Sold to My Ex-Husband (The ENGLISH Edition)

Chapter 10 - What Happened Then: Break Me! Shake Me

*Patricia's POV – the flashback*

I don't know what got into me when I asked Stuart to treat me as a friend if could not treat me as a wife. I do not want to accept defeat but this is the only way for me to be closer to him. I cannot waste my time chasing him while he tried to run from me so I decided to settle with being treated as friend while I fool myself to thinking that he is treating me as a wife. However, I still hope that being this close to him will make him learn to love me.

I guess my effort was not wasted because we started to enjoy each other's company after that day. Months passed and our first year wedding anniversary is nearing. Stuart went to Paris to attend a business convention so this gave me a chance to prepare a surprise for him. I looked forward to this day not only because it is our first to celebrate our anniversary but because this is the day when he will give his decision on whether this marriage will end or will continue.

I admit that I feel a bit afraid about what might be his verdict but we have made so many happy memories during the last few months of our marriage. Even when our marriage was not yet consummated, I am still hopeful that he will choose to keep the marriage. He made me feel special and he showed me so much respect. As agreed, we went out to dates every week and we have created so many happy memories but more to that, he no longer cringe whenever I hug him.

"I will see you tomorrow. I miss you," that was the message he sent me yesterday, a message that made me very happy. It may not be "I love you" but it sounds equally romantic to me. I always appreciate his small but romantic messages. There were times when he sent me messages without me expecting them. Messages like, "take care", "I'll be home soon," "I miss you", and "Wish you were here," are messages that I equate to "I love you." I still long for the day that he'll finally tell me that he loves me but I am settled with its equivalent for now.

One thing about receiving the message yesterday is that it tells me that he wanted to be with me and that his thoughts does not include ending our marriage. That made me more excited to surprise him.

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"Janine, is everything set?" I asked Janine who volunteered to help me with my surprise.

"Relax, Pat," she giggled, "everything is set and Stuart's friends are also on their way, so relax."

"I don't know," I walked to and fro while fidgeting my fingers, "I feel so nervous."

"Will you just sit? You are making me dizzy," Janine expressed, "everything will be fine, okay? The table is set, the party poppers are ready and the banners are prepared."

"What if he will not like the surprise?" I asked. "We have never showed how close we were in front of his friends. What if he does not like to spend our anniversary with other people?"

"Then we will just leave," Janine shrugged, "just relax, okay?" she pulled me towards the couch.

I was not able to answer anymore because we heard the doorbell ring, "I'll take care of it," Janine said and went straight to the door.

"We're here!" Kaz gleefully entered the house.

"Kaz, Mago, and Angelo, are now here!" Janine announced. She was more like informing Marco than me. Janine and Marco came earlier to help me set things up but when Janine and I are having a girl-talk, Marco decided to sip some wine at the balcony.

"You know what to do, right?" Janine started making sure that the surprise will be done according to plan.

I only invited our friends to this gathering because our parents were all not available. My parents always leave town for a business trip while Stuart's dad is also out of town. It was an advantage to me, though. Without them in this gathering, I would be able to relax and not think about what excuses I will need to say whenever our parents will ask me about having a baby.