I don’t know what came over me, but I stopped.
And before I could overthink it, I said:
“Do you want to get married?”
He blinked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“I’m serious,” I added quickly. “It would just be… an arrangement. I help you, you help me. No pressure.”
He studied me for a few seconds. Then he gave a small, almost amused smile.
“Stan,” he said. “And yeah… why not.”
That’s how it started.
I took him to get cleaned up, bought him clothes, got him a haircut.
And I won’t lie — once all the layers were gone… he was actually handsome.
Three days later, I introduced him to my parents as my fiancé.
They were ecstatic.
Exactly what they wanted.
A month later, we were married.
And here’s the strange part…
Living with Stan didn’t feel fake.
He was easy to be around. Funny in a quiet way. Observant. Helpful.
We never crossed any lines, but there was something… comfortable.
Like we understood each other without saying too much.
The only thing he avoided?
His past.
Every time I asked, he shut down. Changed the subject. Looked away.
I let it go.
Until the night everything changed.
