The Journalist

The Journalist (Chapter seventeen)

Chapter Seventeen.

"Yes." My voice cracked.

Drake stood there, his hand was still holding the box, I knew I couldn't do anything to change what I had just said. I had waited a year hoping one day Drake would turn up again and now, here he was. I didn't really expect him to propose after being so long away, but I knew I owed him my life and if he left now, I knew I would never see him again.

Just to make sure he had heard I said it again.

"Yes."

This time my voice was more certain. He slipped onto my finger a white diamond stone, I grinned, I was finally going to be a married woman with the man I loved.

Without hesitating we fell into an embrace, he pulled me into his arms and carried me inside. I couldn't help but notice how he kicked the Tiffany box out of his path and my heart sank thinking about Craig.

*

The next few months of my life were spent trying to plan the wedding, I couldn't have been more loved up than I already was!

It was the day of writing invitations and I had spent all morning sorting through lists of guests who I was going to invite and who I wasn't going to invite. Jenny was my maid of honor as I didn't have a sister and she was the closest thing to a sibling I had.

My Mom was constantly asking me if I thought I was rushing into things too early, and maybe I should wait, but I thought about how much pain I had already caused Drake and how he had risked his own life because he loves me and I owe him this much.

I was scanning the list, which was arranged in alphabetical order, and my pen hovered when it reached Craig. I hadn't seen or spoken to him since he left the Tiffany box. It didn't contain anything except for a post-it note saying I love you written in Craig's usual handwriting. I had kept the note in my purse.

Jenny noticed where I had stopped and looked at me sympathetically.

"Do you reckon he'll come." I asked her.

"If he wants to see you happy, why shouldn't he?"

I had told Jenny everything about what happened the night Drake had proposed to me, she told me that Craig had come into work less and less and looked even more awful each time.

"It's just, you know how things are."

She nodded. "He'll come around."

I smiled at her and wrote out Craig's invite to the wedding in two weeks time. I still felt something for Craig, but if he would have cared for me well enough at the time I needed him the most he would have saved me from the burning building, or at least helped Drake. I sighed, I think if it would have been him everything would have been different, especially the way I felt about him.

Craig's POV

I hadn't bothered to speak to Bliss since I had turned up to find her madly in love with Drake. It had only been the last couple of years she was expressing her hate for the person she was going to marry, I found it strange how fast she had changed her mind and it's my fault that she had even met him in the first place.

I pulled out the ring, that should be on her finger, out of my jacket pocket. I hadn't bothered to take it out since the day I faced humiliation and rejection. I wasn't going to expect an invite to her wedding she was probably living it up somewhere in a swanky apartment drinking pink champagne with Jenifer and hadn't given me a single thought.

My new P.A Yvonne walked into my office with a bunch of mail. I rolled my eyes. I could tell she had just re-touched her red lipstick and pulled her top down extra low which wasn't out of the ordinary when I was around. If it wasn't for meeting Bliss I would have lapped up all the attention from Yvonne, and I would have made sure her panties were on my bedroom floor by the weekend. Now everything had changed.

She tried to give me a seductive grin and I sighed heavily, she dropped the mail on my desk.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Alan?"

She reminded me so much of Shontelle the way her sweet voice was just a stupid cover up. I nodded. "I'm fine, Yvonne."

She nodded. "Is there anything I can give - I mean get you?"

She was obviously referring to her phone number but I just played it dumb by shaking my head, she scowled but quickly returned to her smiley self.

"Well, you know where I am." She winked and walked out.

I rolled my eyes, thank God she's gone, I much preferred Jennifer but she was in need of a well deserved promotion and I gave it her. I picked up the stacks of letters and casually went through them. I placed the bills into one pile for somebody to sort out, then the piles of  CVs for Bliss' job, which funnily enough hadn't been filled into the trash can, and then... my hand froze, I saw the thick white card and the silver italic writing. It was a wedding invite from Bliss. It had to be.

My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. It was official and I only had two weeks to convince her not to tie the knot, which was highly doubtful because she seems completely loved up. I had been wearing lounge pants and vests since we hadn't spoke but I needed to brush up if I wanted to impress her.

I grabbed my car keys and headed towards the elevator, when something caught my eye. Yvonne was reading US weekly and on the front were pictures of Bliss and Drake plastered on the front with a quote: 'How I saved her life from the burning building' 'How he Swept me off my feet from day one.'

I snatched the glossy magazine from Yvonne's grasp.

"Hey, what do you think- Oh Mr. Alan."

I smirked as she started to flap about with phone calls and type away on the company laptop. I flipped through the colourful pages when I landed on the article. It mainly went on about how much they loved each other and their future plans blah,blah, blah. I came to Drake's separate interview.

He had told the magazine about how he had saved Bliss' life from that building and from Shontelle, and how he was scared he was going to loose her. What a load of bull. I gritted my teeth and threw the magazine back at Yvonne who was shocked at my sudden out burst.

I clentched my fists, he had told Bliss that he had saved her life when I was the one who ventured through the smoke and flames and rescue her while he stood on the side-lines It wasn't like he even went in with me to help. If he was lying about saving her life, he was sure enough lying to her about other things and Bliss was too caught up in the fairytale to realise but I could see right through him.

If I wanted to get Bliss back I needed to find out what Drake Fox was up to. Call it paranoia but I know more about this love-rat than meets the eye.

Drake's POV

Don't get me wrong I was in love with Bliss. She was a great girl, she was utterly beautiful and would make a great mom. But after she sold all my secrets to Amour magazine, how could I forgive her? I needed to do something for revenge, right?

What would you do if someone sold your life story? You'd be mad. Furious. You'd want revenge. That's why I came back for Bliss, not for the whole wedding scene. I wanted to be with her just like I said. I don't think I'd love anyone as much. But after what she did, she needs a taste of her own medicine. Something bitter with a sweet-coated ending, that's what she was going to get.