Love and Valentine

3.

Chapter 3: The Pretend Fiancé

We walk down the streets of the city, the cool breeze rustling through the trees and the sounds of traffic surrounding us, but somehow, the noise feels distant. My mind is still spinning, trying to process what happened earlier with Dave. I keep trying to wrap my head around it, but every time I do, my thoughts spiral. I thought he was the one. But now, all I have is a ring on my finger, and a stranger walking beside me.

“So, what’s next?” I ask Rock, my voice a little more distant than I’d like it to be.

He looks over at me, noticing the change in my tone, but doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he offers a reassuring smile. “Well, now that we’ve got the ‘fiancé’ thing out of the way, I think we should probably take this act on the road. We can go anywhere, do anything, and no one will question us. What do you say?”

“Where exactly are we going?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.

“Wherever you want,” Rock says, shrugging, “The point is to have a little fun, right?”

“Fun?” I repeat. “How can I have fun when my whole life just fell apart?”

“Because that’s exactly why you need a distraction,” he replies, his voice calm, yet firm. “You can’t go back to what was. But you can move forward. You just have to take the first step.”

His words hang in the air between us as we continue walking. It’s the way he says it, so matter-of-factly, like it’s easy to just forget everything and walk away from the pain. Maybe it is for him. Maybe he’s right. I need to take the first step.

“So, what are we pretending to do, then?” I ask, looking at him sideways. “What’s the story we’re telling people?”

“Simple,” he says with a wink. “We’re engaged. We’re taking a little vacation together. A spontaneous getaway. Think of it as our way of… resetting.”

I laugh softly. “So we’re just going to tell people that we randomly decided to go away for a holiday, like two strangers who just met and fell in love?”

“Exactly,” he says, grinning. “The beauty of it is that there’s no pressure. No expectations. We’re just two people enjoying the moment.”

I sigh, staring at the ground for a moment as we walk. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. Pretending to be in love, pretending everything’s okay when it’s not.”

“You’re not pretending to be in love,” Rock says, his tone suddenly serious. “You’re pretending to be engaged. There’s a difference. And as for everything being okay… well, nothing’s perfect. You don’t have to fake happiness. Just… take a break. Let your mind reset.”

I nod slowly, the weight of his words sinking in. I do need a break. A real one. So I agree to go with him.

“Alright, let’s do this,” I say, my voice a little more determined now.

“Good,” Rock says, his voice light again. “Now let’s figure out where to go.”

An hour later, we find ourselves at a small café, sitting outside on a patio, with a view of the park across the street. The breeze is cool, and the sun is starting to dip low in the sky, casting everything in a golden hue.

Rock looks at me, his eyes a little more intense than before. “So, what’s your story, Sabrina? What do you do when you’re not busy pretending to be engaged?”

I glance at him, then away. I don’t know why, but there’s something in his eyes that makes me feel like I should tell him more. Like he actually cares. “I’m a journalist. I write for a small local magazine. Mostly lifestyle stuff, but I’ve been trying to get into more serious topics, you know? Things that matter.”

“Like what?” Rock asks, genuinely curious.

I hesitate. “I’m working on an article about relationships. How people deal with betrayal, how they rebuild their lives after something like that.”

Rock raises an eyebrow. “That sounds… personal.”

I glance at him, then down at my coffee cup, stirring it absently. “Yeah, I guess it is. It’s kind of hard to write about it, though, when you’re living it.”

“You mean the betrayal?” he asks quietly, his voice soft.

I nod, my chest tightening as I think about it. “I caught my boyfriend, Dave, kissing his assistant in his office. He tried to say it was a misunderstanding, but I know what I saw. And the worst part is… I thought we were perfect. I thought he was the one.”

Rock is silent for a moment, and I can feel the weight of my words hanging in the air. He doesn’t press me further, though. Instead, he reaches across the table, gently touching my hand.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he says, his voice warm and comforting.

I look up at him, surprised by his gesture. His touch is soft but reassuring, and it makes me feel like I’m not completely alone in all of this. For a moment, I forget about everything—Dave, Brenda, the heartbreak. It’s just Rock and me, sitting here, and somehow, it feels… nice.

“I’m sorry,” I say after a moment, pulling my hand back slowly. “It’s just… hard, you know?”

Rock nods. “I know. But you don’t have to go through it alone.”

I meet his eyes, and for the first time today, I feel a little spark of something warm inside. It’s fleeting, but it’s there.

“Thanks,” I say softly, offering him a small smile. “You’re not bad at this fiancé thing.”

Rock chuckles. “What can I say? I’ve had my share of pretending.”

“You’ve had your share of pretending?” I repeat, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugs, a little embarrassed. “Long story. Not one I’m ready to tell.”

“Okay, Mr. Mysterious,” I say with a playful grin. “But you have to admit, this is kind of crazy. I’m sitting here with a guy I just met, pretending to be engaged, and it’s somehow… working.”

“It’s working because you’re letting it,” he says, his voice low and steady. “You’re not trying to control everything. You’re just going with it. That’s what makes it real, even if it’s not.”

I blink at him, taken aback by his insight. “You really know how to read people.”

“I’ve had practice,” he says, looking away for a moment, his expression unreadable.

We sit in silence for a moment, the sound of the café around us blending with the soft hum of the city. Then, Rock stands up suddenly, his eyes bright.

“Let’s go,” he says. “We’re not going to waste this pretend engagement just sitting around. Let’s make it official.”

I laugh, even though I feel a little hesitant. “Make it official?”

“Yeah,” he says, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “Let’s go get some photos. We’re engaged, remember? We need pictures for the announcement.”

“Pictures?” I ask, unsure. “What are we going to do with pictures?”

Rock winks at me. “We’re not just pretending. We’re going to make people believe it. If we’re going to do this, we do it right.”

Before I know it, we’re walking down the street, hand-in-hand, posing for photos in front of a fountain, then by a mural, then on a busy street corner where Rock insists we share a kiss for the camera.

I feel self-conscious at first, but with every new shot, I get a little more comfortable, a little more relaxed. Rock’s laughter is contagious, and I can’t help but smile every time he flashes his perfect, easy grin.

“See?” he says as he lowers the camera after the last shot. “That wasn’t so hard.”

I stare at him, catching my breath from all the sudden activity. “You’re really something, you know that?”

“I’m just trying to give you something real,” he says, his voice turning soft, almost serious.

For a moment, I can’t speak. There’s a tenderness in his voice that catches me off guard. But then, just as quickly, he flashes that confident grin again.

“So, where to next?” he asks, brushing the hair from my face with a playful touch.

I smile. “Wherever you think is best.”

Rock looks at me for a long moment, then nods, his expression softening.

“How about we get some dinner? You look like you could use a good meal.”

“Sounds perfect,” I say, my heart unexpectedly warming at his words.