When Love Happens

Chapter 3

"Don't you dare try to do that with me Ryan. Whatever it is you're about to say to me had better be nothing but the truth and don't try to make me look like I'm a fool because I'm no fool and I know exactly what I just saw and I know that it is exactly what it looks like," I said to in a sharp tone, making it obvious that I knew exactly what was going on here and that he shouldn't even try to lie to me.

"I really don't know what to say to you Amanda. I did not expect you to see this happening and I am so sorry that you had to see it all happen this way. I swear to god I did not mean for any of this to happen and you last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you in anyway. You know how much I care about you," he said and believe me, if I was only slightly angry before, now I'm beyond furious and outraged.

"I know you did not just say that you care about me you useless bastard! Is this really how you show that you care about me? Is being with a man just a day before our wedding and planning to spend the night with a man just a day before marrying me really the best way to show that you care about me? You know what Ryan, instead of giving me that bullshit that you just said, how about you just tell me clearly what exactly it is that is going on here. What are you doing with your supposed cousin and what exactly is all of this supposed to mean?" I questioned.

If there is one thing about me, it's that I would never in my life make it obvious to anybody that I am being broken in the worst way possible and that is why I refused to show my tears and my pain to this bastard in front of me and I'm also very much interested in hearing him explain himself clearly and tell me to my face that he has been lying to me all this while and that he has been nothing but a phoney and a piece of trash.

"I'm very sorry you had to see things this way Amanda. It's really all my fault," Will chimed in and I immediately glared at him.

"Listen Will, until I ask for an explanation from you or until I speak to you, don't you dare say a word to me or try to justify anything to me or I swear to God, I will lose every last bit of decency and composure that I have left I'm me and I am going to do something that you will not expect of me so you better shut your mouth and just stay out of this!" I threatened quickly and like an obedient animal, he retreated and kept quiet.

"I know very well that you have every right to be angry at me right now Amanda and I'm honestly very apologetic about the fact that you had to see things like this but unfortunately, I don't think there is any reason for me to deny this any further or try to say something to cover it up. I know that I told you that Will and I were cousins and that we had a close relationship but as you can probably already tell, I lied to you. He and I are not in any way related and we have a close relationship because we are lovers and we have been lovers for over 6 years now," he confessed and my heart dropped to my stomach.

Even though I asked for the truth, it still felt like I was being drenched into cold water or rather, I was being drowned by the very person that I trusted the most in this world. Ryan and I have only been together for five years and finding out now that he has been with Will for the last six years only made me realise that my relationship with him from the very beginning has been nothing but an absolute lie.

"Hold on a second Ryan, what you're telling me right now is that you have been with him for much longer than you have been with me? If that is the case, why in the world did you even bother coming into my life and making me fall in love with you? What exactly was the reason behind you making me think that you genuinely cared about me and loved me and even going as far as proposing to me and making me believe that we had a future together? Why exactly would you do that to me Ryan?" I questioned, not bothering to even hide the frustration in my tone anymore because at this point I was just frustrated, hurt and furious.

"You're probably going to hate me for what I'm about to say but, when you and I first started going out, William and I were not really seeing each other at that point because of the fact that, I have no other choice but to end things with him for a while because my parents were very against the fact that I was not with anyone and they are not very accepting of homosexuality,"

"You and I happened to meet at the time where my parents were demanding that they wanted to meet with someone that I liked and since you seemed like a really good person and you seemed like somebody that I could introduce to my parents and that they would accept without any questions at all, I decided that you'll be the best person for me to be with," he explained and just when I thought my heart couldn't drop any lower, it just.

In other words, I was being used in the last five years without even realising it and I am only finding out today of all days which means that if I had chosen not to follow him when I saw him leaving his apartment earlier, I would have probably married a man that wasn't even in love with me and was only using me to hide his real sexuality.

"I don't even know what exactly to say to you because I feel like if I do what I have in mind, I'm only going to end up hurting you because that is exactly how I feel right now. How could you be so selfish and wicked enough to make me think that I had a future with you when you were only using me to hide your own problem? Why couldn't you just be honest with yourself and your parents or just find some other solution without using a person and wasting 5 years of their life? What did I ever do to you to deserve something like that from you?" I asked, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to pour out.

"I'm very much aware that I have no excuse for what I did Amanda and it's probably shameless of me to say this to you, but please forgive me for everything and I'm so sorry that you have to find out about my reality like this because it was not my intention to hurt you and I did not mean for any of this to happen. Believe it or not, you were an important aspect of my life and you are someone that I deeply care about and I am so sorry that things have turned out to be this way between us," he responded shamelessly.

As soon as he replied, the only thought that popped in my head was that I have probably been the most idiotic person by not realizing how much of an i***t this man really was. It also dawned on me that everything has been obvious from the very day that he introduced William to me as his cousin but I've been very oblivious to the things that have been happening around me and that is why it took me up until this moment to realise that I was just about to make the biggest mistake of my life and marry the biggest and most idiotic person in the world.

"Ryan, the only thing I can say to you right now is that I wish you the absolute worst in this world and I hope that for every day of my life that I have spent genuinely caring for you, you end up spending the rest of your days in regret and unhappiness. Go to hell you bastard," I say to him before turning away and walking towards the elevator.

As soon as I realised that I was out of their sight, I let out the tears that I had been holding back all this while and until I left the hotel, I could not stop myself from crying. The realisation that my entire life just fell apart in under thirty minutes and the fact that I was also about to fall apart completely hit me very hard and I could not help but just wish that the entire world would come to an end.

###Chapter 4 The Exhibition

Jeffrey

I walked into the gallery hand in hand with my secretary, Tania Morgan, who had a bright smile on her face to compliment the slight frown that I had on my face. She kept nudging me to change the sore expression that I had on my face but I simply ignored the woman and focused on just getting this over with and heading back home.

I was specially invited here by a long time friend and client of mine, Hannah Wilfred, who was holding her first Exhibition here in LA and wanted me to attend the event for the sake of publicity. I normally don't like to attend such events because it only gave room for unwanted conversations and I didn't exactly like to talk to just anybody but Hannah had requested that I attend because my presence would get more people to attend as well. Tania, my secretary and good friend, also insisted that I attended and I just didn't have any other choice but to give in.

"This isn't a funeral Jeffrey. Wipe that depressing look off your face and try to look approachable at the very least," Tania whispered and I rolled my eyes at her.

"I'm already doing my very best Tania. Can't you see that I'm still here and not back in my car? I'm already making more than enough effort by staying here so how about you do me a favour and stop pressuring me? I might end up running if you keep nagging me," I said to her, hoping she would just drop the issue and let me be. Tania had a habit of being a nagger whenever I didn't do things the way she wanted me to. A lot of people might find our relationship weird because of how close we were and how I allowed her to speak to me, however she liked without ever complaining, but she and I went way back and I considered her to be a very important part of my life.

"I can already see a few people walking this way and I'm pretty sure you know very well why they're coming here and you also know what to do. I don't care if you think I'm pressuring but make sure you're polite and attentive with them cause anyone of them could be a potential business partner and I won't forgive you if you make me look like a fool today. As soon as they get here, I'll greet them and walk away and you have to carry on with the conversation on your own. Can you at least do that?" she asked and I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Just a friendly reminder Tanya but I know how to handle people and I would know a possible business partner when I see one. Those men coming here are leeches my dearl and I don't have the time or the energy to tolerate leeches. Worry not though, cause I have no intention of treating them indifferently but I'd have to ask you to quit nagging me cause I know how to handle myself for sure," I said to her and she simply stared back at me and patted me on the back.