Haunted

“Ryan, where do I begin? All this time I’ve been coming to see you, Liam thinks I’ve been cheating on him. This was supposed to be my dream wedding and now it’s ruined and everyone I know thinks I’m a cheat. He had to accuse me in front of all the guests, didn’t he?” I trailed off, thinking for a moment. “The thing is I was going to tell him at some point, I just wanted to wait until after the wedding when everything was finalised. But do you know the worst thing? After the scene in the registry office when we were talking, I was just about to tell him about you and then…then he hit me. Liam hit me,” I sobbed, “I thought I knew him, I trusted him with my life and now look. Who can I trust if I can’t trust my own husband? Well, I guess he’s not really my husband. I’m just so angry, you know? I thought he respected me. He’s never been like that before. Yeah he misunderstood, and I’d be angry if I thought someone had cheated on me but I wouldn’t hit them. I’m so confused.” I dropped my head in my knees, still unable to stop crying. My once white gown was now muddy and tearstained. Rain was starting to fall and I knew I had nowhere to go. Obviously going back to Liam’s place wasn’t an option. “Oh Ryan, if only you were still here. Things would be different. I’d be happily married and I’d be a hundred times happier and none of this would ever have happened. I guess I’d better go; I need to find somewhere to stay tonight because it’s starting to rain. God, I must look like a right state.” I placed my bouquet down next to the black gravestone engraved with gold letters reading his name, birth and death dates and the words ‘I never got to know you, but I’ll always love you.’
“There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about you – my beautiful baby boy.”

I jumped at the feel of a hand on my shoulder.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” apologised the tall muscular man standing in front of me. “I hope you don’t mind but I couldn’t help overhearing, are you okay?” Shit, I thought I was alone. Shit. Shit. Shit. He must think I was a right tramp. Who could blame him; I was a sight for sore eyes. “Do you need somewhere to stay? There’s a storm forecast,” he said. For the first time, I looked up at this stranger to see one of the most handsome people I had ever met. He was like someone out of a movie with his tall strong build. His hair was short and sandy coloured and he had styled it. His face was oval shaped and he had thin dark eyebrows that arched over his shining grey-blue eyes. I didn’t really know what to say so I just nodded. He smiled and led me across the graveyard to his white 2000 Lexus 4x4. Okay, it wasn’t the best of ideas getting into a car with a complete stranger but there was something about him. He seemed genuine and honest and…enchanted? Besides, it couldn’t get any worse than it was right now surely.

Xander’s POV
As we drove back to my place, my thoughts were rushing at a hundred miles per hour. I know, I’m an idiot inviting a stranger back to my house. But my God, she was beautiful. Besides, I could hardly leave her there after everything that happened. She was so scared and upset and I couldn’t exactly see her pulling out a knife or gun. I was more worried about that Liam guy although I could quite happily kill him if half of what the girl had said was true.