Never a Bride-23/2(7)
Author: BlueSuede
Title: Never a Bride
Rating: NC17
Genre: Romance/Humor
Pairings/Characters: primarily Chloe/Oliver
Summary: When a newspaper prints a false engagement announcement for Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan, and all their friends are thrilled, Chloe and Oliver decide to stage a fake engagement and breakup to prove to their friends how wrong they are for one another. Because, they will break up, won't they?
Warnings: completely Alternate Universe; also, sexual content and occasional language
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dandiandi22
Well, if you follow my Twitter, then you know that I said it would be a miracle if I got this chapter written in time. Lo, miracles really do happen. Who knew? And this one's a doozy, so I hope some of you have booze handy, or security blankets, or ice cream…or whatever does it for you, I guess. ;)
Also, quick shameless plug, I transitioned my old blog "Cakes & Ale" to a video blog this month. There are two episodes up on YouTube (episode 1 & episode 2). I would be delighted if you had a couple of minutes to go check it out and leave me some comments/questions for the next one.
That's all. Hope it's been a good month for everyone! Ta, darlings!
First Chapter
Previous (Chapter 22)
Next (Chapter 24)
-23-
Chloe shifted in her seat and moaned. She'd been trying to concentrate on coming up with a title for the spread in front of her, but, dropping all pretense, she buried her face in her arms on the desk. Her body was humming and her thighs were aching with reminder of the previous night with Oliver. All morning long, memories had been flooding her mind, coloring her cheeks and making it impossible to concentrate.
The intercom sounded and Mia's voice filled her office. "Miss Sullivan…" she asked hesitantly, watching Chloe through the glass wall of the office, "…more coffee?"
It would be her fourth cup since arriving at work 2 hours earlier. Chloe sighed and gave her a thumbs up. Bless Mia for coming in on New Year's Day. It had been optional, and she was getting double-time for it, but she and Edward had been some of the few.
"I don't get it," Edward said when he appeared with the requested coffee moments later and placed it in her grateful hands. "Why come in if you're hungover?" he asked, assuming she'd gotten drunk ringing in the new year.
"I'm not hungover," she grumbled.
"Right," he said disbelievingly. "Then what's the matter?"
I'm hiding from my fiancé. She cringed. Fake fiancé. I'm hiding from my fake fiancé, she corrected her thoughts. Ignoring her nosy executive assistant, she opened her e-mail. There was a letter of resignation from Louise which Chloe had been expecting. Louise had thought Chloe didn't know about the job offer from one of Whistle's competitors, but Chloe had known for some time.
Unphased, she took another swig of coffee before tapping the intercom. "Mia," I'm promoting you," she said calmly." There was a series of thuds on the other side of the glass when Mia accidentally dropped several pairs of shoes.
Edward, who had known this was coming as well, chuckled but then raised an eyebrow at Chloe. He leaned over her shoulder to view the spread giving her so much trouble. "Keep it simple, Stupid."
Chloe sputtered. "I beg your pardon?" she looked at him, shocked.
"The title. K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid. The article is about how the most successful people are the ones who know how to prioritize, and then the things the interviewees use to help them stay organized and focused on their goals, from tablets to moleskin notebooks. It's sexy, gets straight to the point…I think it works."
Chloe raised a thoughtful eyebrow. "Not to mention we could place the QI tablet ad on the accompanying page. Their new campaign slogan is Simple Finesse. If that doesn't sell the Quip I don't know what would." She looked at Edward wearily. "Sometimes I think we could just slap a blonde wig on you and you'd do a better job of being me than I do."
"I think there might be a few other differences. But hey," he smiled, "there's a delivery downstairs that I think might cheer you up. Want me to have it sent up?"
Chloe frowned. "Who's it from?"
Edward grinned. "It's a surprise."
"It's not from Oliver, is it?"
"Nooooo," Edward smirked. "I can imagine he knows how you feel about surprise gifts by now."
Chloe forced a laugh. "Right, well now I'm curious. Sure, bring it up. Is it big?"
"Yeah, actually."
Chloe watched him go thoughtfully. He stopped outside to put a calming hand on Mia's shoulder. She still looked dazed and confused. Chloe smiled as Edward said something to her before sending her into Chloe's office.
Chloe discussed with Mia how she felt about taking over Louise's position while they waited on Edward. A few minutes later he and one of the designers appeared in the elevator, hauling a mannequin adorned with a beautiful white dress through the room and into Chloe's office. Gently, they set it down and began laying out the train and situating it.
Chloe stared at the gown in utmost horror. Her face drained completely of color. "What-" she swallowed. "What is that?"
Mia beamed. "It's a wedding dress, duh!" She caught herself and quickly added, "Miss Sullivan."
Chloe waved her off. "But…who's it for?" she asked carefully, dreading the answer.
Edward laughed as the designer handed him the envelope that had arrived with the dress. "Well, we were assuming, as the only current candidate in this room for a wedding gown, that it's for you." He passed the envelope to her. "But you tell us."
Chloe opened the ivory envelope and pulled out a familiar personalized stationery.
My Dear Chloe:
My good friend, I know that you hadn't made up your mind about who to wear for your wedding, and you are by no means obligated, but I was inspired and couldn't resist. This is for you, a token of our friendship, to do with as you please. My spring line is not only at your disposal but dedicated to you. My sincerest congratulations on your coming nuptials.
With Love,
Vera
Chloe lifted her eyes slowly to the gown standing before her in the room as though it knew she had sinned and had come to collect her soul for Hell. Vera knew her well. Everything about it was her taste, in the edge-y, simplistic style that only Vera could create. Ivory rather than pure white, it had thin straps and a deep, sweetheart neckline, an A-line bodice that would be difficult to breathe in-the better to suffocate her with-and a sweeping skirt of only the finest silks and chiffons, spun from her web of lies. Chloe had a brief image of drowning in that skirt, of becoming tangled in it and tripping, coming crashing to the earth.
"Is she okay?" Mia's foggy voice seeped into her consciousness. "She looks like she might pass out."
"Miss Sullivan? Miss Sullivan, are you all right?"
Someone was rushing to her side, probably Edward, to make sure she didn't fall. She must truly look ill.
And then, as though the universe were telling her to fix this and fix it now, damn it, Oliver appeared.
"Hey, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I came to take you for some lunch I-" he paused, seeing the state Chloe was in. She met his eyes, almost trembling with panic, then turned her face to the wedding dress. Oliver followed her gaze and saw the dress. His expression became blank, lips tightening.
"Everyone out," Chloe murmured.
"What?" Edward asked. "Miss Sullivan-"
"Everyone," she gasped, "everyone out. I need to talk to Oliver."
Everyone remained frozen until Chloe yelled.
"OUT! GET OUT! Take the dress away, please," she added desperately.
Oliver refused to move and refused to take his eyes off of Chloe as the the three people rushed to collect the dress, moving it quickly while trying not to damage it. Edward and Mia dared a few concerned looks in Chloe's direction, but said nothing. Chloe didn't see them, she was still staring at the dress like it might try to kill her.
The door clicked shut and they all disappeared from view, leaving Chloe and Oliver with silence ringing in their ears.
"Chloe-" he started, but Chloe interrupted.
"We've let this get too far," she said, still looking at the place where the dress had been.
"Chloe-"
"Oliver, no!" Chloe said, tears starting to burn in her eyes. She blinked them back furiously, not willing to get emotionally compromised. "What were we thinking? Look what's happening. That dress…it was a gift for me. Vera Wang just dedicated her Spring wedding line to me. To a fake marriage," she hissed, closing her eyes in horror.
Oliver swallowed tightly.
"Oliver," Chloe whispered his name, "we are in so deep I don't know how we'll ever surface from this. We've crossed so far over the line I can't even see it any more," she opened her eyes and looked at him pleadingly.
Oliver took a step toward her but she stepped back. He froze. "Chloe…I know that this got out of control. I know it did, but-"
"We have to end it. Today. Right now. Before we hurt anyone else."
Oliver looked like he'd been struck by an arrow. "Chloe, please, I-"
"Don't say it," she held up her hand, shaking her head. "I'm begging you, don't say it."
"Chloe, I'm in love with you."
"Oh, God, Oliver!" she said, and the tears began spilling forth uncontrollably. She clutched her head. "Oliver, you can't say that. You can't."
"I am, Chloe."
"No!" she snapped. "No! Don't you see? We can't even tell the difference between fiction and reality any more! That's how far this has spiraled out of our control Oliver. It started as a joke, don't you get it? We've been toying with people. With our friends and families and we ought to be hanged for it. I refuse…I will not continue lying to everyone I care about."
Oliver shook his head, walking towards her, not caring when she shrank back. He placed his hands on her arms. "Chloe, tell me you don't feel something, too. I don't care if you're scared. I don't care if you want to change everything, if you want to come clean, I get it, I do. But don't tell me that you don't love me, too."
Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at him, "Oliver, I don't even know anymore. Everything we've got is based on lies. On the biggest deceit I ever thought possible. No," she shook her head, closing her eyes again. "Even I didn't think this kind of charade was possible," she corrected herself. "Anything I feel for you…I don't even know if it's real or not."
"It is real, Chloe," Oliver insisted, anything to convince her. "We've always been real with each other. From day one. I know you know that, Chloe. You know it in your heart."
Chloe just sobbed, pushing back from him. He stopped her and kissed her, hard. His lips welded to hers, desperate to prove that what was between them wasn't a lie. Chloe sobbed as she kissed him back for only a moment before pushing away, stepping further back from him. "Oliver, no."
Wounded, devastated, Oliver stepped back as well, trying to respect her need for space.
"Please," she whispered. "If you do care about me on any level, then let's finish this. It's wrong. This whole thing is wrong. Please," she looked at him fervently, "let this end."
Oliver looked torn, as though he wanted to sweep her into his arms and keep kissing her until she saw reason, as though he wanted to just hold her but didn't trust himself to ever let go. So, silently, he turned and left.
He found Edward on his way out, and told him simply, "She needs a friend. Go."
Edward instructed Mia to contact Lois Lane and Dinah Curry immediately, rushing to executive office where he found that Chloe had sunk to the floor, clutching her sides as she wept. "There, there," he wrapped his arms around her. "There, there, Chloe," he said, the first time Chloe ever remembered him using her given name, "it will work out all right."
Mia appeared moments later. "I didn't know what to tell them, I just said Chloe was sick and needed someone. Was that all right? Is she okay? What happened? Where did-" she stopped herself, about to ask where Oliver went but suddenly realizing why he must have left. "Should we try to get her home?" she asked quietly, as Edward rocked Chloe soothingly.
Edward shook his head. "She'd attract attention in this state. Chloe?" he asked gently. "Let's go to the kitchen. We'll get you something to drink that isn't caffeinated, and when you're a little more calm, we'll decide what you want to do, okay?"
Chloe nodded, barely able to control her sobbing as Edward and Mia helped her up.
"I don't understand," Lois said exhaustedly on the phone to Dinah. "They were great at Thanksgiving. Really great."
"And at Christmas," Dinah said, equally tired, eyes darting to the closed door of her spare room where Chloe lay asleep.
"And you couldn't get her to tell you why it was over?"
"Not a blessed word on the subject."
"What about Oliver?"
"A.C.'s been trying to get him on the phone but he won't pick up. He was furious at first until Chloe insisted that he hadn't done anything to hurt her. She just said it was her. She nearly fell into hysterics again so I told her she didn't have to talk about it, that she should get some sleep and then we'd have a girls' night just like old times with a bottle of wine and a movie."
Lois drummed her fingers on her desk at home, eyeing the engagement ring on her finger and wondering what they were going to do. "What about her apartment?"
"Do you know she's kept it all this time? I always just assumed she broke the lease when she moved in with Ollie, and that her stuff was in storage. I wonder if…" but Dinah paused, shaking her head. There was no point speculating. Of course Chloe-careful, cautious, practical Chloe-would have had her fears and doubts about getting engaged. She shouldn't be surprised if part of Chloe had always expected it to end.
Lois swore softly on the other end. "What about the Luthor wedding? It's in a month."
"I don't want to worry her about things like RSVPing right now."
"You're right, you're right, I just can't…jeez. I just can't imagine what happened. I mean, did you see this coming?"
Dinah shook her head. "No. No, I didn't." She heard the sound of stirring in the next room. "I think she's up. Listen," she whispered, "I'll call you later and let you know if I learn anything, but I think for now we'd better give her some space. She'll talk when she's ready."
Thinking of how she would feel if it were her and Clark, Lois agreed readily. "Absolutely. Take care of her. I wish I could get there, but I don't know when I'll be able to get out of Metropolis. I'll start hounding Perry for some family leave right away."
"Okay, bye Lois. Take care, girl."
"You, too. And take care of my baby cuz, okay?"
"Of course," Dinah said kindly before hanging up.
She went to the kitchen and poured a couple of cups of tea, placing them on their saucers before heading to the guest room and knocking. "Chloe?" she called softly. "Are you up? I brought you some rose tea."
There were some shuffling noises before she heard a meek, "Yeah," through the door.
Dinah set one cup down to turn the handle on the door before pushing her way through, teacups in hand.
Chloe was sitting on the bed, still in her work clothes, though they looked strikingly disheveled. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her lips looked white and swollen. She was looking at the engagement ring on her finger. Dinah set her tea down on the dresser before handing Chloe hers. "Oh, sweetie," Dinah said, smoothing Chloe's messy hair and tucking it tenderly behind her ear. "Drink that, you'll feel better."
But Chloe couldn't stop looking at the ring. She took a shaky breath. "I have to give this back to Laura…to Mrs. Queen," she amended. "I have to give it back to her, but I…" her voice left her.
"Honey, don't you think you should wait a couple of days? Whatever this is, maybe you and Ollie just need to take a breath and-"
But Chloe was shaking her head. "No," she said firmly. "No, it's done. Thank God we hadn't sent out any invitations yet," she muttered.
Dinah's heart throbbed looking at her friend in this state. "Okay, sweetie. You know what? Do you want me to take care of it? I'll make sure it gets back to her."
Chloe looked at Dinah, full of gratitude. "Would you? I know it's cowardly, but after…after everything, I just can't face her."
Dinah nodded sympathetically, squeezing Chloe's hand tenderly. "Give it to me when you're ready."
Chloe looked at the beautiful ring on her finger, sparkling coldly at her, telling her that it had always known she wasn't worthy to wear it, and she took a deep breath. "I'm ready now," she said. With some effort, Chloe forced herself to slip the ring from her trembling hand, removing it for the first time since this whole mess had begun. She placed it in Dinah's palm and closed her fingers around it. "Thank you, Dinah," she breathed, wondering why she didn't feel more relieved now that it was off.
"Of course, honey," Dinah slipped the ring in her pocket. "Now have a sip of that tea before we toss it out in favor of some wine," she winked, earning a small laugh from Chloe. The sound brought them both relief.
"You…did…WHAT?" Hal shouted over the webcam.
"I…ah, jeez don't make me say it again, Hal," Oliver buried his face in his hands, feeling like the slime of the earth.
"I just…oh, my fucking God, what the fucking hell were you thinking Oliver?" Hal demanded.
"We never thought it would get this out of control."
"Never…oh for…Ollie, the moment you two even came up with this idiotic plan it was out of control. And then you SLEPT WITH HER!" he shouted, pacing back and forth in his study at home, hands twitching like the only thing stopping him from strangling his oldest friend was literally the fact that they were in separate cities. "I mean, fuck, Ollie."
"You can't tell Carol about this."
"Tell C…are you kidding? Are you fucking with me, man? I wouldn't tell Carol about this if my life depended on it. No one can know about this man, you hear me? No one can know that you two have been pulling this shit on us. You will both be burned at the motherfucking stake."
Oliver groaned. "I know, Hal. I just…what do I do, man?"
"What do you…the hell do you mean, what do you do? You keep your dumb ass out of sight until this blows over and you pray to Christ that you will one day endeavor to deserve the people who love you. What do you do," he repeated with a scoff, shooting a disdainful look at the camera.
"Hal…it's not that. It's…" he mumbled something unintelligible.
"What?"
"I'm in love with her, Hal! I fell for her, damn it!"
Hal stared at him. Then he began to laugh, a deep, booming, callous laugh.
"It's not funny."
"Oh, I think it's fucking hysterical, Oliver. Let me get this straight: The two of you were so sick of everyone trying to hook you up, that you decided to tell everyone you were already together, just so you could break up and prove them all wrong. But then in the meantime you actually fell for her, ultimately proving everyone right all along?"
Oliver glared and Hal laughed again.
"Oh man, you really fucked up."
Oliver closed his eyes. "I know."
"Well what are you gonna do?"
"I just asked you that."
"Oh, hell if I know. I would never do anything this stupid."
Oliver grimaced.
"Well listen, man. Like I said, I think you need to lay low and not draw attention to yourself because however it happened, that city is going to freaking crucify you."
"What, why?"
"Because all they're gonna see is that big bad wolf Oliver Queen broke the heart of Chloe Sullivan, Star City's Darling. You're going to be one of the most hated men alive."
Oliver groaned. Whatever way it spun, Hal was right. That was what people would read into it. But after all, he deserved it. This whole thing had been his idea. "What about Chloe?"
"If you love her, you'll figure it out. But based on what you told me, you'd better back off for a little while. She needs to get a grip. You both do. How do you know she's not right? You're both so caught up in your own lies you don't even know how to spell the word 'truth' right now, never mind recognize it."
"I'm not delusional, Hal. I love her. And I think she loves me. We just got so screwed up." He shook his head, his whole body feeling heavy with misery.
"Well then, if that's true, you'll still love her in a couple of weeks when you've both cleared your heads a bit. Then start fighting for her."
"How?"
"Hell if I know. You're the hero of this picture, Ollie. You'll figure something out. But in the meantime you had better be so fucking sweet to that girl…" he shook his head. "All I'm saying is you do what she wants. When Curry comes to move her stuff out tomorrow, you help him out. You be humble and apologetic and you keep your fucking nose clean."
"I don't think I've ever heard you use the word 'fuck' so many times."
"I don't think I've ever heard of anything as fucking stupid as this before. I gotta go. I'm late for work." Hal ended the video call and Oliver closed the screen of his laptop.
"What am I gonna do?" he muttered for the hundredth time in the last couple of days, collapsing back in his chair.
Six weeks later, Chloe smoothed her dress and tightened her grip on her clutch before stepping out of her car and walking toward the church. It had taken everything in her to come today. Lois had insisted a hundred times that Chloe should have brought a date, even Clark or Bart, so she wouldn't have to come alone, but it had felt wrong. So, when her invitation arrived in the mail at the beginning of January, for Chloe Sullivan and Guest, Chloe had RSVPd for one, and planned accordingly.
"Chloe!" one of Chloe's old school friends waved at her in the parking lot. Chloe forced a smile and waved back but kept walking. She pulled her wrap around her against the cold until she reached the door, handing an usher her invitation as she walked inside.
The church was beautiful, all a whirl of lavender and white, everything grandeur and imposing. It spoke very much of Lex's taste, but had Lana's elegant style firmly implanted upon it.
Chloe heard another voice call her name and felt the grip on her heart loosen considerably when she saw Diana and Bruce waving at her.
"Chloe, how are you?" Diana asked meaningfully, squeezing Chloe's hands and kissing her cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"I'm good, Diana," Chloe returned the squeeze, trying not to cringe at the reminder of the holiday. "Bruce, hi," she beamed, her demeanor too bright, to cheery, like she was trying too hard. She ordered herself to reign it in as she hugged Bruce. "I wasn't expecting you two to make it."
"We got home last week," Bruce explained. "And I really hated to miss Lex's third wedding, after all. This is a once in a lifetime event," he joked and Diana elbowed him.
Chloe allowed a small chuckled to escape but still scolded him as well. "Bruce."
"Behave," Diana instructed him, and Bruce smiled sheepishly, placing an arm around Diana's waist.
"Well, ladies," he said, offering Chloe an arm. "May I?"
Gratefully, Chloe took Bruce's arm and allowed him to lead her inside. They took their seats in a pew on the bride's side and Chloe asked about their honeymoon until the music began to play and the bridal party began to enter the church.
When Lana entered, Chloe caught her breath and something hit her. She'd forgotten to put tissues in her purse. Even now she could feel herself beginning to get choked up, and there was no Oliver there to offer his handkerchief. The thought alone sent tears rolling down her cheeks.
She dabbed at her eyes with her silk wrap and was dismayed when she saw mascara smudge the fabric. Closing her eyes and sighing, she wiped her eyes and ordered herself to get it together.
She watched as Lana Lang took Lex Luthor as her husband and wondered deep in her heart if the marriage would last. She'd always felt that Lana brought out the best in Lex, but having known Lex for such a long time, she never quite got the impression that he was a man who could be trusted. And without trust, without honesty, how could there be a relationship? How could there be anything at all?
There couldn't. She hoped Lana knew what she was doing.
At the reception, Chloe declined several offers to dance, flat out refused to get up for the bouquet toss, and finally excused herself to the bathroom. She locked herself in the stall and leaned against the door, overcome with emotion as she began to cry in ernest. She'd been doing so well for the last couple of weeks. She'd told herself she missed him less each day, but it wasn't true. She was just handling it better each day. She didn't know what she would do without her friends, without Dinah and Lois and Edward. Even Mia was a blessing every day at the office. Between her and Edward, Chloe barely heard mention of Oliver or the engagement. Edward had informed her that he would take care of all the wedding cancellations, that she needn't think about it. She didn't know how she would have done it herself.
Laura Queen had shown up at her office about a week after New Year's Day. Chloe had wanted to die as Laura showed her so much kindness.
"I don't know what happened, Chloe," she'd said, "but I'd like you to keep the ring. It's yours now, truly."
Chloe had started to decline, and Laura had pressed her.
"Please, I'm not trying to make you take my son back, but I want you to have it as a keepsake. I care about you, dear, and I hope that you'll always think of me as someone you can come to at anytime."
But Chloe had refused, and rather than distress her further, Laura had backed down, but they had parted on good terms.
She'd been cornered a number of times outside of her apartment by tabloid reporters trying to ask about her relationship with Oliver. Somehow, word had gotten out about the terminated engagement. They'd wanted to know who had broken up with whom, if Oliver had cheated, if she'd gotten cold feet, etc. One day she'd snapped and shouted that her life was her business, that Oliver had done nothing wrong but they'd chosen to go their separate ways. The following day, a body guard that she hadn't hired was waiting for her when she left the Whistle building. When she demanded to know who had sent him, he had informed her that Oliver had. She'd tried to send the man home, but he had insisted, finally pointing out. "Listen, I just need to make sure that you get home without anyone bothering you for the next few days. I think the man's just trying to do you a kindness, ma'am." So Chloe had agreed.
She hadn't called Oliver, hadn't acknowledged it. She hadn't heard a word from him, in fact, since the day he walked out of her office after telling her he loved her. Deep in the darkest part of her, she couldn't help but wonder why. Was it because he was trying to respect her wishes, or now that it was over had he finally realized that he didn't love her, he'd just been as confused as she had.
The very idea was devastating, but either way it made no difference. It was over now. Everything was slowly going back to normal. …as normal as things could. She had two more weddings to endure this year, and one was Lois and Clark's. Then it would all be over. She sobbed shakily before taking a deep breath and exiting the stall. At the counter she wet a few paper towels with water and cleaned herself up before heading back into the reception. She needed to get used to this.
This was her life, after all. Her real life.
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Next (Chapter 24)