Fixed Marriage

Episode Eight

"Are you alright? Your hands were shaking. If you are not feeling well we can call it a day." Gail was thankful that she didn't ask anymore questions about Vander. She had mentioned plenty of reasons earlier just to cover up how flustered she was. Fortunately, Chandrea wasn't that suspicious about her past. Now she had just entered her car while her friend was in the driver's seat.

"Yeah, the weather was really cold so I had to clasp my hands together." She didn't hear her respond when she started the car's engine. She looked at the city's tall buildings as they passed on. The feeling of being outside was new to her, but she started to like how it went. Then, there was her confused mind again. 'How could Chandrea not know about the wedding?' She had known about his past and what kind of a man Vander was. And it gave her the puzzle of not knowing about recent news of him. 'Maybe it was private,' Until now she was clueless as to what was the reason for their divorce. Indeed, she felt free and relieved about it. But her system was seeking an answer. Accepting his divorce decision and leaving his home, when they were just married for one week, had mystified her. No answer or explanation. It just ended quickly without her realizing that she was married and now being an ex-wife. 'Things just happened, I guess. We are both strangers, marrying each other. I should've expected it.' For others, sometimes it worked, but not with him, who only goes home when he wants to. Not also with her, who didn't have any experience, and was fully naive.

"Hello to Gail's world? Are you alright? You're spacing out again, let's get going." If Chandrea had not waved her hands in her face, she had no idea that they had already arrived. She needs to compose herself and focus on the moment.

"I'm really sorry, I was just lost for a bit. Shall we go?"

"Fine, lead the way. I might lose you later if you stay behind me. You were spacing out a lot." She smiled at her before leading the way. It was her first time going outside, so she wasn't sure where to go first. In the end, Chandrea took her hands and led the way instead. The first section they visited was the clothing. Both of them spent almost two hours searching for a new dress that would attract their interest. Her eyes went wide after seeing her friend had brought lots of them. They both ended up carrying five bags each. Later on, she took her to the shoe department and insisted that she needed to try those killer heels. She ended up choosing a red pair of five-inch heels. Her legs were starting to get weak when they left the place.

"Uh, aren't we going home now?" She spoke as her hands tried to hold the bags they had purchased.

"Let's get something to eat first. My stomach was rumbling. Then we'll visit my favorite salon and head home afterwards." Well, that was what she had thought. But she was wrong, it seemed like the woman was still at a high level of energy. Not like her, nearly getting limped.

She was gawking at her, who was ordering plenty of food. The woman in front of her just smiled and continued to dictate. Now she realized why going outside and shopping wasn't her thing. It's probably draining her energy.

"And two burritos also, and two larger sizes of these cheeseburgers. Then a whole of these pineapple pizzas, and this one that has mushrooms. Lastly, two bottles of chocolate smoothies. Thank you," Gail could see how shocked the waitress was, despite how well managed her actions were. Her friend Chandrea only winked at her. She was left with her head shaking in disbelief. But still, she found it very rare. Eating plenty of food without gaining a tiny bit of fat.

After 25 minutes of chatting about random things, as they waited, their orders arrived. And they both made themselves busy savoring the food. Her friend's full blast appetite was giving her the energy to eat as much as she could. But it didn't last long when Chandrea got a call from her mother, who asked her to get home. The woman was really disappointed, but had no choice.

"I will be back later if it is settled quickly. Mom said it was an emergency, and my older brother had arrived." She hugged her tightly before storming outside of the place. Now she was alone with plenty of bags. How could I use these things? There's a lot of them. ' She was lucky the guard outside had seen her coming and called a taxi.

" Thank you," she muttered sincerely before entering the car. A long and deep sigh came out of her mouth when she settled completely. Her knees and toes were getting numb. They nearly shopped the whole place.

As usual, she gave the change to the driver. She had thought that it would add more to his daily income. Doing that won't cause her to be broke. She started to walk inside and was greeted by the receptionist. It was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon when she glimpsed the clock behind her. The lady even offered to help her but she insisted on carrying them all. She couldn't afford to waste her time helping her. There might be some people who will show up to the counter. Her feet were in so much pain but she stood still and waited for the elevator to open. She used to have so much patience, but her situation now was draining it. 'Come on, come on. Open up.' She mumbled silently, still holding those bags in her hands. When the elevator opened, she quickly got inside and dropped those bags. She took off her heels and leaned her back to the wall. Waiting for the door to close, but before it could, a pair of hands held it still. Causing it to open again, then her body becomes cold. All she wanted at the moment was to be swallowed on the floor. Vander Collins aka her ex-husband had just entered the elevator where she was. Which caused her knees to melt away and she nearly dropped herself. But he was fast, faster than the divorce he had decided. He was fast at catching her limped body, preventing her from falling off the floor.

"Next time don't go out without anyone, take me instead," he spoke calmly as his eyes were locked on hers. Leaving her breathless and shocked.