Chapter 5 - Maddie: Marry Me
I walked into the grocery store pushing my empty cart. I needed to get more food because Lily had started devouring more portions, and I needed to buy triple what I was normally used to buying.
My mind was still replaying Arnold’s words.In order to get the inheritance, you need to be married.
Stressed was not even the right word to describe what I was feeling right now. How was I going to get someone to fake-marry me? To make matters worse, I had not only said that I was engaged, but that my supposed fiancé was from Riverroad.
If I fake-married someone from here, they would surely spill everything. I may have left this town when I was seven years old, but I still remembered how everyone was in each other’s business. No one could keep a secret here.
There were a handful of people I trusted in this town. Okay, there was only one person I trusted in this town and even she would spill the beans to her man.
If that dumb dumb Daniel hadn’t cheated with Amy, I could have just asked him to marry me. We would have been dating for over two years now if we had stayed together. Marriage would have been the most logical step for us.
I groaned. I sounded like my mother. I was talking about a commitment of love like it was a business deal.
6 months ago
I had spent the last few hours in a club dancing with my ‘friends’ until my feet were throbbing and painful. I had planned to drink till I blacked out, but that was when my boyfriend had said he would go with me, but he was busy. He was always busy nowadays.
I was home four hours earlier than I had planned to be. Usually, I got home from the club around four a.m. at the very least, but tonight, I was tired. I didn’t feel like hanging with fake friends who only wanted to be around me for my status and connections.
I needed to turn it off. I was tired of playing nice and cordial. I wanted to break in my boyfriend’s arms while he rubbed my back. Expensive wine and loud music weren’t what I needed. I needed peace, and Daniel could offer me that.
I would have loved his arms days ago, but he had been in LA for the past three days. The night I returned from my parents, he had left the following morning before the sun was even up.
I couldn’t be mad, though. He was doing very well for himself. He was on the cover of British Vogue, and his career was slowly moving forward. I was proud of him. I had helped him with finding the right agents, changing his wardrobe, and taking him to the right parties.
I loved that he was successful which meant that we could both thrive, but I didn’t need his success right now; I wanted and needed his support.
I unlocked my door and entered my apartment. I was planning on moving out of Vandlewoods Tower because I needed more distance between my parents who were just upstairs in the penthouse.
I kicked off my heels and placed my bag on the small table at the entrance. All the lights were out which meant that Daniel was asleep. I walked through the darkened rooms and made my way toward the master bedroom.
I stilled.
The bedroom light was on and, not only that, I could also hear grunting and moaning from my boyfriend. I closed my eyes, taking in a few calming breaths.
He’s watching porn, I said to myself. He had to be watching it because, if he wasn’t and he was doing what I thought he was doing, I was going to castrate someone soon.
I walked to the door and pulled it open, then I heard her.
“Yes Dan,” Rachel moaned Daniel’s name.
Really? My boyfriend is cheating on me with my best friend? Could this get any more of a fucking cliché?
I went into an angry daze. All I could see was red hot fury.
I threw things at the two people who were meant to love me and be the most loyal. Rachel had tears streaming down her face, yelling her apologies, but they only made me angrier. I tried to jump her, but Daniel caught my waist and pulled me away from her.
I punched him in the face and he cussed me out. There may have been some blood oozing out his nose, but I didn’t care.
I threw his clothes out from the 29th floor. There was some crying, not from me but from him. It had more to do with me throwing out the designer clothes I had bought him.
When I pushed him out the front door in nothing but a pillow that was hiding his junk, he said one thing that I knew would stick with me for months.
“You are the most difficult person to love, Maddison. How can you expect me to love and be loyal to a cold-blooded monster?”
I slammed the door in his face and walked back to my room, then laid in my bed the entire night.