Fake Date, Real Fate Chapter 106: Meet the Family

ISABELLA’S POV

The warmth of Adrien’s palm was steady on my cheek, his breath brushing mine, slow and deliberate.

His forehead leaned against mine, and the world had shrunk to nothing but the space between us—soft, suspended, trembling on the edge.

He was about to kiss .

And I was going to let him.

Then—

BANG.

The door flung open like it had sothing urgent to announce.

"Bella?"

I flinched so hard I nearly jolted off the bed. Adrien froze too, fingers still half-pressed to my jaw.

There, standing in the doorway, was Leo holding a lunchbox like it was a peace offering. He blinked. Then blinked again. Behind him, my dad stepped in, eyes imdiately sweeping over , pausing on Adrien, then drifting to our still-entwined hands. His expression turned unreadable in the way that made my stomach lurch.

"Dad," I blurted before my brain could stop .

Adrien straightened, already half-rising to introduce himself like the polite, well-bred man he is. "I’m Adrien W—"

WHACK.

Aria appeared out of nowhere and stomped directly on his foot. Hard.

"Ow!" Adrien hissed, recoiling slightly and glaring at her. "What the—"

"Fly," Aria said smoothly, face the picture of innocence. "Had to kill it. You’re welco." She gave a smile that say’s you-better-play-along.

Leo was now staring, wide-eyed, as if witnessing a drama unfold. His eyes jumped between Adrien and , down to our hands, then back to Adrien’s face. "Wait..." he said slowly, eyebrows rising, "is this guy your new boyfriend?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Adrien rubbed his foot, clearly restraining himself from saying sothing snarky.

"He is—" I started.

"He’s hot," Leo finished helpfully, still staring. "Damn. I have a handso brother-in-law?"

Adrien coughed into his fist to hide a laugh. Aria looked like she was thriving in the chaos.

My dad, however, wasn’t laughing.

He stepped forward, gaze heavy on Adrien. "And who exactly are you?"

"Uh." My brain scrambled. "This is Adrien."

Aria looked horrified for a split second before I hastily added, "Adrien... Washington. He is, um... my boyfriend." I cleared my throat.

Aria let out a sharp, fake giggle. "Yup. Adrien Washington. Totally normal, non-suspicious man with a suspiciously nice jawline."

Leo was still gawking. "Bro, you look like you just stepped out of a fragrance ad."

Adrien gave a small, polite nod. "Nice to et you," he said, sohow managing to keep his voice even despite the stamp-related trauma.

My dad didn’t say anything at first. Just looked at Adrien. Looked at . Looked at our hands. Then, very slowly, nodded once.

Leo, oblivious, walked to the bed and dropped the lunchbox beside . "I got your favorite sandwich, Bella. Thought you might need actual food. Hospital food looks like alien sli."

I took it gratefully, still trying to recover from the near-heart attack of Adrien almost saying Walton.

Beside , he leaned back just slightly, his fingers brushing mine under the blanket in a silent question.

I didn’t pull away.

I squeezed.

And across the room, Aria mouthed two words dramatically: You’re welco.

Dad sat in the chair close to the bed, arms crossed, that polite-but-not-polite tone settling in. The one he used when talking to soone who might be trying to sell him sothing just slightly illegal.

"So, Mr. Washington... what is it you do?"

Adrien smiled, calm and effortless. "I work in managent systems, optimization, that sort of thing."

Technically not a lie. Just not the whole truth.

Dad nodded slowly, but I could already feel the gears turning in his head.

"And how long have you and my daughter been together?"

My mouth opened before Adrien could craft sothing smoother. "A week," I said, then imdiately regretted it. "I an, officially."

Leo let out a low whistle. "A week and we’re already playing et-the-parents in a hospital. That’s so speed run relationship content."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Fast."

Adrien gave a soft chuckle. "Sotis you et the right person and it doesn’t feel fast. Just... inevitable."

I stared at the floor. Did he rehearse that line? Why did it make my heart hiccup?

"And how did you two et?" Dad asked. The question was gentle. The edge behind it? Not so much.

Adrien didn’t even blink. "She used to work at a bakery. I... went there a lot."

He said it so smoothly, so confidently, my brain short-circuited. A bakery? He’d never been to the bakery where I previously worked at. He’d never seen there. How the actual hell did he know? And how did he co up with such a plausible, utterly mundane detail?

He didn’t sweat neither did he hesitate.

He just delivered the line like it was a well-practiced script written just for this mont.

My dad drew in a long breath, considering this and shrugged. "Fair enough. Guess the important thing is you two seem to really know each other."

I nodded. Swallowed. Adrien’s fingers tightened on mine.

Dad’s eyes flicked to where Caron leaned casually against the wall, sipping from a juice box he must’ve got when aria dragged him and the nurse out so they can get ice-cream.

"And the other gentleman?" he asked lightly. "The one who’s been standing there like a very polite bodyguard. He with you?"

Adrien didn’t miss a beat. "That’s Caron. A close friend."

Caron straightened like he’d just been knighted. "Also part-ti emotional support human, unpaid chauffeur, and professional snack critic. I multitask."

Leo laughed out loud. "Okay, I like this guy already."

Aria tilted her head at Caron. "You drink juice boxes like they’re fine wine."

He looked at her, deadpan. "That’s because I have taste."

"Mmhm," she said, popping her lollipop back in. how dare she get a lollipop without ? "You look like soone who reads nutritional labels for fun."

"You look like soone who bullies the guy reading nutritional labels."

I blinked. Okay. So that’s how this is going to go.

Dad was watching them now too, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. He glanced at Caron. "You two know each other?"

"t today," Aria replied quickly, almost defensively.

"Half an hour ago," Caron added, not helping.

Leo leaned forward from the chair, eyeing them both with interest. "Wait... seriously?"

"Seriously," Aria said.

Leo looked between them, his expression turning curious and oddly impressed. "You guys seem like you’ve been bickering for years."

Dad chuckled. "They match."

Leo snapped his fingers, like that sealed it. "Right? That’s what it is. You’re both chaotic. Equally snarky. A little intimidating. You match."

Aria shook her head. "No, we don’t."

Caron shrugged with a sly smile. "I an... if the matching shoe fits."

Aria narrowed her eyes. "You’re enjoying this."

"Only a little," he replied.

Dad folded his arms, lips twitching like he was holding back a smile. "He’s not wrong. You two make a strange kind of sense."

Aria gaped. "Okay, what? No. I don’t even know him."

Leo shrugged. "Give it a week."

"Absolutely not."

Caron, voice deadpan: "I feel like I’ve just been proposed to."

Aria rolled her eyes so hard they nearly detached. "If I had to marry every guy I dragged to ice cream, I’d be—never mind."

Caron blinked. "Wait. How many guys—?"

"Don’t worry about it," she said sweetly.

Leo grinned. "Can we all just acknowledge how wild today is? Bella’s got a mystery man with good cheekbones, Dad’s halfway convinced, and Aria might’ve found her verbal sparring partner."

"I did not," Aria muttered.

Caron turned to her, casually sipping from his juice box. "We’re off to a great start, partner."

"I’m gonna throw that juice box at you."

"Please don’t. It’s mango."

Leo was beaming. "This is the best hospital visit ever."

****

Nurse Maria ca back with a clipboard, her smile calm and professional. "You’re all set, Miss Miller. The doctor says minimal pressure on the ankle for the next three days and lots of rest. You will heal fast."

I gave her a grateful nod, though I was already ntally calculating how soon I could ignore that advice without Adrien launching into a TED Talk on ligants and long-term stability.

Adrien helped off the bed with unnecessary gentleness, like I was glassware he didn’t quite trust gravity with. Leo hovered beside like a human guardrail, still fussing even though I’d sworn I was fine fifteen tis and counting.

"I parked close," Adrien said lightly, already offering his arm. "Let take you ho."

Dad didn’t protest. Which was... suspicious. He just nodded once, quietly falling into step behind us as we moved down the corridor. Leo carried my bag like he’d been deputized by so invisible sibling alliance, glancing at every three seconds to double-check I wasn’t limping too much.

Then we stepped outside.

And that?

That was when Leo froze.

"What... car... is that?" " he asked slowly, pointing like it might vanish if he blinked too fast.

Adrien’s black vehicle glead like a threat under the day’s light.

"The new Razor S9?" Leo whispered, eyes wide. "Wait—this model hasn’t even launched yet. This is a prototype."

"Pre-release courtesy. Friend of a friend."

Leo gaped. "What kind of friend has that kind of friend?"

Adrien shrugged modestly. "The kind who really likes fast toys."

"Dude," Leo breathed. "This thing isn’t even on the market yet. It looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie."

Beside him, Aria let out a low whistle, slow and appreciative. "Okay, I’ll give you that — she’s pretty."

Caron glanced at her, surprised. "You’re into cars?"

Aria smirked. "I appreciate good engineering. And she purrs like a spoiled cat."

Leo looked between them all, then back at . "I don’t know who your boyfriend really is, Bella, but he’s either rich, famous, or in the mafia."

"I vote none of the above," I said quickly.

Adrien, to his credit, only gave a light chuckle and opened the passenger door for but I caught the briefest flicker in his eyes — like he’d heard that joke before, more than once.

Dad had already taken the back seat without a word, his silence sohow more intimidating than if he’d asked questions.

Caron lingered near the curb, clearly not fitting into the seating plan.

Aria nudged him with her elbow. "You can ride with . My car’s over there."

He glanced at her warily. "Is this a real offer or a trap?"

She rolled her eyes. "It’s a ride, Juice Box. Try not to be dramatic."

Caron looked at the car, then at her, then at her keys. "What kind of car do you drive?"

Aria’s grin widened. "One that doesn’t whine when it hits 240 on an open highway."

Leo let out a laugh. "She’s not kidding."

Caron sighed and followed her across the lot. "If I die, soone tell my mom I died stylish."

"You’ll die because you can’t handle acceleration," Aria called over her shoulder.

As Adrien pulled out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of Aria’s coupe pulling out beside us.

"They match," Leo said thoughtfully from the backseat.

Dad, still unreadable, gave a short grunt. "of course they do."

I didn’t say anything. Just leaned back in the leather seat and let the quiet hum of the engine take us forward.