“Babe! We are here!” Kiara squealed in excitement the moment the car drove closer to a park that was clearly booming with a series of activities.
Stan’s head was tilted to the side of the window, clearly uninterested in what Kiara had just uttered.
He was in the worst phase of his life and there didn’t seem to be a way out of it.
“Babe!” Kiara’s voice came up again, jolting him out of his thoughts.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes! Sure”, Stan replied and came off the car, staring at the inscription on the entrance that said-couple’s fun fair”.
A deep sigh escaped his lips as he suddenly became exhausted.
“We are not a couple yet”.
“Of course we are! Aren’t we getting married soon?” Kiara said in elation as she pulled Stan towards the entrance.
Stan was extremely pissed, but he knew better than to show that to Kiara. She would get sad and quickly call her father to report him.
That was one thing he couldn’t keep up with Kiara, her clingy and unnecessarily childish attitude.
He was unable to blame her for that, especially because she was the only child of her father, having a means to each and everything she ever wished or desired.
That was one means through which she got him.
That day, he had gone to the bar to have some drinks after a long day.
It was some days after he had broken up with Carissa.
While drinking, a young girl had approached him, reeking of alcohol and trying so hard to stop herself from falling.
He couldn’t say why he caught interest in her, but for the next minutes, he observed her keenly and tried to decipher who she was and why she was alone and drunk.
As though she were aware of his fierce stares, she had sluggishly trudged towards him, laughing aloud and smacking her lips as she did.
“I can change your life and make you happy. You have no idea”, she had slurred, after which she collapsed right on top of him.
It was at that point he knew that his life was going to change. He couldn’t say if it would be for good, but he was willing to try it out and see.
“Let’s have fun today, okay? My father told me that going out and having fun with my mother was one of the things he did before their wedding”, Bella said, and started dancing and swirling her body to the beats that emanated from the disc jockey.
Stan rolled his eyes at her and trudged behind her, glancing around and wondering why countless people were present for such an event.
“You see how other couples are? They are so lively that I can’t help but gush over them”, Kiara said to Stan, who was nothing close to cheerful.
“Kiara, I’m really not in the mood for this”, Stan sighed and wished that he could disappear at the moment.
Everything that occurred in the location reminded him of Carissa and when they were so much in love with each other.
“You see what I’m talking about? Those two must be so much in love! They look admirable”, Kiara commented and darted her eyes to Carissa and Ethan, who were giggling in excitement, some distance away.
***
Stan froze the moment his eyes met that of Ethan and Carissa. The two appeared so admirable as they held hands together and smiled at intervals.
He could feel his blood boiling in rage that for a minute, he thought of approaching Ethan to give him the beating of his life.
However, despite how much he wished to do that, he knew that it would only mean trouble for him.
“I think I know him”, Kiara noted as she pulled Stan, who was trying so hard to resist her grip.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“We should go say hi to them. His father is a friend of mine, and we had dinner together some time ago”, Kiara explained as she walked towards them, with Stan strolling beside her.
Stan was in a fix and at that point, he couldn’t think of anything else apart from doing as she pleased.
“Ethan?” Kiara called out in elation as Ethan quickly lifted his head to stare at her.
Carissa did the same almost immediately, clearly curious to know who it was that called Ethan’s name with such excitement.
Her body froze immediately, she lifted her head. Standing before her was Stan, whose head was lowered to the floor.
For a moment, she felt dizzy and felt as though she would drop to the floor. However, Ethan’s grip on her was extremely firm.
“Kiara!” Ethan greeted courteously with a wide smile on his face.
Ethan had met Kiara during a family dinner that held in his house. It was organized by his father, as Kiara’s father was a major shareholder in his company.
That day, Kiara had tagged along with her father, behaving so clingy as though she were a little child.
“It’s been ages. Truth be told, I hardly realized that you were the one”, Kiara commented, with great pleasure in her voice.
While the two chattered, Stan lifted his head to behold the lady of his dreams, who was in another man’s grip.
He gulped down hard the moment Carissa’s eyes met his and for a minute, they stared at each other, their eyes communicating a thousand words.
“So, Ethan, meet Stan, my fiancé and the man of my dreams”, Kiara introduced, amidst chuckles.
From the smiles on her face, one would easily point out how proud she was to be with him.
Carissa took a closer look at Stan, unable to believe her eyes.
The last time she had seen him was during the wedding, and he wasn’t looking as great as he was now.
That day, he looked completely tattered that one might easily pass him as someone who lives on the street.
“Stan?” Carissa’s head ached as she fought against blurting out his name.
With the last strength in her, she withheld herself from every emotion that was beginning to surge through her.
“Hello, Stan!” Ethan said with a slight frown on his face.
Stan smirked in return, reluctantly stretching out his hands to that of Ethan.
Kiara and Carissa stared at the both of them calmly, trying to decipher why they suddenly turned cold towards each other.
“Do they know each other?” Carissa asked herself inwardly, but shoved away the thoughts when she couldn’t think of a means through which that was possible.
“So, meet my wife to be. We would be getting married pretty soon”, Ethan introduced Carissa and pulled her close to his chest.
“That’s great then! We all came to the couple’s fun fair with our spouses. Doesn’t that sound like a dream come true?” Kiara asked in elation and laughed aloud, with Ethan nodding his head in affirmation.
Carissa remained cold, unable to utter a word. She remained mute, gaping at Kiara and back at Stan, who was as dumbfounded as she was.
“Have fun!” Kiara said in conclusion and dragged Stan away, with Carissa wondering why Stan looked like a pet.
Ethan shifted his gaze to Carissa, whose attention was fixed on Stan and Kiara. He chuckled calmly and tapped Carissa, who quickly returned her gaze to him.
“They look good together, don’t they?” He asked as they trudged towards the podium where couples were beginning to gather.
“I don’t know”, Carissa replied, trying so hard to hide the tears that threatened to fall off her eyes.
She had just seen her ex lover with another lady and that pierced right into her heart.
“Really? I think they look good together, though”, Ethan noted with a slight chuckle.
“I had no idea that he would eventually get a woman for himself”, Ethan suddenly said and immediately, Carissa stopped walking.
“Do you know him?”
“He’s not relevant. Trust me”, Ethan quickly chimed in.
“No! But do you know him?”
Ethan took a pause to glance at Carissa, who was bent on discovering what he knew about Stan.
“Yea, I do know him and trust me, I’m not proud of that”, Ethan said, with his nose wrinkled up in disgust.
Carissa scrunched her brows confused, trying so hard to think of why he made such utterance.
“Can we forget about him and enjoy the day?” Ethan asked, while Carissa nodded her head in affirmation.
There was definitely no way that she would carry on with the day's activities, with Stan hanging together with his clingy and annoying girlfriend.
Carissa felt a surge of rage rising within her, but she only gulped down hard when she remembered that they were no in a relationship.
***
“Ladies and gentlemen! Allow me to welcome you all to this year’s couple fun fair”, a loud and baritone voice on the microphone was heard, accompanied by some cheers and loud chatters.
It was obvious that the couples were extremely excited to be in such an event, except Carissa and Stan.
“We have two major things to do for today; the games and the dance!” He announced, with ladies giggling in anticipation and some men glaring at them with a bored look on their face.
“Can someone please do the honor of choosing the first thing we would be starting with?” He asked with a large smile on his face.
“Anyone please?”
The atmosphere turned dead silent, with several people throwing sharp glances at the people beside them.
“The beautiful lady over there, would you help us?” He asked as everyone lifted their heads to trail his eyes.
“Carissa!” Ethan nudged her and immediately, she lifted her head.
“What? Me?”