Chapter 2
"What do I know?" I asked.
Mateo sighed, like he thought I was deliberately being dumb.
"Velma's pregnant," he said.
My head buzzed.
Velma was my best friend.
We'd been best friends for eight years.
We went through college together, and even after graduation, we still met up for meals and shopping all the time.
When I got married, she was my maid of honor.
Or, at least, she was supposed to be.
Yesterday, out of the blue, she messaged me saying she wasn't feeling well and couldn't come.
I even sent her 250 dollars so she could see a doctor.
She replied with a crying emoji and said, "I'll treat you to dinner when you get back from your honeymoon."
And now, here she was, standing beside my fiancé, one hand on her belly, the other holding onto his arm.
Her belly was definitely starting to show.
It wasn't the kind of roundness one got from eating too much. It was the kind of bump only a pregnant woman had.
"I'm three months along," she said softly, her voice a little nasal, like she'd been crying. "Susan, I'm so sorry.
"I didn't mean for this to happen. Mateo and I just got carried away.
"But now there's a baby, and I can't bring myself to abort it."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, but her makeup stayed perfectly intact.
I was the one who told her to get that waterproof mascara.
More than three hundred people were staring at the three of us.
Some were whispering, others were taking pictures with their phones.
I even overheard someone say, "This is messier than any TV drama."
I took a deep breath. "Mateo."
"Yeah?" he replied.
"How long have you been with Velma?" I asked.
He frowned, like he didn't want to answer.
But Velma jumped in to answer for him. "Almost a year, Susan. I really never thought it would turn out like this. At first, Mateo was just so stressed at work, and we'd talk sometimes to cheer him up..."
"So all that talking led straight to the bedroom?" I cut her off.
Velma froze, and the tears started falling even harder.
"Don't be like this, Susan," Velma pleaded.
"So what am I supposed to do?" I took a step forward. "I spent six months planning this wedding, and my maid of honor ditched me yesterday with a single call.
"Now she's announcing her pregnancy in front of everyone. Tell me, what am I supposed to do?
"Should I smile and wish you both well?"
Mateo frowned. "Susan, stop it. This is getting ugly."
"You're the one who made it ugly," I shot back.
I stared straight into his eyes.
We were together for three years, with one year apart, and two years of waiting.
I turned down all those blind dates my dad set up for me, passed up the chance to go overseas for grad school, and even had a huge fight with my family for him.
And now he told me I was making things ugly?
"I'll pay you back the 250 thousand dollars for the down payment," he said. "In installments.
"1500 dollars a month for fourteen years. How does that sound?"
I laughed.
250 thousand dollars, 1500 dollars a month, for fourteen years.
He was putting a price on our three years together.
"Mateo, are you serious?" I asked.
"Of course." He nodded, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Even though the house is under your name, we were together for three years, so I should get a piece of it, right?
"I'm just breaking off the engagement. I'm not leaving you with nothing. That's already being generous."
I took a deep breath.
Then another.
I was afraid I'd lose it and smack him.
"So, you get the house, and I get my 250 thousand dollars back, paid off over fourteen years?" I asked.
"Yeah." He nodded, like he was doing me a huge favor.
Velma chimed in, "Susan, Mateo's under a lot of pressure. We still need to buy a house and a car for our wedding. Can't you cut him some slack?"
Cut him some slack?
Was I supposed to let them use my money to set up their happy home?
"Shawn," I called out suddenly.
The whole venue went quiet for a second.
The man who'd been standing silently off to the side finally made a move.
He stepped forward and stood right beside me.
He was so close.
Close enough that I could pick up the faint scent of pine on him.
"Yes?" He looked down at me, his voice soft.
Strangely enough, those eyes that had always watched me so closely were now unusually calm.
There was even a hint of... a smile?
"Does your offer still stand?" I asked.
He raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"
"Well..." I hesitated.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure what I was asking.
Five minutes ago, he'd stepped up beside me and whispered something to me.
My brain was mush. I couldn't even catch what he said.
I vaguely remembered something about "make them regret it."
"You mentioned something about making them regret," I said.
I decided to roll the dice.
Honestly, today was already been a train wreck. What was one more disaster?
Shawn froze for a moment, then let a small smile slip.
It was barely there, just the corners of his mouth quirking up.
But for some reason, that smile made my heart skip a beat.
"Of course," Shawn replied.
Then he turned to the emcee.
"Let's continue with the ceremony," Shawn said.