CHAPTER 2: Manuel Buford

*ALANA*

        “When was being an orphan ever a problem to you?! You told you didn’t care! You told me you loved me for me. You promised me! You promised to always love  and protect me!” I yelled.

He rubbed his cheeks and shrugged. “Was I suppose to give up an investment opportunity for you? Julia’s dad is coming back to Bellbanks to settle down and she already assured me of an investment from Ford Group. Julia can give me everything! You couldn’t even give me sex.” He snarled.

         “You said you’d wait for me! We were going to get married.”

           “Alana, you’re a beautiful woman but I have to be practical. I stand to gain nothing by being married to you.”

         “Instead of cheating on me! Instead of you two hiding things from me, why didn’t you just break up with me and go be with her?!”

          “This is exactly why. You’re a crying mess right now. I didn’t want to hurt you. Besides, I still have feelings for you, okay? So just get over this. While Julia is of great importance to my life and career, you and I can still be together.”

I laughed, bitterly. “So you want me to replace Julia as the mistress?”

        “Well, it’s not so bad if you think about…”

    

        “Get out of my face! I hate you!” I yelled and stormed off.

**********

   Sitting on the bench in the bus stop, I cried my eyes out.

Oh, I had been so stupid.

Six months. It could have been more.

I thought the two of them were the best people in my life.

They must have laughed at me. They had taken me for a fool. A big fool.

While I was being a good friend to Julia and the best girlfriend to Eugene, they were both shagging behind my back.

And now I was suddenly a worthless orphan to him?

What happened to wanting a life with me?

   I have never truly felt so worthless my whole life. I had thought we could come up with a plan to avoid my arranged marriage and now I was left all on my own to figure it out.

What was I going to do?

I felt so depressed and hopeless.

***********

         “Alana, are you sick?” My colleague, Susan asked me the following day at work.

I had tried to use make up to hide the dark circles and maybe how disoriented I looked but it didn’t work.

I knew my eyes were still reddish and I kept spacing out.

          “No…I’m good.”

            “You definitely don’t look good. Don’t you think she looks pale, Julia?”

Julia glanced at me.

Yeah, we worked in the same news station.

To think a year ago when we both landed this job just immediately after graduation, I had been so happy to be working in the same place with my best friend.

Now, it felt like a nightmare.

       “If you’re sick, just take the day off, Lana.” She suggested, nonchalantly.

Was she seriously going to pretend I didn’t catch her having sex with my boyfriend…well ex-boyfriend yesterday?!

               “Me, on the other hand would be getting off work early today. I’m going on a date with my boyfriend.” She squealed.

       “Ooh…a date? I thought you didn’t have a boyfriend.”

    

       “We’ve been seeing each other for some time now and yesterday, we finally made it official.”

         “Awwn, I’m so happy for you. It’s like I’m the only one in our friend group who doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

             “Well, some boyfriends need to be stolen from undeserving girlfriends.” Julia let out.

Susan laughed, obviously taking that as a joke.

But I stared at Julia in disbelief.

Did she just say that to my face?

             And then she started talking about how good her boyfriend was and how lucky she was to have him.

I just couldn’t understand.

There were no problems between us. We used to be stuck at the hip. Going everywhere together.

How could she do this to me and feel no remorse?

***********

    When Julia got off work, I followed her because I needed her to explain to me what I did to deserve this.

        “Julia.” I called when we got out of the building.

She turned to face me. “Yes?”

              “Are we seriously going to pretend what happened yesterday didn’t happen?”

She shrugged. “You walked in on my man and I having sex, so?”

I scoffed. “I knew you way before I met Eugene. We’ve been best friends way before any of us met Eugene. Even if he were to betray me? How could you?”

          “Sure, he was your boyfriend but I wanted him. Why should I hold back when I can easily get him?”

           “How can you say these words to me? How can you hurt me so easily? I could never hurt you.”

           “Move the fuck on, Alana. Eugene and I belong together. You were just an obstacle. Stop sulking about it and move on.”

Tears fell from my eyes. “I just don’t understand. I don’t understand how you can do this to me. Sneaking around with him for months while also smiling to my face?”

Julia smiled. “I have to admit. It was fun.”

           “Fun?”

           “Girl, I’m running late for my date with Eugene. It was fun toying with you. But let it go, okay. You’ll be fine.” Her smile widened and she turned and walked away.

So it was fun toying with me?

It was fun thinking I had genuine people in my life but they were toying with me?!

***************

         As I dejectedly walked into the house that evening, Patricia hurried up to me.

        “Mrs Valentina called. She’s the butler’s wife at Moon Manor. She wants to meet with you tomorrow. Except you already have the $500,000, you must meet with her tomorrow and you must appear to be completely willing to marry Manuel Buford.”

Manuel Buford?

So that was the name of the old man.

Buford.

Why did that name suddenly ring a bell?

Julia’s surname was Buford.