The Wiles of a Woman
To this day, Dennis remains a bachelor. Though he once came close to marrying, he never quite understood the reasoning behind his fiancée’s actions.
When he proposed to Emily, they had been courting for nearly a year. The initial passion had settled, and Dennis finally felt certain she was the one he wished to spend his life with—the woman whose voice and presence he longed for every day.
“Emily, will you marry me?” he declared earnestly, sinking to one knee, as tradition dictated, with a velvet box in one hand and an extravagant bouquet in the other.
She had sensed this moment might come, yet she still gasped with delight.
“Of course, darling, of course!” she agreed without hesitation.
Emily was a beautiful woman, and Dennis was no less striking—tall, broad-shouldered, with a short, tidy haircut and a preference for smart, casual attire.
“I want us to have a daughter who looks just like you,” he grinned.
“Whenever you like,” Emily laughed in return.
Preparations for the wedding began, and Dennis was taken aback by the sheer amount of work involved.
“Emily, this is absolute madness,” he muttered as she dragged him from shop to shop. “I never imagined there’d be so much fuss.”
Veils, rings, shoes, ribbons—everything had to be just so. He had naively assumed a proposal, a ring, and a quick visit to the registry office would suffice.
Eventually, Emily’s whirlwind of planning settled, leaving them a brief respite before the big day. Just as Dennis breathed a sigh of relief, she returned from work with unexpected news.
“Den, my boss is sending me away for a week—some training in the countryside. It might even be for the best—give us a chance to test our feelings before the wedding.”
“Terrible timing. Doesn’t he know we’re getting married?” Dennis grumbled.
“He does,” she insisted. “But it’s not as if I’m leaving on the wedding day. Besides, this could mean a promotion and a raise. We’ll need the money.”
After a pause, she added, “While I’m gone, Sophie will keep an eye on you.”
“Sophie? Bloody hell,” Dennis scoffed. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Trust has nothing to do with it,” she said lightly. “I won’t leave you unsupervised—that would be reckless. So Sophie will watch over you.”
Sophie, Emily’s closest friend since their schooldays, was to be maid of honour. Dennis had always found her insufferable. Not that she wasn’t attractive—blonde, vivacious, with a figure to turn heads—but she was always underfoot. Emily brought her everywhere, even to their dinners, and she often stayed the night in the spare room.
Dennis had once quipped darkly, “I don’t suppose Sophie will be joining us on our wedding night?”
He saw Emily off at the airport, Sophie in tow. After farewells, he drove Sophie home, dropping her off with relief.
Three days passed. With time on his hands, Dennis rang his mates, who invited him fishing. He leapt at the chance—it had been ages since they’d shared a proper lads’ outing, with beer and banter in the pub afterwards.
“Who knows when I’ll get another chance like this?” he reasoned, drifting off to sleep contentedly.
But on Thursday evening, Sophie rang.
“Den, how are you holding up?”
“Never better,” he answered curtly.
“Do you need anything? I could—”
“No, I’m quite capable,” he snapped. “I’m a grown man.”
“Fine, don’t bite my head off. Actually, I need a favour.”
He tensed. “What sort?”
“Our mutual friend—Charlotte, from school—is celebrating her birthday at a country inn. My car’s broken down. Could you drive me? I asked Emily, and she agreed—said you should come along too.”
Dennis groaned inwardly. A night with strangers sounded far less appealing than fishing with his mates.
“Come on, Den, please?” Sophie wheedled. “Everyone else is paired off, and I’ve no one else to ask. You know I’m not seeing anyone.”
“A shame,” he muttered.
“I’ll take that under advisement later,” she teased. “For now, say yes? Emily will be pleased you’re keeping me company.”
Reluctantly, he agreed. He considered complaining to Emily but thought better of it—after all, she had asked Sophie to watch him.
The party was on Friday evening. At five, Sophie arrived at his door, radiant in a sleek dress, her perfume intoxicating. Against his better judgment, Dennis softened.
“Fine, an evening with a beautiful woman isn’t the worst fate,” he conceded.
At the inn, Sophie clung to his arm as they entered, greeting everyone warmly. Dennis, knowing no one, felt distinctly out of place.
Sophie filled his glass with champagne.
“Drink up, relax.”
“I’m driving, Sophie.”
“Oh, one glass won’t hurt!”
Under the curious gazes of strangers, he drained it. Then another. And another. By night’s end, he was thoroughly drunk.
“You’ve had a fair bit,” Sophie murmured. “I’ve booked us a room—thought ahead, you see.”
Dennis barely registered stumbling into bed.
He woke at dawn, head pounding, throat parched. Water—blessedly cold—stood on the nightstand. Gulping it down, he barely noticed the bathroom door opening.
Sophie stepped out, dripping wet, utterly bare.
Stunned, Dennis could only stare.
She approached, guiding his hands to her shoulders. What followed was a blur of passion.
They drove home in silence, both sated yet uneasy.
“Sophie,” Dennis finally said. “What do we tell Emily?”
“The truth, I suppose.”
“She’ll be furious—especially at you. You were supposed to watch me, not seduce me.” He smirked bitterly. “Was this your plan all along?”
“Typical man—always blaming the woman,” she huffed.
When Emily returned, Dennis met her at the airport with flowers. Her kiss was cool, her manner distant. The drive home passed in stiff silence.
Inside, as he set down her luggage, Emily slapped him—hard. Then she confessed.
“I told Sophie to test you. I needed to know if you were loyal.”
“And?” he asked, stunned.
“And you’re just like the rest. I deserve a real man, not a rake.”
Dennis was wounded—not just by her deceit, but by the cruelty of the test. No man claimed sainthood, but neither, he realised, did some women.
“Why go through such a charade? Did she ever truly wish to marry me?” He never understood.
Three years on, Dennis remains unwed. He falls in love, courts, but when marriage looms, he retreats. Emily, too, has not married. Distrust lingers, and the past still haunts them both.
