What if we got married?

Fake love



“Let’s break up.”

“What? What are you talking about, Jeremy...?” I snapped, adjusting my clothes after we had just given in to passion.

“It’s my parents. They hate seeing you work in the kitchen. They say it doesn’t look good for our family. And I’m tired of their nagging every day. It’s best if we end this.”

“How can you say that to me now? We just had sex in a filthy storage room"all because you wanted to! Huh!? How can you be so shameless?”

“I told you many times that it bothered me. And to be honest, sometimes I feel a little embarrassed introducing you to my friends... when you’re serving them canapés.” Those words felt like a painful stab in my back that almost knocked the air out of me.

“You... you’re the one who got the most out of my job, going on all those trips and parties, and now I’m the one you’re ashamed of? You’re such a selfish bastard!” I pushed him over and over again as the mansion’s fountain roared behind us.

“How can you call me selfish when I’ve always looked out for our relationship! I asked you, just for today, not to serve greasy, smelly food at my cousin’s wedding and you didn’t care at all!”

“It’s my livelihood! What do you want me to do? Quit it for you?”

“See? Our social status is always in the way… you can’t even do something that simple for me.”

“So that’s what this is all about… the damn money, the status!” My eyes welled up with tears, and with fury I grabbed his shirt.

“If money’s all you care about and our relationship means so little to you… then pay me back the damn phone bills I covered, my car that you took, and the thousands of dinners I paid for because you said you’d pay me back when your dad unblocked your card!”

“W-what? What are you talking about… You’re crazy! Why are you throwing this in my face now? Don’t you think that’s really low?”

“You do owe me! I’m almost in the red because of you—and I wouldn’t have cared about any of that if our love had actually been real.” I looked at him, on the verge of breaking down, when suddenly he snapped.

“Enough, let go of me, paranoid freak!” He shoved me hard, causing me to fall to the ground, my hands taking the full brunt of the impact.

“Ouch!” I looked at my trembling hands, scraped and bloody, covered in grime from the rocky garden pavement. I looked up at the man I once thought would be the perfect partner for life.

“Remember who paid for your stupid catering company you wanted so badly, my family! So technically, you owe them the life you have now.”

“I never asked you for anything! You gave it to me for my first birthday together—how can you throw that in my face now?” I screamed, my voice cracking with pain.

“I don’t owe you anything, so don’t go around telling people I’m some kind of deadbeat… or I’ll know it was you. Got it?” He straightened his shirt and, looking nervously around, walked back toward the reception hall. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, trying to get up while sobbing in pain.

What was I going to do...? How could I have been so stupid? Paolo warned me so many times not to let him walk all over me, paying for everything he ever made me spend… but I never imagined he’d be so vile. How was I supposed to pay off all my debts now? I wiped my tears as best I could and headed toward the hall I had to finish my shift. After all, I no longer needed to attend the wedding as a guest.

As I opened the door, lost in my thoughts, I bumped straight into someone. I instinctively touched my nose, nearly falling again. He grabbed my arm quickly, spinning us around as he held my waist firmly.

“Careful!” he said firmly. Dazed by what had just happened, I looked up, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw who it was.

“Ismael...” I murmured without meaning to, his name just slipped from my lips. He looked puzzled and asked.

“Do we know each other?” Of course, we did. He was my first love and the man getting married today.