Chapter 5 - Gabriella
I pulled up to the bar and couldn’t help but smile when I spotted Jade and Nora standing near the front. They were talking together, clearly looking like the best friends everyone knew they were. They both waved as I parked, and I waved back. I hurried out and headed across the street. “Hey, guys.”
Jade squealed. “Hey! Gosh, I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve seen you.”
“It’s only been a couple of weeks,” I chuckled as Jade pulled me into a hug. I sank against it, feeling like I needed it after the last couple of days.
Ever since moving in, I’d been angry and wishing things were different. I was angry about the situation we were in, disappointed that I had dragged Hazel into this shit show. I was most angry with myself for not being able to make things better. I wished I had been able to change so much.
“I’m thinking a bottle of wine,” Nora chirped as she pushed the door open. She held the door open, giving Jade and me room to enter. “Also, is your sister working?”
I nodded as we stepped into the bar. The bar was pretty empty since it was only a little after noon, and they had just opened only half an hour ago. The bar was warm, and I could smell cinnamon and firewood.
“I’m glad you wanted to come out. Even though it’s freezing outside.” Jade squeezed my shoulder, and I smiled back. When Jade and Nora asked if I wanted to go out, I jumped on the idea.
They both understood what it felt like to be an outcast, someone who people accepted for being different.
Jade had always been sweet and offered Hazel and me a hand whenever she could.
She’d bought us clothes when we first arrived, and made sure we had money to buy food.
Nora had stopped in countless times, dropping off groceries and cleaning supplies.
Both of them had given us a shoulder to cry on when things seemed too hard and wise words that things would be better.
“How do fries and chicken wings sound?”
“Oh, that sounds really good.”
We headed for the bar where Hazel was cleaning some glasses. She smiled when she spotted us. “Hey, you guys. What brings you in?”
“We’re going to have some food and a bottle of wine. And give you some company as well.”
We all pulled up chairs, and Hazel placed three glasses of wine on the table. “Red or white wine?”
“Surprise us with whatever sounds good,” Jade said, stretching her arms. “I slept like shit, so maybe this will help me get some good sleep tonight.”
Nora turned to me. “Speaking of sleep, how the hell did we not know about you and Westley? I didn’t even know you two were a thing.”
I stiffened, and Hazel’s eyes snapped toward me. I watched her fingers freeze before proceeding to uncork a bottle of red wine. Her lips stayed pressed together, and she quickly shook it off, smiling once more.
I was going to guess that Westley hadn’t told the guys the truth, and I didn’t see the need to share it myself.
It was better to just lie a little rather than explain that Hazel and I tried to make a run for it.
Deep down, I didn’t want to know what they would say if they knew the truth.
I knew they would likely start to ask questions, wanting to help where they could.
I could imagine the hurt looks we would get.
“It kind of just happened,” I whispered, trying to think of a good excuse. How else would I explain our sudden marriage?
“Marriage so fast? Dang, you guys must be in love.” Jade leaned onto the counter. “Young and in love.”
I gave a shy smile as Hazel popped the cork on the bottle. Nora cheered, pulling up her glass. “Woo! Let’s drink to love.”
We drank and ate, laughing about everything we could think of. I always found myself relaxing with them. They always made me feel safe and welcome.
“These fries are amazing,” Jade said as she bit into another one. “Can we get another order?”
Hazel smirked. “I can order another plate, or you guys can move on to dessert.”
Jade’s eyes widened as she held up a fry, about to eat it. “Oh my god, do you guys have that caramel cheesecake? That was the most amazing thing I’ve had in my mouth.”
“Oh god, that sounds amazing,” Nora added.
“We do,” Hazel said. “Do you guys want some?”
“Screw the fries, get the cake,” Jade said, finishing her glass of wine. “And another bottle.”
I chuckled, unable to hide my laughter. Hazel poured us more wine and gave each of us a piece of cheesecake. I took a bite into mine when Jade swiveled in her chair. “So, where is your ring?”
I looked down at my hand, and at the finger where I should have a ring. It sat bare because, of course, we weren’t planning to get married. Westley and I hadn’t even talked about getting rings.
“It kind of happened suddenly. We didn’t even get to finding rings for us. We’re still looking.”
“He’s a catch. He’s funny, handsome, and sweet,” Jade said. “You’re lucky.”
I felt my stomach dip, thinking about how just a few weeks ago, I thought the same thing.
I thought that he was funny, and when he told jokes while we sat together in the corner, it made our relationship special—that I wasn’t just another person he knew, that when he looked at me and said something sweet, it was genuine.
But I had been wrong, because he had ended the friendship without even bothering to let me know what I’d done wrong.
“He is,” I said, taking a sip of my wine. “But I think you are forgetting you’re happily married. Both of you are. Nothing to be envious about.”
“True,” they said in unison. “But still, it’s Westley.”
“So, how do you like him, Hazel?” They both looked at Hazel, who froze as she poured someone a beer. She looked at me for a split second before looking at them. “He’s nice.”
“Are you both living with him?” Jade asked, waving a friend at Hazel. “Does he have the space?”
“Yeah, we each got our own rooms,” Hazel said, and then quickly realized what she said. Jade and Nora both looked confused and looked at me.
“Why do you have your own room? Aren’t you sharing with him?” Jade asked.
“Or is there something we don’t know?” Nora asked, tilting her head.
I forced a laugh, hoping it didn’t come off wrong. I could feel my heart racing now. “She’s talking about how I have my own office. We turned the extra bedroom into an office for me since I work remotely.”
“Oh well, that makes sense,” Jade said. “And that was sweet of him. You guys must be so happy that he’s open about having both of you. You guys are kind of a package deal.”
I swallowed, looking down at my glass. I had to give Westley credit for that. He hadn’t been bothered by the fact that Hazel had to be part of everything.
Hazel looked at me, seeming unsure of what to say. “Things have been good. We’re adjusting well.”
“It’s kind of a nice break since you said you weren’t hearing back about a new apartment. Which I thought was just weird.” Jade’s eyes widened, and she made a pouty face. “I was about to start calling.”
“Things seem to be looking up for all of you,” Nora said, raising her glass. “To us all having a better future.”
I watched Jade click her glass against Nora’s, and they both looked at me. I forced a smile, raising my glass with them.
It wasn’t that I didn’t think that things were looking up because living in Westley’s house was nicer than the apartment we were in.
And since he announced we were living in his house and I was his wife, we hadn’t seen much of the others.
Hazel was able to get to work without a problem, and I didn’t feel like all eyes were on me.
But I also knew just how uneven things would be. He opened his house to us, and that meant higher bills. There would need to be more groceries. We couldn’t just accept this without paying him back or doing something in return. It wasn’t fair.
After we finished, we all headed our separate ways. I stayed back, sitting at the bar while Hazel made drinks. She raised an eyebrow at me. “Why do you look unhappy?”
“Because I am,” I grumbled, sliding her my empty wine glass. “And I wish things were different.”
Hazel made a face. “Why don’t you stop mopping around and just accept it? I mean, Westley has been very generous.”
I scowled at her. “You would be able to say that, you weren’t the one forced into a marriage. You just upgraded your room without an issue.” I looked down at the wooden table and ran my finger over the grain.
“How about you go home and talk to him about whatever your issue is? Because I’m not living in a house with you if you guys are going to argue all the time.”
I frowned, unable to deny that we had been doing that. Every time we spoke, one of us got into a huff. I knew that she had a point, and tonight was a good time. She was out of the house, and he was at home.
I sighed, pulling myself up. “Let me know when you get home.”
I headed outside and drove home. I found Westley’s car was parked in his normal spot, and I pulled in alongside him. I headed inside and found Westley sitting on the couch with a popcorn bowl in his lap. He had a movie playing with the lamp, filling the room with a low light.
“Hey,” he said, giving me a nod as he paused the movie. “Where were you?”
“Out,” I said, as I slipped off my shoes. I set my purse down and started walking closer to him. “We need to talk about this.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “About what?”
“How this is going to work,” I said. “My sister and I aren’t a charity case, so we need to somehow contribute to this. Pay a bill or give you rent.”
Westley frowned, looking at me, confused. “Why would you do that?”
“Because we live in your house. We can’t just move in and not help in some way.”
“Well, we’re married now, so technically it’s our house.”
I crossed my arms. “Westley, it’s a fake marriage. I don’t want us to owe you anything. So, it’s only fair that we do something. Let us buy the groceries or pay the electric bill. We need to help in some way.”
Westley set his bowl aside and pulled himself up. “Why would I make you guys pay for something when I know that you guys need to save your money?”
“Because it’s only fair.”
“What does fair have to do with this?”
I groaned. “Jesus, come on, Westley. Just let us pay for something.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need your money. I bought this house because it was well below what I could afford.”
I didn’t even know what that meant, considering how fancy this house was. Just how much money did he have? “But with us in the house, it’s going to cause you more. We use more water, and we eat more food. We use your electricity. It’s only fair we help with our share.”
He shrugged. “I also use a lot of those things.”
I ran my hands through my hair, gripping at the roots. “Jesus, it’s like talking to a parrot. Are you even listening?”
“I’m listening. I’m just not going to take your money.”
I crossed my arms. “Fine, if you don’t want money, what do you want?” I was expecting something absurd to come out of his mouth. I was surprised when he spoke.
“I want you to act like this is real when we are in public.”
I stared at him, shocked by his words. I wasn’t expecting it. “What?”
“I want you to act like this is real. If anyone finds out that this is fake, it could cause problems. So, we need to act like we are a happy, married couple out in public.”
I laughed. “Are you serious right now?”
He nodded, showing no sign of being funny, which made my stomach drop even more.
“How exactly do you want that to happen? Westley, we… we aren’t dating.
We aren’t anything, so do you understand how hard that is going to be?
I just had lunch with the girls, and damn near choked because I didn’t know how to react. ”
“You react like we’re in love.”
I shook my head. “You can’t be serious right now, Westley. People are going to know the truth. Even if we act, they will piece things together. Jade and Nora were both shocked when they found out because we weren’t dating before this.”
He smirked. “Not if we do it right.” I hated the humor in his eyes and the way he was so relaxed as he spoke, like this wasn’t crazy.
I sighed, feeling that no matter how much I argued with him, it wasn’t going to get us anywhere.
“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms.
He walked closer, raising an eyebrow at me. “I feel there is a catch with the way you say that.”
I shrugged. “You act like I plan to see you all the time.”
His smirk fell.
I hardened my face. “I plan to avoid you just as much as I do in this house. So, it won’t be hard to do it out there.”
His eyes darkened. “Is that a challenge, Gabriella?”
I took a few steps closer, looking down on him from where I stood. “I am not a challenge but a promise, Westley. You are not married to someone who will just agree to things. You think you know me, but you don’t.”
He smirked. “It will be fun to learn.”
“It will be fun to watch your entire plan fall apart,” I barked back. I turned on my heels, marching down the hallway.
“It was lovely talking to you, Ella.”
I slammed the door shut.