MY PRETEND WIFE

Revelations

"Maine, RJ is a man who doesn't know how to love. Would you want to be tied to a man like that for the rest of your life?" Joyce continued.

"He's always been a good friend though." Maine tried to defend him.

"Would he stop his womanizing ways once he gets married to you?" Joyce asked as she tried to knock some sense into her friend. She had a strong feeling that Maine was already leaning towards saying "yes".

"I don't know. I haven't asked him that yet." Maine said in a quiet tone.

Joyce sighed in frustration. "RJ has been a self-confessed playboy since he was a teenager. Do you expect him to just drop his lifestyle at the snap of a finger just because you asked him to? Do you think he can quit cold turkey just like that?"

Maine drew a deep breath but stayed quiet. Joyce's arguments made a lot of sense. Oh, what was wrong with her? Her head and her heart were engaged in a tug of war right now. Common sense tells her that she should say no but her heart has yet to agree. If she were to follow her heart, she would close her eyes, throw caution to the wind and say "Yes".

Joyce looked at her friend. She could feel that Maine was struggling. All she wanted to do right now was head over to RJ's place and give him a piece of her mind. Doesn't he know how much he's hurting Maine? Although, she reluctantly admitted, to be fair with him he has no idea that her best friend was head over heels in love with him. Giving her that offer was like dangling a carrot right in front of a rabbit and Joyce was not sure if her best friend was strong enough to resist.

Joyce gave a defeated sigh. "Menggay" She said as she urged her friend to look at her. She could see that her friend was tearing up. "Be honest with me. You didn't come here to ask for my advice, did you? It's obvious you've already made your decision the moment he asked, am I right?"

Maine started to cry after hearing Joyce's words. Joyce hugged her friend and held her tight. She allowed her friend to cry away all her fears. She had to admit, she was afraid for Maine. Her friend was willing to throw away her life just to be with the person she loved. Would he be worth it in the end? She sure hoped so. For the sake of her friend's heart, she certainly hoped so.

Jerald entered the door of the Japanese restaurant they usually frequented. This time however, it's just him and Jake who's meeting up for dinner. Mike is out of the country while Richard is too wrapped up in his problems to even think of eating. He had to admit that he felt sorry for his best friend. He is in the worst predicament ever and he certainly did not want to be in his shoes. He knew from the start, Richard's views about marriage were not favorable and now here he was forced to face the one thing that he wanted to avoid.

Jerald spotted Jake at their usual table and headed towards him. "Hey, man." He said as he settled on a seat across his friend. "Looks like it's just the two of us tonight, I've been trying to contact RJ but he's not answering his phone. I have a feeling he's still worrying about his mother's ultimatum."

"I'm sure everything will work out in the end." Jake said quietly as he took a sip of his water.

"You think so?" Jerald asked skeptically. "By the looks of it, this is a disaster waiting to happen."

Jake smiled but remained quiet.

"By the way, how did you ever come up with the idea of RJ marrying Maine?" Jerald asked curiously. "I never would've thought of that."

"Maine was the perfect choice from the start." Jake declared confidently.

"Why do you say so?" Jerald asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Because he's in love with her." Jake announced calmly.

Jerald's jaw dropped in surprise. "What?!" He exclaimed. "What made you say that? Did he tell you something?" He asked, his eyes narrowing. He would be upset if his best friend failed to tell him something so important such as this.

"No, he hasn't said anything." Jake assured Jerald. "In fact, he doesn't know it yet."

"Huh?" Jerald was confused. What was Jake talking about?

"RJ would never realize he's in love even if it bit him on the face." Jake chuckled.

"Then what made you think he's in love with Maine?" Jerald asked.

"Think about it Je, who does RJ run to first when he's sad?" Jake asked.

"Maine" Jerald replied without even thinking.

"Who is it that he goes to when he's happy?" Jake continued.

"Maine" Jerald answered again.

"Who's the first to drop everything if Maine needs help?"

"RJ" Jerald replied in a matter of fact manner.

"Who stayed up all night at her bedside when Maine got sick?" Jake continued his question and answer portion.

"RJ" Jerald said as understanding dawned on his face.

Jake leaned back on his chair with a satisfied smile on his face, happy that he had brought his point across.

"Maybe he just did all of that because they were good friends?" Jerald asked. He was still hesitant with the idea that his friend could actually be in love. But, could he be?