TIFFANY’S POV
“Get down!” He ordered as he parked the car by the roadside.
“Is something the matter?”
“I said, get down!” This time, his voice was raised.
She had never seen him that angry. He looked like he could murder her, so she gently got down from the car. To her surprise, he drove away leaving her behind.
For a moment she was dumbstruck as she stared after the car as it zoomed off. Did he really drop her in the middle of nowhere to find her way home?
Her heart raced as she stood alone on the lonely road. She felt clueless about where she was and panic began to set in. To make matters worse, she suddenly realized that her purse was in the car.
Her mind swooned with thoughts of how she would find her way to the court without any money or identification. Fear gripped her as she desperately prayed for a good Samaritan to come along and help her out of this predicament. She nervously glanced around, praying for someone to appear.
A few minutes later, a young man in a truck pulled up beside her. Concern and confusion perched on his face, he rolled down the window and asked, “Hey, are you okay? Why are you on this lonely road all by yourself?”
Relief washed over her as she saw him as her potential messiah. She quickly narrated her ordeal, telling him she was stranded and needed to get to Vancouver’s court. The man listened attentively.
“I can give you a ride if you want,” he offered, gesturing to his truck. “I understand if you’re hesitant, but I promise I mean no harm. I just want to help. This place is not safe for a lady like you to be all by herself.”
She hesitated for a moment, her mind filled with doubts. The man and his truck were not befitting of her social status, and it felt wrong to accept a lift from a total stranger. He could be a serial killer or even a rapist for all she knows. However, she knew she had no other option. With a sigh, she decided to trust her instincts and take the ride.
“Thank you so much for your kindness,” she said, as she climbed into the truck. “I appreciate it.”
The man smiled warmly. “No problem at all, Miss. I’m glad I could help. By the way, my name is Jared.”
“I’m Tiffany.”
As they drove, Tiffany couldn’t help but compare the contrast between her encounter with Jared and her recent experience with Shawn. While Jared had shown kindness and concern even without knowing her, Shawn had left her stranded on a lonely road without a second thought. It made her question her decision to go on with the marriage. Would he always punish her for any wrong she did to him? And to worsen things, she was unaware of what she did wrong to him.
Finally, they arrived at the court, and Jared parked his truck by the entrance. “Here we are.”
“Thank you, Jared,” she replied, her voice laced with gratitude. “You saved the day for me.”
With a nod, Jared bid her goodbye and drove away. Her heart raced once again as she walked into the court, and to the county clerk’s office.
She knocked and was asked to come in. She walked in and met Shawn already sitted and he immediately looked away when he saw her.
“I guess you are the one we have been waiting for.” The clerk said.
“Good day, Sir. Yes, I am.”
“You are welcome, without further ado, let’s get down to your reason for being here.” He said and took out a file.
“Can I have your marriage license?”
“Sure,” Shawn replied and handed it over to him.
“I’ll need to enter some information from it into our system, and then we’ll have your marriage certificate set. Now, can I have your full names, please?” the clerk asked.
“My name is Shawn Gold, and hers is Tiffany Dion,” Shawn replied.
“Great. Can you confirm the date of your marriage?” the clerk inquired.
“Our marriage took place on the 16th of August, 2022,” Shawn confirmed.
“Correct, and can you please state your address, as listed on your marriage license?” the clerk inquired further.
Shawn replied to all of his questions while she remained mute and listened.
“Thank you for your cooperation,” the clerk said. “Now, I’m just going to print your certified copy of the marriage certificate, and we are done. This will serve as legal proof of your marriage, should there be need for it in the future. Would you like additional copies of the certificate?”
“Yes, three copies, please,”Shawn replied.
“No problem.” The clerk replied and set to work.
After a few minutes, the certificates were ready. Shawn was asked to make payment of which he did, and they were soon ready to live.
“Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?” She asked as they walked outside.
He ignored her and walked to the car. She followed suit and got in. Surprisingly, he did not ask her to get down.
“I’m talking to you. What if I got into harm’s way? May I remind you that you left me on a lonely road. You are not bothered by how I got here.”
“You found a way, didn’t you? Quit nagging, please” He said and started the car.
“You call this nagging? How can you be so cold and unfeeling?”
He ignored her and kept his attention on the road.
“You are just a coward who would rather make things worse than fix them.”
He stopped the car and turned to face her. “And you are a whore who cheats at the slightest opportunity she gets.”
She felt herself go cold, and it felt like a blow was thrown to her face. His words pierced her heart, and she felt herself choking, almost at the verge of tears.
“Why did you say that to me?”
“The truth and nothing but the truth. Can I ask you a question? What am I saying? I don’t even need your permission to say what I have in mind. Do you do it for fun or to spite me?”
“Do what?”
“Whore around. Visit men in different hotels.”
“I am not a whore and I don’t fool around with men! Wait…did you just say hotel? I have never gone to a hotel before…” She stopped as she remembered her visit to the hotel with Oscar.
“Oh, now she remembers. You don’t only cheat, but you are such a beautiful liar.”
“I did visit a hotel while you were away on your conference trip but it was not to fool around!”
“It was for what? To cheat or whore around, huh?”
“I went with a friend and it was spontaneous. Unplanned!”
“Wow! I didn’t know people now visited hotels unplanned. You book a room, and it’s all unplanned. I will give it to you. You just won the best lying personality of the year.”
“We didn’t book a room. He only showed me around.”
“How do you walk into a hotel just for sightseeing?”
“He works there, for Christ sake!”
“Wow! That made it easier, I guess.”
“You know what? Believe what you want. You have always had a bad impression about me, anyway, so there is no point trying to prove a point to you.” She said and looked out the window.
And as she did, tears streamed down her eyes.