I'm In Love With My Bestfriend's Billionaire Fiance!
Chapter 110: Friend Of Lena’s

Chapter 110: Friend Of Lena’s

(Kira’s POV)

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"I’m a friend of Lena’s."

The words hung in the air like a memory, fresh and crisp. They had left my mouth in a breathless stammer, barely louder than a whisper, but far louder than I wanted them to be. They dangled in the air like a noose, tightening with every heartbeat. My stomach dropped.

Maddie didn’t move, though. She stood still in the doorway, the sunlight forming a crooked halo behind her, outlining her silhouette in a stark glow. Her shadow spilled toward me, long and unmoving. The silence between us stretched thin and taut, every second ticking by like a warning.

I didn’t dare blink.

My lips were still parted slightly, frozen in the wake of the impulsive lie. And it was a lie, wasn’t it? At least now. Because "friend" was a paper-thin veil for a relationship that had turned complicated, secretive—dangerous. I wasn’t just Lena’s friend. I was her girlfriend. Was it going to be too forward of me to tell her that I was the one fucking her daughter?

I was currently standing on her doorstep with a bag of groceries and a story that was either going to make me sound crazy, or have her call the cops. I didn’t like either option.

Maddie’s eyes narrowed just slightly, the sharp kind of squint that suggested she had been around too long and seen too much to let anything slip by easily. I watched her chest rise and fall, slow and deliberate.

"Lena?" she repeated after a while, as though tasting the name.

I tensed. Here it comes.

Then something shifted in her. The hard edges of her expression softened. Her brow relaxed, her mouth twitched upward into a look of pleasant surprise, and her voice warmed like thawing ice.

"You’ve got to be kidding me!" she said, the suspicion melting away as if it had never existed. "She didn’t tell me she was sending someone over."

A small breath escaped my lungs—relief wrapped in disbelief. I barely stopped myself from staggering backward.

"Oh..." I said, scrambling to keep the lie alive. I forced a light chuckle, like this whole thing was no big deal. "It was impromptu. She always told me she had family in Lakeview, and, uh... a work errand brought me out this way. So, when I told her that I was in the neighborhood, she asked me to pick up a few things for you."

I held up the bags like some kind of peace offering, hoping the gesture made the words sound more natural.

Maddie laughed—a sharp, throaty sound that bounced off the stucco walls of the porch. "My God," she said, "that’s so sweet. Honestly, that girl—always thinking of others. Come on in."

The invitation hit me like a slap.

"What?" I asked, too quickly.

She tilted her head. "I said, come in."

My throat tightened. "You don’t have to—really. I was just going to drop these off and head back out."

"Nonsense!" Her tone snapped like a whip. "You come all this way in this godawful heat, you bring groceries, and you think I’m just going to let you walk off without so much as a glass of water or tea? What kind of woman do you take me for?"

"Uhm..." I stammered.

However, she didn’t wait for my answer. Maddie turned on her heel and vanished into the house, leaving the front door swinging wide, its hinges groaning softly like something out of a horror film.

I stood on the threshold, the grocery bags suddenly heavier in my hands.

This was not part of the plan.

Maven hadn’t said anything about going inside. The text—so cold, so precise—had only said deliver the groceries. No mention of small talk. No sipping lemonade on the porch. No getting cozy with the mother of the girl I was trying desperately not to destroy.

With a weighted sigh, I crossed the threshold, letting the front door ease shut behind me with a faint, echoing thud that felt far too final.

The temperature dropped the moment I stepped inside. It wasn’t just the literal coolness—though the house was noticeably darker and colder than the punishing Lakeview heat outside. It was the kind of chill that curled along your spine and whispered, "You don’t belong here."

My footsteps were swallowed by the thick carpet as I moved further in. The air smelled of old wood polish and lavender, tinged with something else I couldn’t quite place—stale silence, maybe, or the lingering presence of too many memories.

Then I saw them.

Photos. They were everywhere; lining the walls, propped on narrow glass shelves... filling every available surface with frozen moments of mother and daughter through the years. Maddie and Lena. Maddie, with her arms wrapped around toddler Lena on a sun-drenched beach. Lena in pigtails and overalls, sitting on Maddie’s lap beside a Christmas tree. Graduation day; Lena beaming in a cap and gown while Maddie clutched her tightly like she’d never let go.

The bond between them was etched into every frame—unmistakable, unshakeable. Love, loyalty, time.

I stopped walking.

It was more than just a showcase of family photos. It was a shrine. A declaration. Maddie didn’t just love her daughter—she lived through her. And now I was standing in the very center of that devotion like a ghost that had slipped in unnoticed.

A ghost with too many secrets.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry despite the cool air. My eyes lingered on one particular photo—Lena, a little older, maybe twenty. Her eyes sparkled, her arm slung around Maddie’s shoulder, both of them laughing at something unseen. They looked invincible. Like nothing could ever tear them apart.

What would Maddie say if she knew?

The thought crept in, uninvited.

What would she say if she discovered her daughter was into girls?

Would that warm, glowing pride in her eyes harden into something colder? Would the woman who just now offered me tea and hospitality suddenly slam the door in my face if she knew who I really was to Lena?

I shook my head, trying to dispel the image. I knew Lena. She wasn’t the type to keep secrets. She had practically begged me to come out—to tell my friends, my family, the world. She wanted to be seen, to live out loud. She wanted to openly be with me. I was the one who insisted on staying hidden.

Would Lena really keep Maddie in the dark?

And yet... if she had told her, then what the hell was I doing standing here, pretending to be just a friend?

A hollow sensation opened in my chest. One I wasn’t prepared to look too closely at.

From the kitchen, the soft sound of a faucet running broke the stillness. The clinking of glass. Maddie’s voice called out, light and casual.

"Have a seat, please. I’ll make some chill tea—it’s the only cure for this darn heat."

"Thank you," I murmured, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Nothing about this day was going according to plan. And from the look of things, it was about to get way worse!

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