𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

10 - Just have to bear.

~𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 ~

*******
Stacey watched as Rumpleskin cocked his head, and gave her a look one will give someone who had lost their sanity. Baldwin, on the other hand, gasped and then hastily covered his wide mouth with his pudgy hands.

"I did not seem to comprehend your request, Ms. Stacey."

"I said I want to —"

"Oh, I heard that, but can't comprehend it."

Putting on a blank face, Stacey's mind raced to understand what he was saying then it struck her. He needed a reason. "You have to, Rumpleskin. He's behaving weird and had the guts to insinuate that I'm what I'm not." As she counted her fingers when listing, Stacey noticed Rumple didn't seem to be interested, so she decided to drop the last one. "He tried to get involved in my personal life."

To this, Rumpleskin gave a simple, "How?"

Stacey was prepared for such a question and gave a confident smile. "He asked for my number."

"And did you give him?"

"No," Stacey stated, "He offered to give me a ride," she continued.

"And did you accept?"

"No," she instantly responded and her confident smile faltered, now that she heard herself she realized her reasons looked so silly. But no, she couldn't back down, not yet. "But, it was a means for him to get close to me."

"But you knew the details and what you were getting into."

"But then I didn't know he was going to be like this."

"But now you do and you know you can't go back on your contract. You read it yourself. Unless you have been assaulted, molested, or injured, you keep your word."

"But he likened me to a slut, isn't that supposed to count?"

"Sorry about that. But it doesn't, Ms. Blasi," Rumpleskin emphasized as he broke the but chain. "He has paid for your service, you signed the contract and accepted to be his girlfriend for a set period."

Stacey had never relented to pleading in her life. She would rather argue or threaten but now, now she pleaded. "Please, there has to be a way out."

Rumpleskin watched her earnest eyes and pondered her request for a second. As he stood unmoving like a block of ice, Baldwin moved to his usual spot and busied himself with mundane tasks.

Stacey ignored him and focused on Rumpleskin's silence hoping it meant a good thing for her.

"Okay, you can change," Rumpleskin relented, and a wave of happiness crashed into Stacey's heart. It worked. It actually worked.

"However, you will need to pay back the money you have received so far, then you will be moved to the bottom of the waiting list, as most guys have been booked now. If all things go well, you might be the first to get another guy next Christmas."

Stacey didn't know which pain pierced most deeply in her heart. The fact she won't get another guy or the fact she had to pay back. With her body frozen in shock, her mind weighed the risks. If she waited, her mother might not be alive next Christmas, and between her and her bank, she didn't have up to a quarter of the money to pay back.

Finally, a glint of understanding dawned in Stacey's mind. That was why Baldwin had resumed his tasks, he knew from the onset her requests weren't going to be granted, that she was being led down a false path.