Knight in Shining Suit (5 page)

“
Babe, you didn’t think a
guy like me would fall for you for real, did you?” he asked.
“Besides, I’ve got the whole world in my hands. I need to explore!”
And then he made his moves from one rich girl to
another.

That was the most
devastating day of my life. Well, until Bryan decided to knock up
Geena, of course.

Geena knew what I went
through. She knew all my insecurities, all that I didn’t like about
myself. She knew why I stayed away from rich, popular guys. Kevin
Moore and his mother damaged my self-esteem big time.

How could she envy me? She
was little Ms. Perfect! Malibu Barbie in the flesh! Every guy in
this town wanted a piece of her. She never had to work for money.
Her father kept her well provided for. Me? I had to live with her
because I couldn’t really afford my own place. Sometimes, I jogged
to work. She drove a pink convertible.

Bryan was all that made me
happy. But Geena had to steal him from me. And this wedding… she
knew I’ve been dreaming about this ever since I was a little girl.
I had this planned out in my diary since I was ten. And she…she
took it all away from me.

I sat back on the chair.
Adam knelt down in front of me so he could look into my
eyes.

“
What am I going to do,
Adam?” I asked.

He sighed. “Get up,” he
said. “That’s the first thing that you should do.
Get. Up
. Get your act
together. Then keep moving forward.
Never
look back.”

I wiped the tears from my
eyes. “I don’t think I can.”

“
Yes, you can. It’s
difficult, I know. But you can. You can rise above this. Don’t let
them defeat you, Astrid! I’ve known you all your life. You’re
better than this. You are stronger than this,” he said
encouragingly. “The first thing you need to do is… accept that
Bryan is never coming back. Accept the fact that you have lost
Geena too. Accept the fact that in this round… you’ve lost. You’re
heartbroken. Acknowledge the fact that you are in pain and
suffering. And then what? What are you going to do about
that?”

I stared up at Adam, and
though my stunned brain was slow to react, I knew he was right.
Nobody said this was going to be easy. But what am I doing? What
have I been doing?

I’ve been moping! I’ve
been letting this whole breakup be the center of my life, with no
plan or intention of moving forward.

Bryan and Geena cheated on
me. They are going to have a baby. They are going to get married.
They will have the wedding that I planned for Bryan and
me.

And now what? What does
the future have in store for me? I was heartbroken, I was homeless
and I was jobless. What was I going to do about it now?

“
The pain is going to be
there for a long time, Ash. It’s not going to go away anytime soon.
But it doesn’t mean you won’t do something about it. It doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t move on with your life. The pain is going to be
part of it. You know what they say? If it doesn’t kill you, it
should only make you stronger. And hey, what do you know? You’re
still alive, aren’t you?”

I took a deep breath and
then I closed my eyes.

Somehow, a light bulb
seemed to have flickered inside my head… for the first time in
weeks. I smiled slowly at Adam. “Yes, Adam. I’m still
alive…”

3.

DIAMOND:

The strongest and hardest mineral. Commonly used in
engagement rings to symbolize the unbreakable bond between a man
and a woman.

F
or the next few weeks, I spent my time job hunting. I tried
to steer clear of weddings for now. I knew that I was still in
pain, but acknowledging the pain didn’t really mean adding up to it
or provoking it in whatever way.

But by end of the week, I
still had nothing. I was still the same clueless girl I was weeks
ago.

“
Hang in there,
sweetheart.” Nicole said to me one night we decided to check out
the new bar in the city called Oil Rig. “You’ll find one. Although,
you would have found one already, if you just went back to wedding
planning. You were famous before. People loved your work. It would
have been easy to get a job with the competition.”

I rolled my eyes. “What’s
the point of planning other people’s weddings when I don’t believe
in love anymore? If my own wedding is being realized by someone
else?”

“
Speaking of that, are
you… going?” John asked.

“
Hell no!” I replied
quickly. “Why would I go to the wedding of my ex-fiancé and my
ex-best friend? Especially if they didn’t have the decency to
change a thing that I planned when I was supposed to be the bride?
Geena is a classic! She stole my fiancé! And she stole my wedding
ideas! She’s… a…” I sighed. “She’s a… I don’t know the
word!”

“
A thief?” Dannie
suggested sarcastically.

“
More than that! She’s a
lying, stupid, conniving bitch!”

“
And Bryan?”

“
He’s a cheap, indecent,
spineless son of a bitch! They really deserve each
other!”

“
Great!” Nicole clapped
her hands. “We’re getting somewhere! At least now you hate him
enough to admit that you need to get back at them for what they did
to you.”

“
How can I get back at
them?” I asked.

“
By showing them that you
are happy,” John said. “That you’re beyond this. That you’re over
him. That you’ve moved on. And you’re a lot happier now than when
you were with him.”

I snorted. “Okay. So I’ll
get my revenge in… five years! Tough! They won’t even remember me
by then!”

“
They may not even be
together in five years, who knows?” Nicole muttered.

“
You don’t have to be
really happy. You just have to show them that you are. Even if you
are still breaking inside. You don’t have to show them that. You
just need to let them see that you are happy, even if you aren’t,”
John said.

“
You mean… for the
show?”

“
Yes,” Dannie said. “But
the minute you start feeling better about it is the minute you will
start getting over him! And you can do it, doll.”

I smiled. A new sense of
excitement filled me. And for the first time in months, I felt a
little lighter and little bit happier.

I raised my bottle to
them. “Cheers?”

“
Cheers!” they agreed and
we all took a gulp of our beers.

“
So, how about pawning
that ring?” Dannie said. “It can get you out of Adam’s
apartment.”

“
Come on, sweetie. No need
to hold on to it. He isn’t worth it. The memories aren’t worth the
pain that came afterwards,” Nicole said.

“
At least get it
appraised. See how much you would get for it should you decide to
cash in on Bryan’s memories.” John suggested.

“
Worthless memories.”
Dannie piped in.

Well, the bastard deserved
it for all that he did to me. After all, he owed me for the flowers
on his wedding!

The next day, I was
feeling a bit more cheerful than usual. My friends were right. It
was Bryan’s fault that the wedding’s off. I was the injured party.
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to at least see how much the ring would be
worth in case I truly decide to sell it. Besides, I couldn’t be in
the charity of Adam forever. I know I was putting him in a
difficult position with his family since Geena is his
sister.

I met with Nicole and
Dannie and we went to the mall to get the ring checked
out.

“
Okay, my frame of mind
should be… I am over him and I have a new boyfriend,” I said,
smiling dreamily.

“
Hmmm… the first part is
easier to believe than the second. Who is this mystery guy? Or
don’t tell me you have totally sold out your values and you decided
to hook up with Adam.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Adam?
Eeww! Incest!”

Nicole laughed. “So who’s
the man?”

I shook my head. “No one
yet. But if I accidentally run into Bryan or Geena, that’s what I
will tell them. It doesn’t have to be true. But I’ll raise my chin
and that’s what I’ll say. I’m happy as a bird! And I’m no longer a
virgin! I’ve given myself up on a steamy night of passion with my
boyfriend, who I am very much in love with!”

“
What’s the name of your
boyfriend?” Dannie asked challengingly.

“
None of their damn
business,” I replied chirpily.

“
Bravo!” Nicole said
pulling me into the next jewelry store she saw.

I reluctantly gave my ring
for appraisal at the jewelry shop. The guy at the counter gave me
an apologetic smile. Instantly, he was able to deduce that it was
an engagement gone sour.

“
I’ll see what rate we can
give you,” he said.

We waited for five
minutes, looking at other rings and trinkets displayed around us. I
could only heave a sigh looking at the diamond engagement rings in
front of me. I must admit that Bryan’s ring, apart from the big
stone, didn’t really have much style.

“
Excuse me, Ma’am,” the
guy finally called us.

We approached him. My
heart was pounding. That ring showed how much Bryan valued me, or
loved me. Pawning it didn’t say much about how much I valued him no
matter what he did to me. And God knows I did value him… too
much!

The guy looked at me
uncomfortably. “I’m...” He took a deep breath. “I’m… sorry. But no
jewelry shop will buy this.”

“
What? Why?” Nicole
asked.

The guy lowered his voice
so that only me, Dannie and Nicole can hear him.

“
Because, I’m afraid that
this is a fake,” he said. “The diamond is not real.”

“
What?” I asked in shock.
I knew my face was turning crimson. “That can’t be!”

I picked up my ring and
looked at the engraving inside to make sure that they had not
switched it. It’s still there—the date that Bryan proposed to
me.

“
Ma’am… this is cubic
zirconia. The value of which is… I don’t know… a couple of hundred
at the most?”

“
What?” Nicole asked,
completely shocked.

“
You didn’t notice?” the
guy asked. “I’m afraid that even the band… was just
plated.”

“
I’m not a jeweler, how am
I to know?” I asked sarcastically.

“
I’m really sorry,” the
guy said. He smiled at me ruefully.

I took my ring back. I
thought I was going to faint any minute. How could I have been so
stupid? He proposed to me with a fake stone? What? He really
thought I was so stupid that I wouldn’t notice? That no one would
notice?

How cheap did he take me
for?

“
Ma’am…” the guy at the
counter said. “I’m really sorry.” He handed me a card. “Do come and
visit us again. We’re giving you a privilege discount card which
you can use on your future purchases.”

I nodded, trying to
prevent tears from rolling down my cheeks. “Thanks,” I said
weakly.

“
Let’s go,” Dannie said to
me.

I seemed to be floating
mindlessly towards the exit. I wasn’t looking in any direction,
wasn’t actually seeing anything when I collided with another
customer who was entering the store.

I caught a whiff of sweet
masculine perfume as I felt strong arms wrap around me in an iron
grip, preventing me from falling flat on my butt.

Instead of pulling away
from the stranger, I leaned my head on his broad shoulder and for a
moment there, I felt comfort… just when I needed it the most. I
held onto him and quietly let the tears seep out. Because I needed
it. I needed a shoulder to cry on. Someone to hold me as I let
reality slice through me. I needed someone to be strong for me at
that moment when I felt the weakest… when the pain enveloped me
ruthlessly.

“
Are you alright, Miss?” I
heard him ask, his solid chest rumbled beneath my face as he
spoke.

Slowly, I turned my head
upwards and found myself staring at a pair of dark sunglasses. His
black bangs fell over his dark brows, one of which was raised as he
stared down at me.

My mind went blank as his
face and his presence filled my senses. I took in his handsome
face, the sweet masculine scent of him, the hint of concern in his
voice, and the feel of his arms around me.

“
Are. You.
Okay
?” he repeated, this time louder and
with more emphasis to every word.

I nodded as reality slowly
returned to me.

Slowly, he released me,
making sure I was steady enough to stand on my own. Then he took a
step back. It was only then that I saw what he was wearing. White
shirt and black leather jacket.

“
Take it easy, okay?” he
said. And with a final nod, he went inside the store, leaving me
standing outside, still in awe.

“
Okay, enough
embarrassment for the day,” Dannie said, pulling me
away.

“
Gees, Ash. For a moment
there, I thought you were going to go hysterical in that poor
soul’s arms!” Nicole teased.