They Made Me Confess To A Bricklayer, Then I Saw The Comments Chapter 06
That first week with Rowan, I was happy. Really happy.
But something felt off.
He’d buy me blended iced coffees and wait for me outside my classroom. When I talked, he looked me in the eye like nothing else existed.
But he never reached for my hand first. He never closed the distance on his own.
Every time I touched him, he’d go rigid for a second before slowly letting himself soften. He reminded me of a stray cat that had been hurt too many times, desperate for closeness and terrified of what came with it.
[In their past life, the second male lead was the one chasing her, but she thought he was annoying.]
[After they got married, she fought with him constantly and told him he wasn’t good enough for her.]
[He spent his whole life thinking she still loved Preston, and he never stopped making himself small for her.]
[He died in a car crash with a photo of the drama queen still in his hands.]
I read those words, and something in my chest clenched tight.
After school that day, I dragged him up to the rooftop.
The sunset had washed the whole city in gold. He was leaning against the railing, and in that light, he was beautiful.
I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around him.
Every muscle in him locked up.
“Rowan.”
“…Yeah.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
He didn’t say anything.
I pressed my face against his back. His heart hammered under my cheek.
“I won’t fight with you, and I won’t tell you you’re not good enough. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Trust me.”
He was quiet for so long I thought he wasn’t going to answer.
Then he turned around and pulled me into him.
He held on so tight I could barely breathe.
“Serena, you have no idea how scared I am.”
His voice was muffled against the top of my head.
“I’m terrified I’ll wake up and none of this will be real.”
“That one day you’ll turn around and tell me you were only playing me.”
“That I’ll…”
He couldn’t finish.
I looked up. His eyes were rimmed red.
[The second male lead is crying!]
I rose on my toes and pressed a kiss to his chin. “It’s not a dream.”
He went still for a second. Then he smiled.
It was the first real smile I’d ever seen from him.
It knocked the breath right out of me.
[HOLY CRAP, the second male lead’s smile is UNREAL.]
[The male lead lost. It’s over for him.]
My heart stuttered. I went up on my toes, reaching for his lips.
He turned away, ears burning red. “Can we… can we do that at home?”
“What’s wrong with right here?”
“People can see us.”
I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.
He pulled me back toward the stairwell. His ears stayed red the whole way.
But the good times didn’t last.
That weekend I went home for dinner, and the second I walked in, I could tell something was wrong.
“Serena, are you seeing that broke construction worker?”
I set down my fork. “His name is Rowan. He has a name.”
“I don’t care what his name is.”
My mom’s voice rose. “You took three million dollars and put it into his company?”
“Mom, the second you gave it to me, it became my money.”
“And who gave it to you in the first place?” She slammed her hand on the table.
“Do you know what people are saying? That the Sterling girl got played by some broke kid, lost her money, and lost her dignity!”
I took a breath. “Mom, he’s not a scammer.”
“He’s a construction worker. What could he possibly know about running a business?”
“He started a company, and he has a patent. It’s valued at ten million. Preston’s shell company is the one that’s actually a scam.”
My mom scoffed. “Has he brainwashed you?”
I didn’t want to fight. I stood up.
“Mom, do you trust me or not?”
“Trust you? When have you ever made a good call?”
I froze.
[Serena’s mom really went for the throat with that one.]
[She doesn’t mean it like that, though. She’s just scared her daughter’s getting scammed.]
I didn’t say another word. I turned and went upstairs.
I texted Rowan. [My mom is not on board.]
He replied instantly. [I know.]
[How do you know?]
[Because I’m broke.]
I stared at the message. It made me smile and ache at the same time.
A few minutes later, another text came through. [I’m coming to your house tomorrow.]
[Are you insane? She’ll throw you out.]
[Even if she throws me out, I’m still coming.]
[The second male lead is so brave.]
[He’ll throw away his pride for his girl without thinking twice.]
The next day, he showed up.
He was wearing the black suit I’d given him, hair neatly combed, carrying two bottles of the bourbon my dad loved.
My mom opened the door. Her face was stone.
He extended his hand. “Mrs. Sterling. I’m Rowan. Serena’s boyfriend.”
My mom didn’t move from the doorway. “You’re not welcome here.”
“Mom!” I flew down the stairs.
He caught my eye and shook his head, just barely.
Then he pulled a stack of documents from his briefcase and held them out to my mom.
“Mrs. Sterling, this is everything: company filings, patent records, and a three-year business plan.”
“The company is currently valued at ten million. Serena’s three million gives her a thirty percent stake.”
“I won’t let her lose a cent.”
My mom took the documents and started flipping through them. Her expression shifted.
She looked him over, really looked, for the first time.
“You were a construction worker?”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
“Still building things, technically.” He paused. “The materials are just code now.”
I couldn’t hold back a laugh.
My mom shot me a look, then stepped aside. “Come in.”
Rowan glanced at me, and I caught the ghost of a smile in his eyes.
The meal went better than I expected.
My dad never cared who I ended up with, as long as it wasn’t Preston.
After a couple glasses of bourbon, he clapped Rowan on the shoulder.
“You’re a lot better than the Crawford kid, I’ll give you that.”
My mom rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.
At the door, I turned to him. “How did you know the documents would work?”
He looked down at me. “Because your mom isn’t unreasonable.”
“She’s just scared you’re being taken advantage of.”
I looked up at him, and something warm flooded through my chest.
“Rowan.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you like this with everyone?”
He thought about it for a second. “Just you.”