Love's Redemption

"What?" I was stunned and then cursed, "Is he out of his mind?"

"Ms. Crown, Mr. Gildon has indeed been acting irrational lately," Gordon explained.

As Gordon spoke, it struck me that everything about the wedding dresses and rings was his doing. He followed Chris' orders.

"What is he trying to achieve? Disgust me?" I asked angrily.

Gordon hesitated. "Maddie, I really don't know what Mr. Gildon is thinking, but one thing's for sure. He doesn't want to lose you. He loves you."

"Gordon," I said, "it's one thing for others to say that, but how can you? Do you genuinely believe he loves me?"

Gordon fell silent.

"If he wants to act crazy, let him. I'm not going to play along," I said firmly.

"Ms. Crown, actually, I've been blaming myself. If it weren't for me that time, you and Mr. Gildon wouldn't have ended up like this."

Gordon was still feeling guilty about his past mistake.

"Mr. Yates, I am actually thankful for you. If it weren't for that incident, I wouldn't have made up my mind to end things with him." I paused. "But I didn't break up with Chris just because of that incident. It was a long time coming, and you should know that."

"But I was the one who delivered the final blow," Gordon murmured.

"I've said everything I needed to say. If you still want to blame yourself, that's your choice. As for Chris, if he fires you because of what happened today, then leave.

"With your skills, you'll find a better job in no time," I reassured him.

"Ms. Crown, did you find a new job?" he asked.

"I believe I won't have trouble finding one," I replied vaguely, not wanting to escalate the situation further.

The Chris now was a lunatic. And I feared what he might do if he found out I had a new job.

After ending the call, I closed my eyes. I couldn't believe Chris had gone so far as to propose to me. It felt necessary to be blunt and crush any lingering hope he might have had.

Thinking about the call I had with Brandon last night, I gathered my courage and texted him, "I'm sober now. When can we talk?"

There was no immediate response. It was 10:30 am, so he was probably at work and hadn't seen the text yet.

Without waiting for his reply, I quickly got ready to leave after a refreshing shower.

After my shower, I saw a message from Brandon.

"Meet me at the amusement park."

"The amusement park again?" I muttered to myself.

Recalling Gordon's hint about Chris' impending proposal, I immediately replied, "No, let's pick another place."

"I'm short on time," Brandon replied.

As I considered whether to compromise, Brandon sent another message. "Are you worried about getting proposed?"

Brandon knew about it, too? How big of a scene had Chris planned at the amusement park? Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.

I replied, "I don't want to be embarrassed."

"If you avoid it now, there will always be a next time. Confront and resolve it now," Brandon replied.

His words made me laugh.

Was he agreeing to play my fake boyfriend?

Looking at his message, I realized he had a point. Lisa also said that the best way to make Chris give up was to let him know that I was with someone else.

So I replied to Brandon with one word, "Okay."

To present a different image of myself, I found a yellow spaghetti-strap dress in Lisa's closet. I let my usually tied-up hair down and added a touch of bright red lipstick.

I looked stunning, like a temptress.

I had never dressed like this before because Chris didn't like it. He knew I was attractive, but he didn't want other men to see it.

When I arrived at the amusement park, I sent Brandon a message. He came to me quickly, almost running toward me.

The moment his eyes met mine, I noticed his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.