HIS FORCED WIFE

One Date Won't Hurt

Thursday.

Tristan was sitting on the sofa, a laptop in front while he was typing a mail. His eyes soon settled on the gun beside him. The silencer he had attached before still covered the gun. Events from morning flashed in his mind. A frail woman, but brave. One would run away from a crime scene in no time, but she didn’t. Or maybe she was stupid.

He had this urge to find if the correct option is brave or stupid, but he thought he had much more to do than going after a woman to check her mental level, and he continued typing.

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“How’s my favorite Romaisa?” Charlotte asked while I was walking down the stairs, rubbing my eyes and praying I don’t fall.

“Hungry,” She sighed.

“I am always hungry, Charlie, I always need food. Why do I always need food?”

“I don’t know that, probably have a fast metabolism, high blood sugar levels, or intestinal worms,”

“Ewwwww,”

“But I do know I need to feed you, all of you,” she smiled. I looked up at her. My dear aunt, A weird woman. I am scared to be her one day. She wanted to be a doctor, a practicing doctor. But Uncle Stephan, who was her boyfriend and fiance, wanted to settle down and start a family. She choose her love over her dreams, thinking he was a superior dream, and they both were married on the same day she received her Acceptance letter for an MD degree from the University of California. She never went. She is just a housewife now, in a relationship with little love. She could have been a senior doctor today, working in a big hospital, doing what she loves, rather than cooking meals for her and her husband’s extended family like me. Stephan and Charlotte respected each other, but I never saw love. They were living together but I never saw them close.

I pushed my hair behind my face and lay my head on the hands on the table, looking at my aunt as she turned on the stove and put a pan on it, adding oil, and breaking an egg on it. I wondered if her mother was right. I wondered if Charlotte ever regretted her decision. A pleasant smile always covered her face, while she was working around the house. She even had that smile on right now, While she was scrambling the eggs. This smile made me wonder. Wonder if she was actually happy or if it was a sad smile. I never came to a conclusion.

“Back to earth, Rumi,” April shook my head and sat next to me.

I ate my breakfast while chatting with April.

“Oh, and I’ll be needing your clothes, I didn’t bring mine,” I said.

“I thought you didn’t like my style,” Said April looking me up and down.

“I don’t but It’s an emergency so, I’ll have to mix and match your boring style to make something pretty,”

Soon enough I was the upper body in the closet. An utter disappointment can be given the title to this closet. A few shirts, all basic shades; Jeans, All basic; Few neutral frocks.

“This looks like a closet of a woman who works in Tax insurance, and hates her life,”

“I do work in a multi-national firm,”

Sighing, I settled on a white tank top and jeans, with a mustard long shirt with open buttons. I dressed up, folded the sleeves up, folded the jeans up, and tied my hair in a bun. A silver bracelet on my left arm, which I asked April to secure up, cause doing that shit with one hand is scary. A final look in the mirror and I was ready to go.

“You are extra,” April commented, “Just going to school, Chill,”

“You are so basic, Life is fun,” I said and grabbed my bag walking to the door, “and colors,”

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I was in the cafe with Noah, cringing at the cold coffee that I just brought and feeling like puking at all too much sugar in it, that it felt like a sugar shake.

“That is why I’ll be working in a multinational company, No excess sugar in anything, no less sugar in anything, everything will be perfect,”

“Guess what?” Annabelle said approaching me all too excited.

“What?” I asked reciprocating the excitement. “Justin wants to ask you out,” She said hugging me.

“What?” I asked again, this time not reciprocating the excitement.

“Oh common, It’s Justin. Justin Hudson,” She said annoyed.

I gave her a ‘what are you getting at’ head shake and squinted eyes.

“I would’ve jumped at the opportunity of the Hottest, funniest guy asking me out,”

“I am not you, Ana. I am not into cliches,”

“How do you know he is planning on that,” Noah inserted.

She smacked her lips, “I overheard Jim Lea, talking about him overhearing Justin talking about being nervous about asking you out,”

“High schools are weird,” Noah commented and got back to his book. We both glanced at him and shook our heads. The cute nerd.

“Youll say ‘Yes’ to him right?”

“No,”

“What do you mean No,”

“That I would politely refuse him,”

“You know what Romaisa, This is enough for me, I have been trying since forever to convince you and you never ever agree,” She was getting angry now. It was a rare sight.

“I never ask you to try,” I reasoned politely.

“Yeah right, I never asked you to convince me to be getting the good grades, to fuckin study, You pushed me through, hell you stayed nights with me before exams,”

“That is different, Your future depends on your grades, it is important,”

“That is what you think, And now I think your future depends on this date, and you will go. Just like I agreed to your demands, you have to return the favor. It is important,”

“Why are you so keen on this,” I smiled.

“Because you are missing out and you are wrong upon doing this yourself. You are wrong about love and dating,” She said, her voice low and urging.

“I am not going to fall in love with him on this first date,” 

“This first date will lead to a second one, and then a third and many more and soon you will find yourself loving him,” She reasoned.

“What if it doesn’t go well,”

“What if it does,” She smiled.

“And even if it didn’t. At least it will serve as an icebreaker for you,” Said Noah.

I sighed heavily, looking between both of them.

I heard someone clearing a throat. I turned around and saw light blue eyes, straight nose, and curly brown hair. He was the hottest guy in the school. Justin and I had three classes together. and I often found him glancing in my direction, and I would too sometimes smile at him.

“Hey Rumi,” He smiled flashing his pearls.

“Hi,” I greeted moving my hair from my face.

“I…,” he licked his lips, “wanted to know if…You’d like to go out with me, whenever you are free,”

I opened my mouth and closed it.

“You mean like a date?” I asked.

“Yes,” His smile turned sheepishly, “I would really appreciate a date with you, This weekend?” His eyes held a cute hope. I smiled. One date won’t hurt much though.

“Okay, I’ll come,”