Two Broken Hearts

Brenda's eyes were still heavy with tears to notice Harper. Dressed in a high-end bespoke suit; it was obvious to anyone that he did not belong there.

All she wanted was to get drunk and forget everything that happened in the last hour. The bartender poured her a shot of vodka and Brenda muttered her thanks. One bottle went to two, then three till the memories began to fade.

Harper sat at the other end of the bar keenly observing and admiring her. He couldn't tell what it was that got him so infatuated with Brenda. It wasn't just her auburn curls or cinnamon skin that added to her glow, despite being drunk. There was something deeper than her ethereal beauty that captivated him.

He could read her like an open book and knew she was here for the same reasons he was.

This was not just a girl drinking for fun; she was trying to forget something, just like him. The question on his mind was "What?"

After watching her take her fourth shot, he stood up and strolled towards her, his faint footsteps filtered into Brenda's ears as he approached her.

She could feel his eyes on her but didn't look.

After a short while, he gently raised his hand and brushed the loose hair over her ear, staring at her with deep soulful eyes "May I join you?" Harper asked softly with a charming smile, and for a moment Brenda forgot about her vow to avoid men.

She was sure it wasn't just the alcohol when she looked into Harper's obsidian eyes, something in her could not resist the sweet temptation of this hot stranger and without a thought, she uttered

"Ye-yes"

Harper pulled a bar seat, sat down, and signaled to the bartender. Still, Brenda could not avert her eyes from him

Slowly he turned towards her, and the sparkle in his gaze drew Brenda deeper into his magnetic eyes, and in that moment, her pain completely disappeared.

She was infatuated with this man.

"You shouldn't be drinking so much," he said softly, extending his arm and gently pushing the glass away

Her eyes noted every movement he made, acutely aware of how handsome he was.

Her head screamed danger – a man that handsome was nothing but trouble, but every inch of her body yearned for him, so much she pinched herself to wake up from this enticing nightmare, but still, Harper did not disappear.

Brenda felt as if she had lost her every will to resist him as his eyes saw into her soul. What business did this stranger have with how much she was drinking? What troubled her even more was that, at that moment, she dropped the glass almost like she was under his spell

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"Rough day? You don't look like the type of girl who's regular here" Harper said objectively,

Suddenly the images she tried to forget all night flashed through her mind again, and her demeanor quickly changed as she remembered why she was here in the first place

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in any mood to talk. Besides what makes you think that I'm not a regular here?", Brenda grimaced

Harper did not say a word even as Brenda picked up her glass again and took another shot

He gazed at her for some moments, picked up his glass, leisurely swirled the cup, and took slow sips from it. His voice was steeled and sharp as he said

"The stilettos, pleated trousers, two-thousand-dollar Cartier watch, and the fact that you ordered the vodka without taking a glass of water first, should I go on?"

Brenda pursed her lips, and the alcohol suddenly turned unpleasant in her mouth. She was about to speak but was cut off by Harper

"I know a girl with a broken heart when I see one. That is why you're here, right?", Harper said as he set down his glass

Brenda was taken aback as he spoke. She hated the fact that he was right. She always prided herself in being closed off, but here was this strange man reading her like the pages on her diary

They sat in silence for a while and Brenda fiddled with the strap of her purse awkwardly

"Who broke your heart?" Harper asked

Brenda was shocked by the question, and fought the urge to say anything despite wanting so much to lay it all out; talking it out seemed like a good way to forget the disaster that happened earlier,

Drumming her fingers anxiously on the table, "My boyfriend", she answered

"I found him cheating on me earlier tonight", she said, chuckling lightly "Tonight's our anniversary" then took another shot

She felt lost and did not know who to go to or what to do.

The only thing she was sure of was that she could not be alone when her parents arrived in the city, or else they'd force her to marry Roy, and with that realization, her face squeezed in horror

"You...you know the worst part of all this?" Brenda slurred, visibly drunk. Her mind was a mess, and the alcohol only made it easier for her to open up

Harper acknowledged her with his gaze, and she continued

"We were supposed to get married, I had it all planned out"

"Now my parents will probably force me to marry ... Roy. They think of him as a Saint, but he's far from that. I can't see myself married to such a despicable man" she said regretfully, putting her head on the table

Roy Jordan was the golden boy of Levit’s Freight Company, a multi-million-dollar company owned by his parents, who were in partnership with Brenda’s parents.

Before Brenda left, her parents tried to force her into an arranged marriage with Roy, partly to save their business.

The Jordans were not excessively wealthy, but they were still considered well-off with a business that brought in a seven-digit annual income.

"My girlfriend cheated on me too," Harper said nonchalantly breaking the silence,

Brenda was dumbfounded. Her mind went blank at that moment. She slowly raised her head and stared at Harper and her almond-shaped eyes bore a hint of sympathy

Harper let out a sigh and said, "I found out some hours ago. Apparently, she's been sleeping with this guy for a while now, and I guess I always kind of knew something was going on, but didn't want to believe it"

Brenda wanted to speak, but could not find the words to console him. How could she nurse his pain when she was busy drinking to forget hers?

However, at that moment, Harper didn't seem that much of a stranger anymore. Knowing someone else felt her pain, made her feel strangely connected to him

Harper remained silent for a few moments, then raised his glass and said "How about we don't talk or think about our exes for the rest of the night?"

"I can toast to that" Brenda uttered with a smile

Just then, Harper's phone rang and he quickly retrieved it, stared long and hard at the text on his screen and his brows furrowed immediately

Seeing the change in his reaction, Brenda asked with concern "Is everything okay?"

And in that moment, a thought occurred to Harper. Suddenly, he turned and asked, "How do you feel about marriage?"

It was a sensitive topic, after what happened with Nathan, she couldn't say for sure that she had experienced it. Marriage and love were a farfetched fairytale that didn't exist to her anymore.

"It's okay" she replied nonchalantly

"Finding the right one is harder than it seems. You would think it should be easy to just find someone and get married" she said

"Who said it shouldn't be easy?" Harper replied teasingly

"I know right? Who doesn't want to marry a stranger?" Brenda answered sarcastically

Harper remained quiet for a while, his eyes roaming around the bar and then back at his phone "How about we get married?" He suddenly asked

Brenda stiffened upon hearing Harper's words

Did he just ask her to marry him?

"It's going to be contractual of course. "You said it yourself, if your parents arrive and find out that you're single, they'll force you to get married. This way, you can avoid that. I can act as your husband when they're here and later we can divorce"

Brenda was appalled,

"You want me to marry you?" She muttered still in disbelief

Strangely, she wasn't against the idea. As much as the thought of marrying a stranger she just met seemed impulsive, Harper had a point. She could get her parents off her back and maybe even make Nathan jealous,

After a quick thought, she said "Let's do it",

Immediately, Harper pulled up a marriage license on his phone, signed and handed it to Brenda.

She stared at it thoughtfully for a moment, not sure if it was the alcohol that was fuelling her courage or if there was just a stronghold this man had over her, but at that moment, Brenda did not care, she felt almost excited as she signed her name across the document

"That's it, we're married," Harper said