- 11.
I left with the man, Alex Hayes. He kept the
windows rolled up, chain–smoking. The smoke
choked me, making me cough. I knew Alex from before. Back when my family was wealthy, he’d
asked me out, but I was obsessed with Ethan
and rejected him repeatedly. Last week, out of
the blue, he contacted me. Alex offered to pay
off my family’s debt if I married him. “Why?” I
asked. He smirked. “I want to prove you chose
the wrong guy. I’m the only one who can save
you. That poor kid would only drag you down.”
He wanted to marry me to boost his ego, to
prove a point. How ridiculous. Today, I’d used
him as a last resort, asking him to call and
pretend to be my fiancé so I could escape
Ethan. I didn’t expect him to actually show up.
“Why did you pretend to be my fiancé?” I asked
coldly. “What’s the difference? We’re getting
married anyway.” “I haven’t agreed to marry
you.” “Do you have a choice, Maya? Be
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realistic. You’re drowning in debt. Anyone who
marries you is a fool. Who else would want you
besides me? That guy back there?” Alex scoffed. “Is he your poor college boyfriend? Let me tell you something, he’s just back to rub it in
your face. He was too intimidated to stand up
to you then, but now that you’re down on your
luck, he’s probably laughing at you behind your
back.” “That’s none of your business!” “How is
it not? He stole you from me back then. Now I
get to show him who’s boss…” “Alex, I am not
your property! I didn’t agree to marry you then,
and I won’t now!” I got out of the car. Alex
didn’t try to stop me. “Think about your family,
Maya. Think about that debt.” His
condescending smirk reminded me of
something, of the people who mocked and
ridiculed Ethan back in college. Was I, in
Ethan’s eyes, just like them?
