James married Alice out of spite, all to prove to his lost love that he wasnt broken by her rejection. For almost two years, he and Emily had been inseparable. James adored her beyond measure, willing to move heaven and earth for her. Hed thought they were heading for marriagethough it bothered him when she brushed it off with:
“Why rush into marriage now? Ive not even finished uni, and your business is barely staying afloat. No decent car, no place of your own. I know Beccas your sister, but I dont fancy meeting her every morning on the way to the kettle. Had you not sold that house, maybe wed have somewhere to live.”
It stung. But Emily had a point: he and Becca were living in the flat left to them by their parents, and he was still finding his feet running the family business after being forced to step up before graduation. James was stretched thin, trying to earn his degree while rescuing the company.
Theyd sold the family house by mutual consentit was the only way to cover their debts after their parents died, both still students (he finishing his last year, Becca just entering her third). Selling gave them a fresh start: debts paid, stock for the shop bought, and a small cushion left over.
Emily, though, believed in living for the moment, not saving for a future that might never comeeasy to say under her parents roof. But when you abruptly become the head of a family, the hope and anchor for your sister, you start thinking differently. James promised himself that with enough hard work, theyd have a great car, a proper house, a garden.
Nothing suggested disaster was brewing. He waited for Emily at the bus stop by the Odeon, where theyd arranged to see a new film. Shed insisted he not pick her upa surprise, as Emily hated public transport. He kept an eye out, but she rolled up in a flash car instead.
“Sorry, James, we cant see each other anymore. Im getting married,” she blurted, thrust a book into his hands, spun on her heel, and got into the car.
James stood rooted, the words echoing. What could’ve changed in three days, while he was away on a business trip?
Becca took one look at him and understood everything.
“Youve found out, then?”
He nodded, grim.
“Snagged herself some loaded bloke. The weddings set for the twenty-fifth. She even asked me to be her maid of honour. The nerve! Sneaking around behind your back” Becca fought back tears, furious for her brother.
“Its alright,” he soothed her, stroking her hair. “Let her live her life, and lets make ours even better.”
James locked himself in his room nearly a day. Becca hovered outside with a plate: “Come on, at least have a pancake, Ive made loads.”
By evening, he emerged, eyes blazing.
“Pack your things,” he told Becca with sudden purpose.
“What are you planning?”
“Ill marry the first girl who says yes,” he declared.
“You cant,” she entreated. “Youre playing with both your lives.”
He wouldnt listen.
“Fine, if you wont come, Im going alone.”
The park was crowded. The first girl he asked spun a finger at her temple; the second backed away as if escaping a lunatic; but the third, after looking him straight in the eye, said yes.
“And whats your name, love?”
“Alice,” replied his new fiancée, steady and calm.
“Then lets celebrate,” said James briskly, leading Alice and Becca to a nearby café.
They sat, an awkward triangle. Becca groped for words; James was plotting revenge, already certain his wedding would be on the very same twenty-fifth.
“May I ask why you proposed to a stranger?” Alice broke the silence. “If this was rash, I wont be offendedIll leave.”
“You gave your word. Tomorrow, well file and then visit your family.”
James winked: “Lets drop the formalities. Just call me James.”
Every day for the next month, they met, talked, got to know each other.
“Will you ever tell me why?” Alice asked one evening.
“Everyones got skeletons in their closet,” he dodged.
“As long as they dont haunt everyday life.”
“And why did you say yes?”
“I imagined myself as a princess, forced by the king to marry a stranger. Fairytales end with they lived happily ever after. I wanted to find out if thats true.”
In truth, life had shaped Alice as much as James. An old love left her heartbroken and robbed of her modest savings, but shed learned to read people fast, driving away spongers in an instant. She wasnt hunting for the one, but she knew she wanted someone smart and capable, someone who acted and not just talked. She saw determination in James, a willingness to take charge. If hed been with mates, not his sister, shed have walked on.
“And which princess are you then?” James asked, gaze lingering. “Griselda, Rapunzel, or the Frog Princess?”
“Kiss me and find out,” Alice teased.
But there were no kisses, not yet, nothing more.
James handled every detail of the wedding. Alice only needed to pick from what he offered. He wouldnt trust the dress or veil to anyone else.
“Youll be stunning,” he insisted.
On their wedding morning, as they awaited registration at the registry office, they ran into Emily and her groom. James slapped a smile on.
“Congratulations,” he said, kissing his ex gently on the cheek. “Hope youll be ever so happy together!”
“Dont make a scene,” Emily snapped back. She shot Alice a calculating glance, taking in her poise, beauty, and regal bearing. Emily knew she didnt measure up nowjealousy twisted inside her. She felt cheated, certain shed miscalculated her way into a dull compromise.
James returned to Alice. “Its alright,” he assured her, though it sounded false.
“Theres still time to stop,” Alice whispered.
“No. Its all or nothing now.”
But when he looked into her sad blue eyes as they finally took their vows, James realised what hed done.
“Ill make you happy,” he promisedtruly meaning every syllable.
Married life fell into place. Becca and Alice became fast friends. Becca learned to temper her impulsiveness, while Alice quietly organised every aspect of home and business.
As a shrewd accountant and taxation expert, Alice soon sorted the companys finances. Within six months, theyd opened a second shop, and then launched teams of decoratorsno longer selling just supplies, but fitting them too. Profits soared.
Alice was the wise princessshe let James believe her plans were his ideas. Life should have been bliss. But James missed the rush hed felt with Emily. Life was steady, predictable, peaceful. Routine, he thought, its swallowing me. I dont love herend of.
With Alices guidance, they broke new ground: now building actual homes, not just selling parts. Their first completed house was for themselvesa sign of how far theyd come.
The better things got, the more James thought about Emily. If she could endure, shed see the car I drive now. And the houseno, a palace! He grew obsessed with what if?
Alice sensed her husbands restlessness. She tried to win his heart, but she understoodlove could not be commanded. Not all fairytales come true, she mused, but hope, her names meaning, was something she could never lose.
Becca kept an eye on James.
“Youll lose more than you think youll gain,” she warned, catching him scrolling through Emilys social profiles.
“None of your business!” James barked.
Beccas eyes flashed. “Idiot. Alice adores youstop playing your games!”
He bristled. As if I need a child lecturing me. But he was pulled ever tighter to thoughts of Emilyso he wrote to her.
Emily complained of her woes: her marriage collapsed, booted out with nothing, degree unfinished, no steady work, reduced to a rental in Manchesters outskirts.
James agonised for days: should he go? Finally, fate played its handAlice was called away for a week to care for her ill gran in the country.
He went, arranging to meet. He sped toward Manchester, his heart hammering, mind replaying their old magic.
Reality struck him cold.
“Look at you, all posh now,” Emily purred, flinging her arms round his neck.
Her unwashed scent made him recoil.
“People are looking,” he mumbled, pulling free.
“Am I bothered?” she laughed, slouching in skimpy skirt, cheap makeup, overpowering knock-off perfume Next to Alice, this garish figure was nothing. She was always like thiswhy didnt I see?
“Give us some money and Ill make it worth your while,” Emily giggled, licking her lips.
James wanted out desperately.
“Sorry, Ive things to do,” he said, standing abruptly.
“Will we meet again?”
“I doubt it,” he called for the bill. “Could we settle up, please?”
“I want to stay a bit,” she whined.
“Let the lady enjoy herself as far as this note goes,” James said, laying down a thick wad of pounds.
The waiter nodded knowingly.
He drove home at breakneck speed.
“Idiot,” he cursed himself, “Becca was right. What was I thinking? Or maybe I needed to do this.”
Then he realisednever had he called his wife a pet name, never thought of her as his own. Yet there was no one closer to him.
He pulled to the kerb abruptly and sat, reviewing every moment since their wedding.
Alices face, her eyesso deeply, brilliantly blue; the way her smile danced when she saw him; her gentle, tender hands tangled in his hairall swam before him.
I promised Id make her happy, he remembered. Starting the engine, he turned off at the next country lane, tearing through twenty miles until he finally reached the little village.
“A week is far too longI couldnt bear two days without you,” he whispered as Alice ran from her grandmothers cottage straight into his arms.
“Youre utterly mad,” she laughed, tears sparkling in her eyes.
“Alice, my love,” James breathed into her ear, dizzy with happiness. And, for the first time, they both truly believed in their fairy-tale ending.
