’s taking this job very seriously.”

“I’m the bride’s official consultant,” Lily explained with the solemnity of someone holding a very important position.

My mother was loving every second of getting to know the kids better. Judging by the way she lit up over everything they did, I could already see where this was headed. Once the wedding was over, it wouldn’t be long before she started asking me for grandchildren.

Jack looked up from his phone just long enough to glare at his sister.

“Stop being ridiculous, you little brat. Nobody actually hired you.”

Lily planted her hands on her hips.

“Aunt Jamie did.”

I looked at her.

“I did?”

She hesitated for half a second.

“Not yet.” Then she broke into a huge grin. “But you can hire me now.”

I laughed.

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“Fine. You’re officially hired.”

“See?” Lily shot Jack a triumphant look.

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My mother started laughing again, and I had to gather the skirt in both hands so I wouldn’t trip as I stepped onto the small platform in front of the mirrors.

The boutique took up two floors of an understated building on the Upper East Side and looked as though it had been designed for the sole purpose of making women forget budgets existed. Champagne, fresh flowers, pale sofas, and dresses that probably cost more than a house.

I’d already tried on four.

Lily and my mother had rejected three.

And Chloe sat on the edge of the sofa with a sweet smile, helping Lily organize photos of the dresses on the tablet.

“I liked this one,” Chloe said gently. “It’s very elegant.”

“If Miss Chloe likes it, does that mean you like it too?” I asked Lily.

Chloe tilted her head, still smiling.

“But you’re so beautiful, Jamie, you could probably wear anything. Even something really simple. Sometimes when the bride already draws so much attention on her own, a dress that makes too much of a statement can end up feeling… like too much.”

My mother seemed to consider that.

So did I.

“That makes sense.”

I smiled and went back into the fitting room.

The fifth dress was pretty.

The sixth was almost too pretty.

The seventh made my mother press a hand to her chest, but Lily wrinkled her nose and said it “looked like something an evil queen would wear.”

Then came number eight.

The consultant stepped into the fitting room carrying a gown I didn’t even remember choosing.

“Your mother asked me to pull this one.”

It was different from the others. The bodice hugged my body without feeling overdone, the waist was clean and simple, and the skirt fell in soft, elegant layers without swallowing me whole.

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Delicate lace covered the back, with tiny details that only caught the light from certain angles.

When she finished fastening the last few buttons, I turned toward the mirror.

And went still.

Not because it was the most expensive dress.

Or the most extravagant.

But because, for the first time all day, I didn’t feel like I was playing dress-up as a bride.

I felt like me.

Just me on my wedding day.

My wedding.

To Simon..

The thought hit me somewhere deep in my chest, warm and terrifying all at once.

Ten days.

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In ten days, I would walk into Whitmore House and make my way toward the man who was supposed to have been nothing more than my boss, but who had somehow become the love of my life.

“Jamie?” my mother called. “Did you die in there, sweetheart?”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat.

“Not yet.”

The consultant pulled the curtain open.

I stepped out.

The silence came so fast I almost laughed.

Jack lowered his phone.

Sam froze with a cookie halfway to his mouth.

Lily brought both hands to her lips.

Chloe went completely still.

And my mother…

Her eyes filled with tears.

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“Hey.” My chest tightened. “Why are you crying, Mom?”

She rose from the sofa and came toward me slowly.

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“You look so beautiful, sweetheart. I’m just… I’m so, so happy for you. I dreamed about this moment with my little girl, and this dress looks like it was made for you.”

That did it.

My eyes burned.

“Mom…”

“I know.” She let out a quiet laugh as she wiped beneath her eyes. “I know we’ve done this before.”

My smile faltered.

She stepped closer.

“But it wasn’t like this.”

I swallowed hard.

My mother stopped in front of me and took both my hands.

“Last time, I saw my daughter in a beautiful dress.” Her eyes filled again. “Today, I’m looking at my daughter in a beautiful dress, and she’s happy.”

That broke me.

Because she was right.

Maybe I hadn’t even realized how different it was until I heard her say it out loud.

I squeezed her hands.

“Mom…”

“This is the dress, Jamie,” she whispered. “Not because it fits you perfectly. Because I’ve never seen you glow like this in anything you’ve ever worn.”

My eyes stung.

I wrapped my arms around her, careful not to crush the dress between us.

“I am happy,” I murmured.

She held me a little tighter.

“I know, sweetheart. I can see it.”

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I pulled my face away from my mother’s shoulder and discreetly wiped away a tear.

“So that’s the one,” Lily declared, as if she had the legal authority to settle the matter.

“Absolutely,” my mother agreed.