Angela12

Left standing on the altar on his wedding day heartbroken and his family, embarrassed, Lieutenant Stephen discovers much to his dismay that his fiancée had been sleeping with a higher-ranking officer. Devastated, he visits a stripper club, gets drunk and ends up pouring out his frustration on an innocent stripper who had caught his eye.

 But that event changes everything after the police raids the nightclub that same night, and trying to flee to safety, the stripper is stranded with no place to go besides to follow him back to the barrack against his wish. Even though Stephen didn't like this idea, this strange woman makes him feel whole again. 

Man In Uniform 

"I don't think there'll ever be an Us again, Stephen..." She said softly. "I don't intend to come back to you, because it will be a shame to date a boss and then later go back to the man who answers sir to him... I won't stoop that low again, not after tasting what greatness feels like. I can't make myself an object of ridicule in town, So, please, I'd advise you move on, Stephen, move on and pretend that we never existed."

With his heart bleeding even more at her words, Stephen listened to her without turning his back.

"And, I have always wanted to return this to you." Susan continued, pulling out an engagement ring from her purse. "Giving this back to you will mean that I've severed all ties that I have with you, Stephen. I've moved on to a new page and this chapter of us has ended." Then she tossed the ring at him. The ring hit the ground, rolled and spun between his shoes before finally settling still.

With his eyes burning with painful tears that he was trying so hard to keep at bay, Stephen stared down at his diamond engagement ring between his shoes which he had engaged Susan with a year ago. This was the ring he had gone down on one knee to propose to her by slipping it onto her finger and now, it was the same ring she was tossing on the floor at him like it had meant absolutely nothing.

He stared at it for a moment then ground his jaw, blinking several times to chase his tears back from the surface of his eyes which had turned glassy. A soldier was never supposed to cry and definitely not out in public. Without a word, he accepted his fate and strode out of the supermarket without looking back while Susan watched him go, surprised that he had refused to take the ring with him.

Deciding to leave the ring there too for whoever cared to pick it, she turned and pushed her cart down the aisle as she continued her shopping. She knew that Stephen was a strong man and presumed that in no time, he would get over her and would possibly understand that she had done this for their own good.

When Stephen finally got into the back seat of a car and slammed the door shut, his friends expectantly turned to look at him.

Stephen wanted to scream: "THAT GIRL IS A BITCH!" But he held back because his mother had taught him never to call a woman demeaning names, so, instead, he said: "Drive."

"Didn't you two talk?" Jerry pressed, eager to know how his encounter with Susan went. "I mean, you were in there for almost half an hour... Didn't you two speak?"

Just drive!" Stephen ordered now, bringing on his Lieutenant personality. He was in no mood to discuss what had transpired between him and Susan just yet because it might only make him transfer aggression on his men who were innocent of what she had done to him.

"Yes sir!" They both said, turned away and Rufus drove off without another word while Stephen blankly stared out of the window, deeply lost in thought throughout the entire drive.

Chapter 13