Song: It Girl playlist by voguesessed

"What did you just say?" Lilah's mouth hung ajar. A stupefied expression clouded her distressed face. "Are you insane?!"

Vincent held his hands. "I know it sounds crazy. But hear me out."

"Hear you out?" Lilah shot off the couch, tossing the knitted blanket away without a care as to where it landed. "I did hear you out. I think that's the problem!"

Vincent let out an amused laugh. "Oh, Lilah Bean. Listen to me, ok? Let me introduce you to something beautiful called revenge and why you need it."

"Mom always said the best revenge was to live your best life and leave the past where it belongs. In the past."

"Yeah, that's called taking the high road." He pushed Lilah back onto the cream couch and even tucked her in with the soft, baby blue blanket. "That's not the road we're gonna use because clearly taking the high road never got you anything but grief."

Vincent's downturned eyes zeroed in on Lilah like a predator eager to devour its prey. She knew the scheming expression in his eyes wasn't reserved for her. Yet it startled her nonetheless.

"Jason and Simon are assholes. Assholes that never paid for what they did to you." Vincent's fingers tapped against each other like some kind of evil mastermind. His glossy acrylics made a click clack sound that was oddly satisfying to hear. Like ASMR. "Now, I know we're plenty pissed about Jason. The whole bet, virginity, bullshit sucks. Believe me, I know. However, Simon is the worst one. He's the one we have to hit the hardest."

Lilah's eyes narrowed. "They're both shitty but I fail to see how Simon is the worst one of the two. He knew about the bet and didn't tell me. That's fucked up. But he didn't actually go through with it. Jason did."

"Oh, Jason will get his. Don't worry about that." Vincent shrugged off his heavy coat, letting it fall onto the ground. His pristine shoes clicked against the hardwood floor of Lilah's pricey apartment. It filled the quiet, giving something more to be heard other than the pounding of her racing heart. "But Simon is the biggest issue right now."

She exhaled loudly, sinking into the comfort of the couch. "How?"

"He still thinks you're his." Vincent's voice hardened into something downright chilling. "Like you're some kind of doll to own. And the worst part is that no one knows about what he and Jason did so they encourage him to win you over. It's all anyone can talk about since he came back."

Lilah gnawed on her bottom lip. Vincent was right. She knew he was because everyone that didn't know the truth kept trying to guide her back to Simon.

Some were hopeless romantics. Others, though, had money on the line.

Like Adonis.

Vincent sat beside her, choosing his next words carefully. "You'll never tell people what they did, right?"

Lilah pressed her lips into a thin line. Shame and humiliation plagued her. She shook her head, unable to speak at first because she knew she'd cry before even getting the first word out.

"If they don't pity me then they'll laugh" Her voice was a ghost of a whisper. "My reputation will be ruined. No one would ever take me or my family seriously ever again. I can't tell, Vincent. It isn't worth the blowback."

"And that is why I think you should fake date Ambrose."

Lilah threw her hands up in exasperation. "And we're back to this nonsense!"

"Listen," Vincent smirked wickedly, "you told Adonis you had a boyfriend at Thanksgiving. That blabbermouth went and told the whole country club. Now everyone wants to know who you're dating." Vincent's eyes gleamed with malediction. "And last I heard, Simon's pissed off that you're dating after he came home just for you." Vincent leaned back, pretending to pick at his nails as he played up the theatrics. "Ain't nothing worse than showing off a better man to an ex that can't let you go. It'll drive him crazy."

Lilah kissed her teeth, already seeing plot holes beyond plot holes in Vincent's plan. "Let's say that, for one second, I agree to this stupid plan. What are you gonna do about the fact that Ambrose and I, oh, what's that thing again?" Lilah tapped her chin then slapped Vincent on the shoulder. "Don't like each other?!"

Vincent rubbed his tattooed arm. His smirk never fell. "One word," he leaned closer, "money."

"Money?"

"Ambrose doesn't like owing people anything. He wants to pull his weight," Vincent explained. "But right now, I kinda sorta bullied him into living with me rent free. Kiki pays for everything, as per usual. It's killing Ambrose, I know it is. That's how we're gonna get him. In exchange for fake dating you, I'll let him take over one of the bills."

Lilah shifted in her seat. Most people in Ambrose's position would be abusing the hell out of her brother's kindness. She found it odd that he wasn't. It stunned her that Ambrose could be so... honorable?

And yet, even with that revelation she was still unable to accept Vincent's proposal. It was too outlandish!

"It wouldn't work." Lilah shivered when her small feet touched the cold floor. She walked towards the kitchen, tugging her brown cardigan around her body tightly. The light flickered on. Water splashed inside the electric kettle as she prepared a cup of mint tea. "Fake dating Ambrose would just make an already difficult situation even more difficult. I just want it to disappear. If I don't acknowledge them—"

"Then you give them the power to keep on hurting you," Vincent argued. He rested his elbows on the counter, trying and failing to catch Lilah's eye. "Lilah Bean, if you won't stand up for yourself directly, then at least do it indirectly. You owe it to yourself to at least try."

To keep from crushing the tea bag she tossed it into the porcelain cup. The sharp scent of mint wafted over her when she poured the hot water. Silence enveloped them while the bag steeped.

Minutes ticked by. Vincent waited, giving her time to mull things over and examine all of her options. He knew Ambrose was probably stewing in the car but he didn't care. If things went his way, they'd all be walking away from this situation happy.

Lilah left the tea bag inside for a stronger flavor. Her tongue burned but the rewarding taste was worth it. She swallowed the hot liquid then asked, "Why Ambrose?"

"He didn't grow up in your world," Vincent replied honestly. "He doesn't give a shit about your money or Simon's or Jason's. Ambrose doesn't care about reputation. He only cares about the people he loves knowing who he truly is. Everyone else's opinion is irrelevant."

That must be nice, Lilah thought as she swallowed another scalding mouthful of tea.

"And you know what the best thing about Ambrose is?" Vincent toyed with his gold chain, fighting to hold in a squeal when he saw a bit of interest spill into Lilah's dark eyes. "He isn't easy to intimidate. And that's what you need. Someone who won't move when those pricks try to ruffle his feathers."

Lilah bit the inside of her cheek. The sight of Vincent's cheeky grin had her wanting to throttle him on the spot. Not because he'd proposed something so ridiculous. But because he'd piqued her interest and actually had her considering this whole charade.

Only Vincent could concoct something like this.

The real question now was if she could see it through.

Could she do it? Fake date Ambrose to get back at Simon. Break his heart the way he'd shattered hers. Could she do it?

And what about Jason? That wretched man still looked at her softly. He still called her Sunshine, a nickname she couldn't stand to hear now.

Could she wreck him too?

Did she want to?

Lilah clutched the handle of the cup. Ire bubbled within her the longer she reminisced on the past.

Vincent grinned coyly when a dark storm clouded Lilah's conflicted features. Her cheeks puffed up then she let out a long sigh. She drained the rest of her tea then wrapped a strand of her messy hair around a finger.

Lilah fought so hard to take the high road and not be immature. But deep down, the truth was still the truth. No matter how much she refused to acknowledge it, her feelings never changed.

She wanted to hurt them.

She wanted to hurt them both.

Badly.

And Lilah knew exactly how to get under their skin. She knew what made them tick. She knew how to make them explode.

Jealousy. Rage. Shame.

She wanted them to feel it all.

She wanted to make a spectacle of them.

Lilah raised her bitter gaze, meeting Vincent's gleeful stare head on. "Ok. I'm in."

Vincent withheld the urge to shout with joy. After all, they weren't over the hill, through the woods, and in the clear just yet.

There was still the matter of convincing the big bad wolf to play his part.

He texted Ambrose to come up and they waited. Vincent traced the polished marble countertop, loving the way the material sparkled. There was a knock at the door and a little extra pep in his step as he sashayed across the room and opened it.

Ambrose's face was positively thundering. "It's been thirty minutes. You said you only needed five."

"Give me five more minutes and then we can go home." Vincent waved Ambrose inside and they joined Lilah in the kitchen. "We have a proposition for you."

Ambrose's hooded eyes slid over Lilah's apartment. It looked like a rainbow of pastel hues threw up all over the place.

Jesus Christ.

"No. Get your shit so we can go. Jill's making dinner on her own—"

"She's a big girl. She's more than capable of making dinner on her own." Vincent raised a challenging brow. "Don't tell me you're babying her. Y'know, Jilly really wouldn't like that at all if she ever found out..."

Ambrose glared at Vincent through raging ocean slits. "What do you want, Vincent?"

"I want you to date Lilah."

"Excuse me?"

"Well," Vincent made a face, "not really. I want you to fake date Lilah to get her shitty ex boyfriends to back off."

Ambrose blinked. "This is the dumbest thing you've asked me to do since seventh grade when you wanted to do a rendition of a Spice Girls song."

"Hey!" Vincent pointed at Ambrose with a deadly glare. "The Spice Girls are iconic, ok? And we would've won if you had been Baby Spice but no. The outfits were just too damn gay for you."

A laugh full of disbelief fell from his parted lips. "I can't have this conversation again." Ambrose glanced at Lilah. She looked a little too interested in playing with that tea bag. He sniffed the air. Was that mint tea? Ambrose shook his head, reminding himself not to get distracted. "And the answer is no. Fake dating is one of the dumbest things you could do. What are we, in high school? C'mon now."

"It's the only way they'll leave her alone." Vincent lowered his voice and his eyelids, attempting to appear meeker. "Please? She really needs your help. They're not... good guys, Ambrose. No matter what those airheads at the country club think. Jason and Simon can be very dangerous men."

"What did they do?"

"Bad things," Vincent said, jumping to Lilah's defense when he saw her freeze. "If she feels comfortable telling you then one day she can. All you need to know is that she didn't deserve to have her trust betrayed like that."

Conflict crowded Ambrose's unrelenting eyes just like he predicted. Vincent bit his bottom lip hard to keep from smiling triumphantly.

Ambrose not liking Lilah was irrelevant if he thought she was caught up with some dangerous men. Why? Because his heart was much warmer than he let on. If there was one thing Ambrose had trouble walking away from it was women caught up in a bad situation.

Vincent was banking on exactly that to sway his cousin to at least hear them out first.

Suspicion clouded his sharp features. This time Ambrose directed his next question towards Lilah. There was something about Vincent's small pout that he didn't fully trust.

"Why can't you just tell your family and have them fix it for you?" he asked. "I'm sure you guys have more than enough money to make them go away."

Lilah stiffened when he addressed her, unable to meet his eyes out of sheer embarrassment. "It's... not that easy. Our families go way back. Plus—" Lilah sighed, angrily pouring another cup of tea. "Jason's brother is marrying my sister. Adrian? The guy you met at the store. It's kind of a big deal. I can't ruin that for the family. It's a huge investment."

He vaguely recalled hearing something about a wedding between two feuding families. Betty was bursting with theories that he only half listened to. All he could think about was that it was kind of like reverse Romeo and Juliet. Only this time no one was dying.

"If you say yes, I'll let you start paying one of the bills."

At this Ambrose paused. Contributing more to the household besides food prep would certainly make him feel more...

Useful.

Like he was actually taking care of his family.

"And I can pay you!" Lilah chipped in. "We... don't get along. So it's not like this will be super easy, right? So why don't we treat it like a job? To... make things easier. That way you're not wasting your time and you'll get more than... the joy of paying bills?"

Lilah never knew anyone that was eager to pay a bill. But the offer seemed to incite something in Ambrose. There was a noticeable shift in the way he carried himself. He also didn't throw her money back in her face like she thought he would.

Vincent let out a low whistle. "Oh. My. God. Ambrose can get, like, escort prices."

Ambrose balked at the sudden declaration. "What?!"

"Not like that!" Vincent snickered. The image of Ambrose moonlighting as an escort was one he was definitely going to share with Jill later. "Unless you guys plan to have sex—"

"Absolutely not!"

"Fuck no!"

Their eyes met. Lilah broke eye contact first. Her cheeks flushed red, darkening her sepia hued skin. She rubbed her face, mortified by the implication of exchanging money for sex. And with Ambrose of all people!

Never in a million years!

"Then," Vincent continued, hushing Ambrose with a finger to the lips, "that leaves dates. You can charge per outing. Or per hour. What's the going rate?" he asked, glancing at Lilah. "Five hundred dollars?"

"That's the average price," she replied, making another cup of tea to soothe her nerves. "Cheaper escorts charge two hundred. High-end ones charge one thousand dollars and up."

Ambrose placed his hands on his hips. "So, you two are just regularly buying escorts now, then?"

"Of course not!" Lilah said, twisting her hands together. "New money does. They talk. We listen. That's all."

Ambrose closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He was losing his mind the longer he stayed in this stupidly complicated world of wealth.

"I'm thinking two hundred and fifty per outing would do. Then added perks like hand holding, kisses on the cheek, etcetera would incur more charges." Vincent hummed, staring into the distance as he thought of reasonable prices. "Twenty-five dollars per extra perk sounds reasonable, no?"

Lilah nodded, quickly doing the mental math. Hand holding was fine but she drew the line at kissing. Even if it was a simple peck on the cheek. Given they stuck to that plan, one date alone came out to two hundred and seventy-five dollars.

"That sounds reasonable."

Vincent clapped excitedly. "Great! You can take him to the events at the country club too! The game nights, the wine tasting." He gasped, waving wildly as he tried and failed to recall a certain name. "What's-her-face's winter wedding is in two weeks! Take him there too! Everyone is going. You can twerk on him in a dark corner or something."

Lilah willfully ignored that last part and the sinister gleam in Vincent's eyes. "Winifred Irvine and Wallace Kline. Match made in hell, those two. Are we sure that should be the big debut of, well, us?"

"Why not? Most people go to weddings for the drama, not because they actually care about who's getting married."

Lilah and Ambrose frowned. They didn't exactly agree with that twisted logic. Yet neither of them piped up since it was pointless to butt in when Vincent was on a roll like he was now.

"Give me your phone."

Vincent snatched it up the second Lilah placed it in his hand. He grabbed Ambrose by the tie and dragged him onto the balcony. Ignoring the biting cold, he arranged things to his liking so he could get a good picture.

Making sure the moon was behind Ambrose, Vincent flicked on the fairy lights. He positioned Ambrose so that some of the city life resided over his shoulder. Vincent tilted his head to the side so that Ambrose's eyes were illuminated just right then took a picture.

The best one had the upper right part of Ambrose's face bathed in a gentle light. His tanned skin looked sunkissed. The array of blues in his eye were properly highlighted. Strands of his dark hair covered part of his forehead and half of his strong nose appeared. His cheekbones were on point and that jawline was popping.

It was going to pique people's interest because there wasn't enough of Ambrose's face in the picture to tell who it was. But there was just enough to tell he was a fine piece of ass.

Good.

"Phone."

"Why?"

"Just give."

"You know, I never actually agreed to this," Ambrose muttered. He leaned closer when he saw Vincent go onto his instagram account. "What are you doing?"

"Deleting all your old posts. We're going for minimalist and mysterious." Vincent pushed Lilah towards the other side of the balcony. He smoothed out her hair so that it flowed down her back nicely. Tugging her wooly cardigan off one shoulder, he pulled her hand back to expose the emerald ring on her hand. A Carmichael heirloom that people from the right social class would recognize instantly. "Ambrose, hold her hand."

Lilah glanced over her shoulder, baffled by Vincent's request. "What?"

"Look, if we're gonna do this then we're gonna do it right." Vincent forced their hands together, chuckling softly. "Look at that! You just made twenty-five bucks. Now, relax your hand."

Ambrose took a deep breath. The things he did for people he barely knew left him flabbergasted.

He yearned for the days when Lilah was just an annoying rich girl and not a (possibly once-battered) woman with shitty exes.

At least Jill would be proud of him.

"Relax," Vincent hissed, peeved with the poor shots. "Lilah Bean, don't look over your shoulder. I don't want your face in the picture."

Ambrose shook the stiffness from his hand. When he enveloped Lilah's dainty hand in his own, his eyes widened a fraction to see how easily he swallowed her up.

Vincent adjusted his hold so that the ring could be seen. Ambrose watched as he took a picture of their joined hands and the upper right half of Lilah's body. Just over her bare shoulder were twinkling lights in the distance and a light dusting of snow.

He posted the photo with the caption being a single red heart plus the fire emoji and tagged Lilah.

Once Ambrose had his phone back he stared down at his now public account in a muted silence. "So, this is actually happening."

"You're doing a good deed and getting paid for it. Isn't that all that matters?"

Lilah perched her chin on Vincent's shoulder, huddling closer to him for warmth. "I've never fallen from quite this high. Fallin' into your ocean eyes."

"All your insta posts have lyrics. Gotta keep it in character." Vincent gave it a once over then nodded once he was satisfied. "You should do it."

Lilah held the phone in her hand. It weighed as much as a ton of bricks. Her uncertain eyes met Ambrose's annoyed gaze, second guessing herself.

"Do you accept it?" she asked quietly, feeling small when Ambrose's full attention was on her. "It has to look good, if we do it. It has to look real."

Ambrose's stomach sank. He saw that same look in her eyes when she was running away from Simon. That fearful, defeated expression that was there when she apologized to him.

Faced with it again, he spoke without thinking.

"Sure."

Lilah beamed and it was like the sun rose during the night. Taking a deep breath, she posted the image and sealed all of their fates.

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Vote and/or Comment if you enjoyed this part!

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QOTD: Well... what's the worst that could happen, right? How do you think Lilah × Ambrose will handle fake dating? If you were Lilah, how would you go about exacting your revenge?