Arranged Love
Mitchie Torres pushed her sunglasses even farther up her nose, popping her hood on to make sure that no one could see her as she waited for her flight to be called. After nearly crashing her car on the way back to the house, she had changed into some sweats and drove straight to the airport with nothing but her driver's license and her credit card. She purposely left her phone back in Napa so no one could bother her.
"Flight 6999 to Washington DC now boarding," Mitchie sighed before standing up and making her way towards the plane, wiping away any tears that had escaped her eyes. Crying meant weakness and she was not weak. She was gonna get through this.
She boarded the plane and sat in her first class seat, leaning her head against the window as she buckled her seat belt.
A love child...Shane had a fucking love child. She didn't know why she was so torn over it when it happened before they even really knew each other but Shane never told her about it. That's where he had been during the rehearsal dinner and Peggy was the one that he had been talking to the night before their wedding. He loves her yet he couldn't tell her that he had a love child. They were gonna have a baby together yet Shane already has one. Her heart clenched as the plane took off. She couldn't even properly breathe. She wanted to yell and scream and cry about everything. Because it may be an arranged marriage but Mitchie was just so fucking in love with him that it hurt...
Shane wanted to kill Peggy and Tess but he had been taught to never hit a woman...even if that woman just told his whole family and most of his friends and most importantly, the love of his life, that he had a two year old daughter that he just found out about two weeks ago. He couldn't even bring himself to be worried about that now. He was worried about Mitchie. She was pregnant and now no one knows where she is. Mitchie has been dealing with a lot lately and this is probably just the icing on the cake.
"Well since our bride has left the premisices, the wedding has been cancelled. I apologize on behalf of my son," his mom announced through clenched teeth. His mother already knew about it which is one of the reasons why she had suggested this arranged marriage in the first place. Get committed to America's sweetheart and everyone would forget the scandal that was him having a love child. Of course no one else knew...until now.
People began to leave but Shane stood frozen. Tess smirked in triumph and Peggy picked up Siri, causing Shane's blood to boil.
"I want a DNA test on her. And I never want to see either of you again," Shane snarled as Tess snickered.
"Don't come crying to me when Mitchie doesn't take you back," Tess sneered before turning and leaving with the rest of the guests. Peggy looked at Shane with apologetic eyes as Shane just stared her down.
"Well its hard to stay away from you when you're the father of my child," Peggy stated as Shane shook his head.
"Get a DNA test. If it comes back negative, I will fucking sue you for everything you have," Shane threatened before pushing through the guests so he could find Mitchie.
Mitchie's warm fingertips traced the carved letters on the tomb stone, tears trailing down her cheeks and splashing onto the cold ground.
"You were my safety net. If you were here, I just know that everything would be so much better than it is now," Mitchie whimpered, tracing over the name Isabella, biting down hard on her lip.
"Shane finally admitted he loves me but guess what? He already has a daughter. Fan fucking tastic isn't it?" Mitchie questioned bitterly, tugging her hair behind her ears.
"I hate having a one sided conversation but I have to get this out. We decided on baby names. If it's a girl her name will be Harmony Isabella and if it's a boy, his name will be Nicholas Alexander. He came up with the idea to have the girl named after you," it hurt to even say his name.
"I know you would've loved being an aunt...I know that my baby would've loved you to death. I love you to death, Ella. You will always be my best friend," she cried, hugging herself as she choked on the sobs ripping out of her throat.
She knew if anyone saw her now, they would think she had a mental illness but she didn't care. She carefully laid down on Ella's grave, wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered from the cold.
"I wish you weren't dead. You kept everything together," Mitchie murmured before shutting her eyes and drifting away into the peaceful world of sleep.
"Shane, if we don't find her I will kill you and then dance on your grave," Caitlyn threatened as Shane wildly drove through LA, thinking of all the places Mitchie could possibly be.
"I wanna find her just as much as you do! Not only am I in love with her but she is carrying my child," Shane roared, turning swiftly as Caitlyn murmured something under her breath and turned up the radio. The emotions in the car were heavy, they both just wanted to find Mitchie.
"And next we have Happy by European singer, Leona Lewis," Shane slammed on the breaks as the beginning lyrics started to play. He didn't notice the cars honking at him as he had stopped on the middle of the road or Caitlyn screaming at him. Because in that moment, he realized where Mitchie was.
Abandoning Caitlyn, Shane had taken the first flight to DC, hoping and praying that Mitchie was there and that he wasn't just being stupid. If she had just given him time to explain what had happened, he wouldn't have to fly across the country to find his runaway bride. He had made a stupid mistake and he didn't even know if Siri was really his. Peggy hung with the likes of Tess which meant that she was in the rain of being a whore.
Mitchie's face before she ran off literally broke him inside. He never meant to hurt her and he finally admitted that he loves her and now all of this happens. Its like they can't have a stable relationship for more than a month without someone ruining it.
"Please buckle your seat belts, the plane is landing," Shane buckled his seat belt and looked down at his phone, hoping for a call or a text or anything from Mitchie. It was killing him inside that Mitchie was all alone hurting inside all because of him.
After renting a car and getting lost in the city, Shane finally found his destination. He pulled right next to the grass and ran out of the car, running until he found the grave he was looking for. And who he was looking for. There the love of his life was, hunched on the grass shivering wildly with one hand on Ella's tomb stone. His heart broke and he kneeled down next to her, taking off his sweatshirt and wrapping her in it before picking her up and clutching her frigid body to his chest.
"Mitch, please wake up," no response. He carried her back to his small car, laying her in the backseat and planting a kiss on her forehead before going to the driver's seat and starting the car, turning the heat on full blast.
He programmed the Four Seasons into the navigator and followed the direction, checking back on Mitchie every once in a while. She looked so pale and lifeless and there was no color in her cheeks. How long had she been out there?
Shane pulled into the hotel, grabbing his overnight bag and Mitchie before entering the hotel. The manager at the desk raised his eyebrow but Shane brushed him off, fumbling in his pocket for his credit card.
"I need a suite on the very top floor with the most privacy you can get," Shane demanded, slamming his card and his license on the counter and shifting Mitchie in his arms. She made an adorable snorting noise but then fell limp in his arms again.
The man handed him the key with an awkward smile and Shane took off to the elevator, riding to the top floor while trying to keep Mitchie warm. The elevator dinged and he stepped out, searching for their room number before opening the door and setting his bag on the ground. He didn't even have time to take in how luxurious the room was, instead he immediately went to the bedroom and tucked Mitchie under the covers, sliding in with her as he wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep. This is how it should be...
"Harmony, come here!" I called to my two year old daughter, opening my arms so that I could give her a hug.
"Momma, why are you in such a good mood?" Harmony questioned, wrapping her arms around my neck and digging her head into my shoulder blade.
"Daddy's coming home today," I whispered in her ear, stroking her long mane of raven curls as she pulled away from me and placed two tiny dimpled hands on my cheeks.
"Weally?" Harmony asked with her wide smile that had been photocopied from me, her light green eyes twinkling with flecks of hazel.
"Really," I heard a car door slam and Harmony squealed as I picked her up and we headed to the front door of our lavishly decorated house, opening the door to see Shane go to the passenger door, grabbing someone's hands and helping them out. Is that Peggy?
"Momma, who's that?" Harmony asked, her eyebrows knitting together as Shane carried a four year old Siri towards us, holding onto Peggy's hand. My heart clenched as Shane kissed Peggy on the lips right in front of us and kissed Siri on her nose.
He looked towards me with a smirk and Harmony began to cry in my arms as my eyes watered and I just took in the image in front of me. Shane and I could try to be a family all we wanted but Siri and Peggy would always get in the way of that...
Mitchie woke up with a jolt, wiping her cheeks so the tears wouldn't dry on her face. She expected to be in the cold graveyard but instead she was in a comfortable bed that definitely wasn't hers, wrapped in someone's arms. She screeched, causing the person to wake up and look over at her. Tears came to her eyes as she realized who it was. Shane.
"What the hell am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here?" Mitchie sprang from the bed, anger replacing her sadness as Shane stood up also, wearing nothing but boxers. Mitchie looked down at the baggy hoodie and sweatpants she was wearing. At least she was still clothed.
"Mitch, please let me explain..."
"Let you explain how you lied to me? Let you explain how my child isn't gonna be your first child? Let you explain why the hell you're even here?" Mitchie screamed, all the anger she felt towards him pouring out of her mouth. Pain shot up her sides but Mitchie just clutched her torso and tried her best to ignore it.
"Yes, let me fucking explain myself because you're such a stubborn ass that you don't wanna listen to anyone else's side of the story," Shane's voice raised and Mitchie lifted one perfectly arched eyebrow at him. Why was he getting upset?
"Fine Shane, go on and explain. You have five minutes and then I'm out of here," she didn't have a clue where she would go but she couldn't stay with him any longer. She breathed through clenched teeth as the side of her stomach tightened causing her to suck in a deep breath, urging herself to ignore it.
"Where are you gonna go Mitch? We both signed a contract which means that we have to get married whether you like it or not. So sit down so we can fucking fix this," Shane demanded as Mitchie rolled her eyes. She was so tired of this.
"Fix what Shane? Our crumbling Relationship that was built upon lies and images and stupid contracts?" Mitchie yelled at him, narrowing her eyes into daggers to match his menacing glare. The fact that they were yelling at each other didn't help. Mitchie lowered herself to her knees, crying out as her sides tightened, making breathing a chore.
"Mitch, let me take you to the hospital," Shane moved to touch her but Mitchie slapped his hand away.
"You aren't allowed to touch me! It'll pass just keep on yelling at me. I don't care anymore," Mitchie spit through her teeth as Shane's face reddened in anger.
"Yes our relationship that we have worked our asses off to preserve. You are gonna sit your pretty little ass down on the bed so I can explain everything to you, from the beginning. No more lies or secrets or anything. Just the truth," Mitchie looked into his burning hazel eyes and reluctantly moved to sit on the bed, pushing him away when he tried to help her.
"It was some stupid one night stand back when I was dating Tess. We had fought with each other and I didn't know how to deal so I went to a club and got drunk. Peggy was there and I knew she was Tess's friend but that didn't matter to either of us so we went back to her place and I'm sure you know what happened. When we went to the doctor's office I saw Peggy there with Siri and that was the day I found out that Peggy believed Siri was my daughter. I was being stupid and believed her so I gave her a lot of money for the past two years that I haven't been there for Siri. Well when they spoke out at the wedding was when I realized how stupid I was for just giving Peggy money and not asking for a DNA test. So we're gonna get one done and if Siri is mine, I take full responsibility. And if not, I will spend every second of every day making it up to you because I love you so much and I don't want to lose you," Shane explained without giving Mitchie room to talk, in fear that she would blow up at him again.
"Why didn't you just tell me all of this the night before the wedding? I wouldn't have been so mad at you if you would just trust me and tell me the truth," Mitchie admitted quietly, combing her fingers through her knotted hair. The pain had eased so she was comfortable to talk again.
"I just didn't.."
"Trust me," she finished, viciously rubbing at her watering eyes. "You just couldn't trust me."
"You can't trust me either. You never tell me about anything that is going on with you and I care and I want you to trust me," Shane said as Mitchie looked away from him. It wasn't her fault that she found it so hard to trust him.
"I want us to work. I want us to trust each other. Because I always forget this is arranged and I really do want to spend the rest of my life with you," Mitchie said, pulling Shane down next to her on the bed.
"Lets start over. Clean slate. From now on, we tell each other everything. Starting right now," Shane suggested as Mitchie nodded her head.
"Its not gonna be that easy but I love you and I'm willing to make this work," Mitchie said quietly. "And my name is Mitchie."
"I love you," Shane said boldly, "and my name is Shane."
And then they died from a firework that shot into the hotel. Just kidding. Well...the sequel should be up soon. I hope you guys enjoyed the first part of Shane and Mitchie's adventure...until the sequel. Oh...gimme some sequel names. Thank you. I got nominated for an Indie CR Award...thanks guys(: xxxxxx