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Chapter 1
Sienna
Bah Humbug! That’s what I thought of Christmas this year. I pulled my coat tighter around my body as a sharp wind cut through me. No matter how much I wanted to forget this past week it seemed determined to sit front and center in my thoughts.
Monday started off as a typical Monday, nothing great and nothing terrible. When I finally arrived home to the apartment I shared with my fiancé, Daniel, I knew something was off before I even opened the front door. I was surprised to see Daniel home before me, only he wasn't alone. Sitting on his lap was his “assistant”, Cindy.
We were getting married in less than a month, and our apartment was wedding central with boxes and stuff everywhere. My eyes blinked as I watched as Cindy quickly stood and fixed her bra. I was so excited to marry this man that my brain struggled to comprehend what I was seeing.
Daniel and I had been together for nearly two years. While things weren’t perfect, we loved each other through thick and thin. He’d help me in the areas I was lacking to become a better version of myself. I’d lost weight, started wearing the clothes he wanted me to, and moved up the social ladder. While I didn’t have time to do the things I loved, like painting, Daniel was happy which made me happy. But if he was happy, why was Cindy on his lap?
“Daniel…” I whispered in desperation. The horror and shock before me left me in a dazed state of mind. Everything felt frozen.
“Shit! Sienna, baby. It’s not what it looks like,” Daniel tried to explain.
“How long?” My voice was hoarse. My mind stuck on trying to understand.
“Cindy was just helping…”
“HOW. LONG. DANIEL.”
“Six months.”
“Why on God’s green earth did you propose to me while having an affair with her?” My voice took on an exasperated tone. “If you were that miserable with me why didn’t you just break it off?”
“You are the perfect wife in the eyes of the partners. Cindy is my assistant.”
“Well, I guess you're just shit out of luck then.” I walked into my bedroom and quickly pulled out a travel bag and filled it with enough to get me by.
“Sienna, wait. Let’s talk about this.”
“Fuck you!” All I could think of was getting out of there. I grabbed my purse and shoving Daniel out of the way, ran out to my car. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was going to do. I just drove.
Finally I found a decent hotel and got a room. Sitting on the classically hard bed, I just sat there and tried to figure out what I did wrong. I must have fallen asleep at some point. I woke up to the alarm on my phone going off. I needed to get ready for work.
My brain was the aftermath of a bomb going off. There was a continual ringing, nothing made sense, and my emotions seemed frozen. I couldn’t think straight.
Somehow I managed to look semi decent and made my way to my car. The drive to work was short for which I was eternally thankful for. When I walked in everyone went quiet. It felt off but then everything felt off, truth be told.
Just as I settled in at my cubicle I heard, “Ms. Jensen, a word.”
With a deep sigh, I hung my head. Apparently, the spirit of Christmas was determined to hand me a big ole ‘Fuck you’. I wouldn’t even be surprised if coal showed up at this point.
I walked into Mr. Williams' office with a smile that I didn’t feel plastered to my face. “What can I do for you?”
“Close the door and sit down,” my boss ordered without even looking at me. The twists in my stomach knew this wasn’t going to be a good meeting. After closing his office door, I sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Ms. Jensen, today will be your last day. We’ve been asked to trim the budget and since you were the last to be hired, unfortunately you’re the first to be let go. Knowing this season it’s hard to find employment, you will receive two months pay as severance. Please gather your things.”
I sat blinking at him. I’d just been fired days before Christmas. What the fucking level of hell was I in?
Before I even realized, a box of my personal stuff sat in my passenger seat, and I was driving. I stopped driving when I saw that I was in the center of town surrounded by everything beautiful about Christmas in Christmas Falls.
I just sat there and all the emotion hit at once. After a bit I silently took stock of my life. My car was my own. My bank account was still my own. I didn’t have a place to live or a job, but the money I did have was still my own.
Wiping my face, I took a deep calming breath and decided to take a walk through all the decorations. Maybe it could lighten my heart and give me some joy. I swung open my car door before I realized anyone was walking by.
In slow motion, I watched as it slammed into the back of a man nearly knocking him off his feet. When he righted himself and turned to look at me with a disgruntled look I swallowed nervously. Standing there was the largest, most gorgeous man I’d ever seen.
