His broken piece

"You have no idea!" Phoebe squealed on the phone making me roll my eyes as I typed away on my laptop. I was lucky I was good at keeping my voice low or my colleagues would have complained about me a long time ago. "So you had the best night of your life then?" I chuckled as I adjusted the position of my phone. "Best would be an understatement, but I need to block him now," she said with a sigh. Typical Phoebe; never wanting to be with the same guy. The ruthless female player would be the best description for her. Or maybe the heartless heartbreaker.

"Why not think it through? If he's good in bed, then he'd be good in other areas," I tried to persuade her. She scoffed, "Men are scum." Well, she wasn't lying. "It doesn't mean you shouldn't give one a chance," I shrugged. "That's your job," she said and we laughed. A mail popped up on my laptop; it was important. "Um, Phoebe. Can we text? I need to attend to something quickly," I suggested. "Oh sure. I even need to get dressed for my shoot again," she agreed. "Talk to you later," I said and hung up before turning to face my work. I groaned when I saw that I needed to draft out and compile a few statements from a few years ago. When it was break time, I followed my colleagues to the cafeteria to get food. "Tia, you look so good in your maxi skirt. Where did you even get it?" Jasmine asked me. "I don't even remember, I've had it for a long time but I never wore it," I answered honestly. Glory chuckled and leaned over to me, "Everyone's been fawning over you pretty ass since you walked in this morning. Even the boss." My cheeks heated and I shifted away from her in embarrassment. Jasmine and Glory laughed at my reaction. "You should have seen Mr. Richards' face when you walked in. If I was a man, I'd die just by a glance of that divine behind," Jasmine was a blunt woman; a very blunt one to be exact. She had red hair and green eyes that made her stand out everywhere she went. And her bubbly behavior never dulled even though she was currently six months pregnant. Glory was a slim and pretty black woman with a strong sense of humor and a smart brain. "You need to stop saying that, Jaz," I said to my friend. Jasmine waved me off, "Even my baby can't deny the glorious view you gave us today." Glory chuckled at her words and I rolled my eyes. They were my friends at work, apart from Phoebe and I was glad to have them even though they weren't my best friend's favorite people. "This sushi is actually good today. I'm impressed," Glory said and I agreed with her when I tasted the food. Usually, I don't really eat from the company's café. But ever since Jasmine got pregnant and her cravings became intense, we have to follow her here and eat with her because she didn't like eating alone. "I can't believe you're still single. When did you start working here again?" Jasmine asked. "Jasmine, I'm just twenty four," I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't mean you shouldn't have someone you're seeing," Glory teased as she drank from her Pepsi. "I'm not interested in that yet. My job is more important," I countered. Glory had a set of twin toddlers while Jasmine was expecting her first child. I, on the other hand, was a popular loner. But I wasn't actually complaining. After what I had been through, I'd rather remain single than toy with my mental health again. I wasn't against being in a relationship, but being in a relationship again scares the hell out of me. "Does that stop you from going to this awesome club tonight?" Jasmine showed us her phone and I scoffed when I saw the screen. "Woman, you're pregnant," Glory pointed out. "I'm not going to drink. Besides, exercise is good for the body and dancing is an exercise," Jasmine winked. "Dale won't let her leave the house," I told Glory and Jasmine scoffed. "He's such a party pooper," she huffed and we all laughed. When work was over, I decided to head to the grocery store to get a few things before going home. The grocery store was around the corner of my apartment but apparently the line at the cashier was so long so I had to wait till it was my turn. By the time it was my turn, it was already late at night. I sighed knowing it would be hard to get a taxi. This was why I hated finishing from work late. "Suck it up, Tia," I told myself as I picked up my grocery bags and began walking down the street. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" My head snapped to the side at the loud screech to find a man by the other side of the road with a woman. They were obviously in a heated conversation but I could tell that it was the woman doing the most of the talking. I shook my head and continued walking when I heard her scream again. I turned around to see the woman punching his chest while he was trying to calm her down. Curiosity made me cross over to the other side to try to help them. "You know what? I'm done!" I stopped in my tracks at the iciness of her tone. My eyes widened when she yanked off the ring on her finger and threw it on the floor. "Find someone else to play your stupid game, I'm not interested!" she spat and walked away. I wanted to call on the woman but my eyes fell on the man's back. His shoulders were slumped and I could tell he was heartbroken. I felt for him. Nobody would want to go through this at all. "Excuse me, sir?" I carefully approached him. He turned around and I internally gasped. He was handsome, very handsome. But sadness was written on his face. "Yes?" his voice was low and disheartened. "Are you okay?" I asked carefully, not knowing what to do as I watched him bend down to pick up the ring from the floor. "Totally fine," he said as he stood up and began to walk away. I grabbed his hand, "I'm sorry I saw the scene play out in front of me. Is there anything I can do to help you?" He looked at me like I was stupid, "I don't need your pity." "No, it's not pity. I just want to see if there's anything I can do to make you feel better. Do you want to talk about it? Maybe?" I cringed when I said the last part. "What's there to talk about," I could tell his walls were breaking internally. "The problem. Maybe I can help you persuade her. If you talk about it, maybe you'll feel better," I pressed on as I motioned the bench close by. He hesitated but then agreed. With a sigh of relief, I led him to the bench and we sat down. I carefully placed my grocery bags beside me on the bench and gave him my full attention. "I promise I won't judge you, I'll listen to everything," I assured him. He narrowed his eyes at me but spoke up. "She's my fiancee, well now my ex fiancee," he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and I felt for him. "We were supposed to get her wedding dress today but it wasn't the design she wanted. She got mad when I tried to explain to her that it actually didn't matter, but I must have struck the wrong chord," he explained. "She started complaining about how I forced her into this. We both knew it wasn't my choice," he rubbed his temples. "What do you mean by that?" I frowned. "I have no choice but to get married in the next two months. I don't even want that now, but it's even my choice to make. And now, the one person I loved the most has left me," his shoulders sagged low and I felt the strong urge to hug him. And I did. He stiffened when I wrapped my arms around his body. He was big so I couldn't hug him properly but then he slowly relaxed and hugged me back. "There's always a silver lining," I smiled as I rubbed his back. He smelled like sandalwood and it was a little bit intoxicating so I had to break the hug. "So I guess, I need to go now. It was nice talking with you," I said with a smile as I stood up and grabbed my grocery bags. I was about to leave when he stood up and grabbed my arm making me turn to look at him, "Yes?" Then he went down on one knee, "Marry me." I nearly fainted when my eyes widened. My eyes wandered around, searching for any signs of a camera to know if this was a joke or something. I looked back at the man, "Sir, please stand up. You're scaring me." He shook his head and held my hand in his two large ones, "Please." I felt my heart beating in my chest loudly. I didn't even know his name. "Please stand up," I tried to remove my hand. Was he that desperate that he'd propose to a total stranger? He stood up but didn't let go of my hand. "Wait, please. I don't know your name or where you're from and you don't even know me. You can't just ask a random stranger to marry you," I told him. "What else am I supposed to do?" he looked fed up. "I can't marry you, I'm sorry," I tried pulling away but his grip was so strong. I was getting impatient. "What if I give you time? We can get to know each other," he offered. I narrowed my eyes at him, "Please don't mistake my kindness for something else. I'm sure you'll find a suitable person elsewhere." "Please, just give this a shot. I'll tell you my name," he pressed on. "Your name won't help anything," I pointed out. "At least it's something ," he was really stubborn. I sighed, "Okay then. What is your name?" "Anthony Simmons," he replied and I nodded. "I'm Tia Wilson and I would really love to be on my way home now," I said. "Can I have your number then?" he asked. I shook my head, "I'll have yours instead." "Does that mean you'll call me when you think about it?" he asked hopefully. I nodded and handed him my phone. When he was done he gave me back and let go of my hand. My first instinct was to run but I kept calm. "Can I take you home?" I shook my head, "There's no need for that. Goodbye." I spun around and quickly walked away. He didn't follow me and I was relieved for that. I needed to process everything that just happened right now!