Love in Contract

Daniella’s POV

“Nooo, stop chasing after me” I screamed as I ran from my fiancé who was chasing after me in an open park. He didn’t listen, I kept running and laughing as he chased after me. He caught up with me and held my waist, I loosened his grip around me and ran from him again…faster this time, I ran out of breath and stopped, trying to catch my breath with my hands on my knees. 

“I am done playing with you” I said as I fell to the ground in defeat, staring at the sky with my hands on my chest still trying to catch my breath. He only laughed at me and teased me. 

“ I won you loser”. He said, smiling from ear to ear.

He sat beside me admiring my features and all I could do was smile, he stroked my hair gently and whispered “I love you”. 

“Stef…I have something to show you” I said, trembling inside,  as I  got up quickly and handed him an envelope.

“What’s this?” Stef asked in excitement, I grinned….”it’s a surprise”. 

I turned away from him as he opened it quickly and was stunned, he placed his hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at him.

“Read it” I said, holding my breath and waiting patiently for his reaction.

He went through the documents and it was a marriage registration form.

“We need to register our marriage, let’s go tomorrow”.

He agreed to go with me and my face lit up. I wrapped my hands around him and hugged him tightly. We went on about our day and I had so much fun. It has been ages since we went on a picnic. I felt very alive. 

“Come on Stef, let us take pictures” he agreed with a smile. 

Stef is so cute arghhh.

Stef and I have been dating for seven years now and we decided to take a big step. I’ve always dreamed of the perfect family with him and it’ll finally become a reality. We met in college and I fell for his looks, we started off as friends but now he’ll be my husband.

“Hi, we’re here to register our marriage” I said to the receptionist at the registry, smiling like a proud wife.

 He patted my head gently as I looked up at him lovingly. We sat at the reception and I took in all the artworks, I looked at the other couples waiting, my heart danced. The registration process went smoothly and I whispered to myself “we’re married now, I’m now a wife”.

“I’m going back to work, I’ll see you at home” he said as he  kissed my forehead and dashed out of the building.

 I blushed hard like it was his first time doing that. I walked to our new apartment  slowly, daydreaming of me walking down the aisle in my beautiful ball gown. I kept smiling till I got there.

My mom rented an apartment for us as an early wedding gift which I had to go check out, since I had nothing to do today, I decided to go. The place was homey and nice, I couldn’t wait to get married and move in so I decided to proceed with the next step as quickly as possible.

Things changed almost immediately, stef changed, he comes back home late and doesn’t give me as much attention. He always uses our wedding as an excuse.

“I’m trying to make enough money to give you the wedding of your dreams” he’ll say whenever I try to talk about it. 

“Stef…when can we go for dress fittings” I asked one random night two weeks later. 

But to my surprise, he got up to leave the bed.

“You can go on your own, I’m too busy with work. I need to make enough money for our wedding”.

 He picked up his phone to call someone, the call ended and he left the room.

I wasn’t thinking straight anymore and many things clouded my mind, but I tried to understand that he needed to make enough money for the wedding to be a success. I went for fittings on my own, checked catering companies, bakers and event centers all on my own while Stef comes home late each day. 

“You’re home late…again” I said in a low voice to Stef one day. He sits on the bed and rests his head on my lap. 

“Honey..I’m just really trying my best to make this a success, I’m trying to give you the wedding of your dreams, I’m working hard to get tips and get paid overtime. I’ll be here for you all the time when all this is over”. 

Stef works in a casino where he makes a good amount of money, he paid his college fees himself. He has a younger sister and was raised by just his mom who didn’t have enough money to send him to college. He started making money for himself at his young age and had already achieved so much before going to college. 

I felt hope  again and brushed aside the thought of everything, “it’ll be over soon”. 

The next day, I went to work early and happily. 

I own a small design company and have just two workers who I have to pay at the end of each month, it doesn’t matter if I have made any money that month or not. Thinking about this motivates me to work hard all the time. 

During lunch, I decide to visit Stef at his office to eat together, i quickly went home to prepare something small for us.I got there but Stef was nowhere to be found. I tried calling but he wasn’t reachable. 

“He’s probably working outside today, but he did not tell me anything” I muttered to myself while looking at the ground. 

I wanted to surprise Stef by moving our things to the new apartment on my own. I moved them bit by bit every day and in two weeks, I was done. During this time, Stef was on a business trip to Hong Kong, so the surprise was coming together. I was a bit sad he wasn’t here to see my efforts but I was still proud of myself.

I sat on the bed, looking around and praising myself for a job Welldone, I picked up my phone to call Stef but I stopped.

“He will be home tomorrow, I’ll wait for him”.

I took my bag, ready to leave. Walking towards the door to put off the lights, I stepped on something sharp that pieced through my foot.

“Ouch” I winced in pain, holding my left foot. 

I looked at the object that pierced my foot, studying it carefully… it was an earring. A hoop earring with diamonds on it.

“This isn’t mine…I have no piercings” I whispered to myself as I felt my world crumble.