Goodbye Saintess (by Edelweiss W.S.) novel Chapter 35

Rhea kept drinking, glass after glass–five or more in total.

I had to intervene. “Stop! You’re basically draining the bottles at this point. This can’t be good for your kidneys. Slow down. Take it easy.”

Unfortunately, I was too late. She flushed deeply. Her eyes glazed over and lost focus. She was already drunk.

“Already?” I exclaimed.

Was she really such a light drinker? Then why had she downed so much all at once?

She burped and said, “Listen, man. Listen! You want to know why I’m pestering you? Because I have no choice. No choice at all.”

She was about to rest her head on the table.

I quickly cleared the space, ordered some snacks, hoping they might help, and asked, “What do you mean, ‘no choice‘?”

“I just broke up with an asshole. The day you found me? That day. He was cheating on me with another girl in the hotel room right below mine. I caught him red–handed. Then he said… He said he deserved to sleep with that girl because I wouldn’t sleep with him! That I owed him sex!”

Rhea’s voice cracked, thick with tears. “But what did I do wrong? I wanted to save it for our wedding day. I just wanted my first time to be special.

“We had a huge fight. He told me the truth, and it tore me apart. He said he only wanted me for my family’s wealth. He never loved me.

“I didn’t even care if he wanted those things. I just wanted him to be a good man to me. But he lied the entire time. That bastard had been lying from the start.”

Now, I understood why she had been such a Little Miss Arsonist that day and why she had hated every man on earth. That was genuinely painful.

“I’m with you, Rhea. That guy was a piece of shit,” I said.

“You think so too? Well, my family doesn’t care. They want me to marry already. They arranged this fiancé from some stupid wealthy family I’ve never even met. How was I supposed to agree to that? I thought if I told them I had a decent boyfriend, they would cancel the arrangement. But no.”

Her eyes reddened as she grabbed another glass and downed more wine. Finally, she blew drunkenly on the bottle’s mouth.

“God, please stop drinking! I thought this was supposed to be an outlet for your pain,” I said.

I sat beside her and gently pushed her arms down to keep her from reaching for more.

Rhea leaned her head against my chest. “I have no choice. My family insists I pick the wrong guys. They use that as an excuse to arrange a marriage with some stranger I don’t know or care about.

“I have no choice but to ask you for help. I need a decent–looking guy to pretend to be my boyfriend. That’s why…”

I reeled. She didn’t want a real boyfriend. She wanted someone to act the part and stop her family from forcing her into a

marriage she didn’t consent to.

“So… I’m a decent–looking guy to you?” I asked, looking down.

Suddenly, she looked up. Her beautiful eyes locked onto my face. She puckered her lips and craned her neck, as if she was about

to kiss me.