Haunted

Silently, I waited outside the conference room, scared to death – this was it. Xander was about to go and tell everyone the truth, should they believe it. I guess that, in a way, I was relieved. The past few days had been hell thanks to the rumors. Xander and I got so much hate. The police had been hassling us, wanting me to do an official interview with them so they could prosecute Liam. He’d been arrested but I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through the pain of interviews and court cases. I’d told the police I’d decide whether or not I wanted to press charges over the next few days, but I was pretty sure I already knew my answer. Of course, I wanted justice, but I wanted this to be over as soon as possible. A court case would just make the whole thing drag on and on.
“You okay?” Xander asked worriedly. I nodded half-heartedly.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Good luck!” I smiled. Sharlene came over and ordered Xander into the conference room, in which they were greeted by the flash of cameras and screams and cheers and applause. Sharlene welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending, before asking Xander to explain his side of the story. I stood by the door, peering through the window and praying that this would go well.
“Okay…there’s so much to say, I don’t know where to start but I want to be honest as I can, so ask me any questions and I promise to answer as many as possible.” The entire room started screaming out questions, to which they were quickly silenced by Sharlene. Everyone instantly raised their hands and Sharlene worked her way through each of the hundreds of questions.
“The woman you’ve been pictured a lot with lately, is it true you’re dating?” Xander sighed.
“Yeah, that’s true. Her name’s Danni Hayward. It’s very early days but things are going well and I hope they’ll carry on like that.”
“Have you known Danni long?”
“I’ve only known her a few months but we’re very close friends and have been pretty much since the day we met.”
“The anonymous source said that you and Danni had a secret affair going on for months. Is that true?”
“No. I’d never even met Danni until the wedding day so that’s no way true. Like I said, after that we were very close friends, but nothing was going on between us whatsoever.”
“The source also said that you can be violent and get into a lot of fights. Is this true?” My heart started racing but I knew Xander was prepared for this.
“No, that is very far from the truth. I’m not a violent person. The anonymous source, for some reason believed that there was something going on between Danni and I, hence why he made up these allegations. There is no truth in them at all.”
“Could you tell us more about what happened with the anonymous source?”
“I can’t tell you too much because it’s very personal, and it’s not really my place to say. There have been a lot of issues with him but this is hopefully the end of it. We intend to stay as far away from him as possible.”
“The source said he was worried about Danni’s safety. Is there any reason for concern?”
“God no, Danni means so much to me, I would never lay a finger on her, or anyone else for that matter. There is no way on earth I’d let any harm come to her.” My cheeks blushed red and I couldn’t help but smile. The questions went on, and I was relieved when they eventually changed subject.
“Are you still close with Hunger Games co-star, Isabelle Fuhrman?”
“Oh yeah, she’s amazing and I love her. She and Danni get on so well and the three of us see each other extremely often. She’s been with us through everything and we could never thank her enough.” The questions went on for ages. I wasn’t sure how Xander could do it. I’d get so stressed out I wouldn’t be able to talk properly, but he remained so calm and answered all the questions amazingly well. Eventually though, Sharlene drew the press conference to a close and the reporters left.

“Alright, you fancy dinner out?” Xander asked, as we left that evening.
“Ooh, that sounds nice. Where were you thinking?”
“It’s a surprise,” he smiled cheekily. I frowned, puzzled at the sudden secrecy.
“But I need to get changed,” I argued.
“You look beautiful as you are. Don’t panic.” I blushed. We drove for a while, and by the time we finally got the restaurant, it was half past seven. The restaurant just happened to be my favourite Chinese restaurant in town.

“I’m so glad today’s over,” I admitted, as I enjoyed my favourite meal.
“I know right, hopefully everything will calm down now – I can’t deal with being stalked by reporters 24/7.”
“That was driving me crazy,” I sighed, “This food is so good.”
“I should hope so, given the amount it cost,” he laughed. We soon finished out meals and got in the car to head home.
“I almost forgot,” he grinned, taking a box from the back seat.
“Fortune cookies, yay,” I smiled, opening the box and cracking the cookie open, smiling excitedly like a little kid. My heart momentarily stopped though, as I opened the unfolded the bit of paper and read the message. It simply read, ‘Marry me?’ I turned to look at Xander who was smiling to himself.
“Are you serious?” I gasped. He nodded, holding up the most beautiful shining silver ring. “I know it’s early days but…I’m pretty sure I’ll love you forever,” he said quietly. I blushed.
“I love you too. Yes, I’ll marry you,” I cried, as he gently slipped the ring onto my finger. I felt like the happiest person in the world. Just weeks ago, I’d been so upset I didn’t want to live, but now I was happier than I thought was humanly possible. Things were looking up!