She sat across the table from the young man, threading the napkin through her fingers, tearing off pieces as he went on about their deal.
"And that is pretty much everything I offer." He smiled, just a little too smugly.
She couldn't believe the situation she had put herself in and what's even worse, was that she really needed it. Really, really needed it. She could only picture what her sister would think if she ever heard what she was doing. In reality, this behavior wasn't her at all and she couldn't help but cringe at the desperation rising in her, telling her to just take the deal already.
"So do we have a deal...?" He brought her back from her thoughts, as if he could feel the uncertainty she was emitting from across the table. As she looked at the young man sitting across from her she couldn't help but blush. She did try to choose the best man she could when browsing through the various varieties of men on the website she googled. She clearly remembered her eyes scrolling across all the available young men, waiting for her to click the red button that said "rent me," and in that moment she saw Joshua. In his photo he seemed like a very calm, collected man who could just do the job assigned and moved on, but the moment he stepped into the diner she knew that he was trouble.
He coughed suddenly, hoping to bring her back into the real world, away from the many thoughts that circled her mind. She opened her mouth to say something but then shut it again. Was this really a good idea...is this really what it had come to?
"Yeah, we have a deal." She answered and reached across the table to shake his hand. He smiled and took her hand in his, showing his dominance over her already.
"Well Ms. Ortega, I guess we're all set. I'll see you tomorrow at the hotel..." He excused himself and dropped a twenty on the table, paying for their coffees and whatever else she wanted to order. She half smiled up at him and watched as he threw his leather jacket over his shoulder and walked out.
"How cliché" she mumbled and rolled her eyes a bit.
So the deal was made, Danielle Ortega had officially hired a man to play the role of fiancé, to make her ex-boyfriend jealous at her upcoming sister's wedding. She wanted to laugh at how silly she was being but then she remembered the heartbreak she suffered when dating Stephan. He was her four year, long term relationship and for the longest time, she could really see herself living the most amazing life with him. Stephan was charming and attentive, anything Danielle wanted he had it for her on a sliver platter. He was romantic and sweet, swooping her off her feet with the candle light dinners on yachts that his family owned. After two in a half years, Stephan surprised her by bending on one knee and begging her to make him the luckiest man in the world and without a hesitation she screamed yes at the top of her lungs. She could still remember how his lips tasted when she kissed him, or the way his face lit up with something she couldn't register before he smiled at her. Somewhere along the years, he became distant but she paid no mind to his strange behavior but she regretted that she didn't. She wished then that she could've known what that look was on the day of their engagement before she planned an extravagant wedding only to be left at the isle. Her mind flashed back to that moment when her sister stood at the double doors, a look of pain on her face. Danielle's heals clicked against the tile flooring and her white chiffon dress cascaded around her, making her feel like a princess.
"Miranda, look happier! It's my wedding day" she laughed, but when her sister's grim look didn't stretch into a smile, hers instantly dropped. She grabbed her little sister's hand and begged her to tell her what was wrong. It was only then, when her sister squeezed her hand a little tighter than expected, did she realize that her wedding waltz wasn't playing and could hear the commotion coming from inside the church. She reached around her sister, hoping to take a peak and see what was going on but her sister pushed her back a little telling her to not step in there. Confused and irritated, she pushed the doors open and saw her guests standing up, speaking loudly to each other in worried voices.
"I bet he's not coming back,"
"Oh please, he wasn't going to marry her anyways, he was only using her,"
"So, where is he now anyways?"
"That poor girl, what will she do?"
Danielle remembers the feeling of dread starting from her legs and numbing her completely. Her bouquet of flowers fell to the floor as she stood there in shock of something she never expected...Stephan had abandoned her, humiliated her, used her, and then left her to pick up all the pieces alone. Danielle turned around in rage and stormed out of the church, hoping to find Stephan somewhere. Her dress flew in the wind as her legs carried her as fast as she could to the woods that connected to the church. One of the main reasons they chose this particular church was because buried in the woods there was a spot they named for themselves, throughout their four years of their relationship they would meet here when they had important things to tell each other, or when they were mad and needed time to cool down and would meet afterwards to make up. As she dragged her dress through the woods, she only hoped that he would be there. As she neared their spot she saw Joshua, sitting on an overturn tree trunk and staring at the ground with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. Danielle remembered the way her heart had melted at the sight of his smile, the smile that made her weak at the knees. She continued walking and stepped on a twig that caught his attention, she watched as his head sprung up and he stood up and stared at her as if she were a ghost.
"I know its bad luck if the groom sees the bride but I had to find you...you weren't in the alter and I assu-" she stared but was cut off when she heard another set of footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a woman dressed in jeans and a sweater stop in her path and stare in shock at both of them.
"Brittany..." Stephan's voice trailed off. He looked past her towards the woman and something inside her clicked.
"Stephan...please don't tell me this is what I think it is..." her voice cracked and she felt the hot tears well up in her eyes.
"Danielle...Listen, we had a good run but...I can't get married to you. We just don't click anymore, there's nothing about you that satisfies me anymore..." he said in an apologetic voice, as if that would make her feel any better. She glanced back and forth at both the people who played the biggest part in breaking her heart.
The man of her dreams, who was supposed to be vowing to her an eternity on the church alter right now.
And Brittany, who was "satisfying" Stephan more than Danielle apparently ever could.
As she looked at this woman, she could see why Stephan even fell for her. Her sleek, blond hair glided through the wind as her forest green eyes only kept Stephan in their sight. She couldn't help but hyperventilate when she realized that Stephan planned to run away with this woman on their wedding day, leaving her to put up with all the disastrous outcomes that he was leaving her to care for.
"Stephan...you can't leave me...please."
She hates herself for begging but he was the man of her dreams, he was the one that pushed her through medical school, who stayed up late at night with her to console her over her grandfathers death, he was the one who, during a romantic night of passion, promised to love her for all of eternity.
When she saw his eyes drop to the ground, not a word floating from his mouth she knew she was more to the story.
"Danielle...Brittany is pregnant...with my baby"
