Mr Efficiency Spent His Life WAITING for My Bestie Chapter 02
I paid the bill and took a taxi home alone.
Zane didn’t get back until four in the morning.
He found me curled up on the couch, glanced at me briefly before returning to his phone. “You looked pale at dinner. Stomach cramps again?”
Memories surfaced unbidden.
When I’d first moved to New York to be with him, bad reactions to the new environment gave me brutal stomach cramps.
At my worst, Zane had moved his work desk right into my hospital room. He’d sat beside my IV drip and handled his business at the same time.
After that, I’d learned to slip away silently whenever my stomach ached, so I wouldn’t disrupt his schedule.
Some of the hurt inside me softened.
I spoke calmly. “Zane, about getting married…”
“Nina, there’s a limit to how much jealousy I’ll tolerate.” Zane’s patience frayed. “If you’re pushing for city hall paperwork just because of those fake wedding photos with Susan, you’re only draining yourself over something meaningless.”
He picked up his ringing phone and walked into the bedroom.
Through the door, I heard Susan’s anxious voice. “Zane, all the board members are at my promotion presentation tomorrow. I’m so nervous.”
Zane’s voice was steady and reassuring. “Don’t worry. I’ll run through your speech with you.”
My words—I don’t want to get married anymore—died when the bedroom door clicked shut.
Every last bit of my softness vanished.
The next evening after work, Susan called me. “Nina, I nailed my promotion pitch. I made Zane buy me a dress. He said he’d take care of your wedding plans while we’re out.”
I frowned and asked what she meant.
Zane let out a short laugh over the line. “Aren’t you the one desperate to get married? We need to pick out a wedding dress at least.”
I shot back. “So you’re fitting my wedding dress shopping in while you buy Susan her new dress?”
“It’s called batching tasks. Basic efficiency.” His answer came completely naturally.
Bitterness rose in my throat. “In your mind, wedding planning is the same errand as taking Susan shopping?”
“Don’t nitpick every small detail, Nina.” Zane sounded dismissive.
He pulled up in his car and picked me up.
We finished buying Susan’s dress, then headed to the bridal boutique. Suddenly, I felt utterly drained. “Forget it.”
I turned to leave.
Susan grabbed my arm and dragged me inside. “Come on, I want to try on gowns too.”
She grabbed three dresses and vanished into a fitting room.
I dragged my feet and slipped into one gown myself. A tiny, foolish spark of hope lingered in my chest.
I’d clung to the memory of our college graduation night, when he’d knelt on the football field and begged me to marry him.
But when I pulled back the fitting-room curtain, Zane had his phone raised, following Susan’s directions to snap photo after photo.
Three dresses. Two hours. Over three hundred photos. His precious efficiency principles vanished without a trace, not a hint of irritation anywhere.
Only then did he glance over at me, confused. “Why haven’t you tried yours on yet?”
I gave a faint smile. “It doesn’t matter. We won’t end up using it anyway.”
His brows knit, annoyed that I was creating another hassle. “Nina, I don’t have time to come back here again.”
Susan clung to one bridal gown, eyes wide as she looked over at me. “Nina, can I wear a wedding-style dress as your bridesmaid?”
Zane walked straight over to pay for it.
“Do whatever you want,” I said, my voice hollow.
On the drive home, my mom called.
She had traveled all the way from our small hometown to New York alone. I knew she’d heard I’d called off the wedding and wanted to talk to Zane.
“Zane, my mom’s at the train station. Can you pick her up?”
My mom struggled with city directions; she would get hopelessly lost trying to hail a cab on her own.
Zane jerked the steering wheel hard and pulled over to the curb. “Nina, we agreed we wouldn’t drag our parents into our relationship. Involving family is just unnecessary emotional overhead.”
He unlocked his door. “You go get her.”
To him, even my mom lost and confused in a huge city was just a useless burden.
Summer heat hung thick in the air, yet I went cold all over as I stepped out of the car.
The car sped away. Through the half-rolled-down window, Susan’s voice drifted out. “Zane, Nina’s always over-dramatic. Cut her some slack. Want to grab late-night food to cheer up?”
Zane’s bad mood vanished in an instant. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”
I picked my mom up, grabbed a few personal belongings from our place, and checked us into a hotel.
Lying in bed, tears I’d held back finally streamed down my face.
My mom patted my back gently, hesitant. “Nina… do you want to go home?”