His Accidental Bride

I sighed, rubbing my palms together and looking around the restaurant in search of him. 

    'Why is he not here yet?' I wondered, playing with my fingers. I have been waiting for my boyfriend, Dan for almost an hour but he still hasn't shown up and I was beginning to lose patience.

    "Heaven." I heard his soothing voice and broke into a smile, raising my head to meet his face. But the smile disappeared as soon as my eyes landed on him. 

    Dan was standing in front of me with his fingers interlaced with a lady whose everything about her screamed -fake!- 

    "Hey," I said dryly, finding my voice. I glanced at their interlaced fingers before looking at him. "Who is she?" I asked, trying my best not to sound harsh. 

    My brain was cooking up different theories and I tried my best to ignore them but the flash of guilt and nervousness in his eyes wouldn't let me. I just hoped that I was overthinking it. 

    A few minutes passed and when I still wasn't getting a reply from him I spoke up. "Daniel, I just asked a question." 

    He was beginning to scare me with his silence. 

    "Can we just sit and talk?" He requested, looking at me with pleading eyes. 

    I raised my hand, surrendering before nodding and sitting down. 

    Daniel cleared his throat and my heart began to palpitate. "Heaven, let me introduce this damsel properly to you," He began and the lady smiled sheepishly. "This is my girlfriend, Gloria and Gloria meet the lady I told you about, my ex-girlfriend, Heaven."  

    My eyes widened in shock as my brain tried to process what he had just said. What in the world was going on?

    Daniel sighed and licked his lower lip. An action that used to make me giddy but that was the least of my worries. 

    "I was the one who withdrew the money from your account." He started not daring to look at me. 

    "Then where have you been for the past few weeks? Squandering my money!?" I questioned, yelling. 

    After receiving a debit alert of $30,000 a month ago, Daniel disappeared. I knew it was him who took the money as he has access to my account and I kind of do too. 

    I expected him to call me and tell me what he had used the money for but he never did. 

    I had called several times but his phone was always switched off till he called me three weeks later apologising for his disappearance but he never mentioned the money and I just didn't press further because I thought I knew was going to come back to me. 

    How could I not notice that he was cheating?  

    "Squandering your money? I thought we agreed that what is mine is yours and what is yours is mine!?" He asked raising his voice too and making me flinch. 

    Pain tugged my chest as tears began to pool in my eyes. I thought we were going to meet talk, have dinner, go home and land on his bed but I was wrong after all. 

    I scoffed. "Seriously? When did you ever act like what you ever owned was mine too?" I retorted and he looked away. "I'll ask again, where the hell have you been, Daniel!" 

    "Utah," he muttered, fiddling with his hand. "Look, I'm sorry this is the way I have to end this relationship but I'm with my baby-" 

    "Would you stop this, Daniel!" I yelled standing up. 

    "You too stop it!" He bellowed, "I have a girlfriend now so you can go to hell for God's sake!" 

    My heart began palpitating as soon as I heard his words. I couldn't believe the guy I was always good to, the one who claimed he loved me was acting like this right now. 

    I grabbed my bag, glowering at the couple acting touchy despite what was going on. 

    "I curse the day I met you, Daniel!" I spat and without thinking twice, I picked the cup of water from the table and poured the water on his face earning me a gasp from both of them. 

    I sniffed trying to stop the tears in my eyes from spilling. "About the money, don't refund it. I don't want your goddamn money. And never contact me in your life again!" 

    I wiped the lone tear that escaped from my eyes and walked out of the restaurant. 

    "Come back here you bitch!" I heard his girlfriend's fake voice call me back but I was already done. 

    As I walked down the busy road of California, all I could hear were my thoughts. I regretted ever being in a relationship with Daniel. 

    I still couldn't believe he had broken up with me just like that. 

    "I've always warned you about that boy, Heaven." Elisa, my best friend, said after I briefed her about what happened today. 

    I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "I- I thought he really loved me." My voice came out as a whisper as I tried to stop tears from coming out of my eyes. 

    Just when I thought I had found the one and was ready to settle down this happened. Am I really meant to be alone?

    "Don't tell me you're crying!?" she asked, her voice fledged with worry. 

    I sniffed. "No." 

    "Com'on, Heaven! Why are you thinking of that scumbag!?" Elisa asked and I sighed, wiping tears away from my face. 

    "Can you just stop thinking about him? He is not worth your time and energy!" She told me. "I still can't believe you loved that scumbag this much." I could tell that she was angry. 

    "I detest myself for-"

    "Look, Heaven, you should stop thinking about the breakup. Remember, you have a flight to catch tomorrow and an interview a day after," She cut in. "Don't allow this to affect you." 

    God, how could I forget I have a flight to catch tomorrow?  

    My thoughts have been so blinded by Daniel's betrayal that I couldn't even remember such an important thing. I was going to relocate back to London where I was born and went to high school. Elisa had helped me in applying for a job at a firm and I planned to relocate with Daniel but... I'm glad this happened anyways. 

    "I'll get ready my stuff now," I told her, rising from my bed. 

    "You can do this!" she cheered, making me chuckle. What more could I ask of a best friend?

    "Thanks a lot, babe," I muttered before hanging up and throwing my phone on the bed. 

   Stretching my limbs, I stood up and began to arrange my stuff inside my luggage. 

    Tomorrow is going to be a long long day.