"....love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come,
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom...."
-William Shakespeare
Greenlee sighs. It has only been a few hours since that horrific breakup with Leo. Yet, it seems to last an eternity. A fat tear rolls down in remembrance of the event:
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"Your good for nothing boyfriend is a scammer!" Roger declared.
Greenlee had protested, "I don't believe you!"
Suddenly, she saw Jake side with her father.
"Greenlee, I'm so sorry to say this to you.but it's true," Jake pointed out. "I have contacted three people in Europe. One was an aged woman in France, another a woman a little younger than yourself in Belgium, and another old man in England. These have all been rich people before Leo and his mother cleaned them out and ran."
"Why? Why would Leo do that to me?" Greenlee cries.
"Because he's got no morals. That's why, Greenlee. He's just like his brother David." Jake said.
Roger commented, "I know this is all very hard for you Greenlee. I love you, and I know I haven't been the best father lately. All I want is another chance. Think about it." He gives a frozen Greenlee a peck on the forehead before taking off.
"Are you alright?"
Greenlee looked into Jake's warm brown eyes and all the hurt and betrayal was evident on her troubled face.
In walks Leo. (Talk about bad timing)
"Hey Greens! Look at what I got you!" Leo's lopsided grin made her heart leap.
"Hey Jake! Greens! Greenlee?" Leo was sensing that something was wrong. "Greenlee, what's the matter?"
"You better stay away from Greenlee from now on!" Jake warned Leo.
"What? Jake, what are you talking about? Greenlee's my fiancé" Leo protested.
Jake interrupted, "Why were you interested in her in the first place? Leo, your secret's out. You are a scammer. Always have been and always will be one. I spoke to three people who can prove it. Frederick Fitzgerald, Lillian Ames, and Juliet Ropier. These names sound familiar?"
Suddenly, Leo's face had change, and Greenlee knew the truth.
"Greenlee, I can explain" Leo pleaded.
"You stay away from Greenlee. You go far away from her. In fact," Jake throws Leo his coat. "You get out of here."
"Stay out of this! This is none of your damn business!" Leo shouted.
"None of my 'damn business'?" Jake retorted. "I happen to be Greenlee's friend. Now, this might seem radical to you, but I stick BY my friends especially if they have been hurt, and Greenlee has been hurt by you too many times."
Jake and Leo were facing each other. In a moment or two, a violent fight would be inevitable.
"Jake. Thank you," Greenlee trembled, "Leo, you promised me that you were going to protect me, and that you would never hurt me! Here I was thinking that I OWE you because I pushed Laura off the yacht and all this time, you have been dishonest with me."
"Greenlee, wait!" Leo said.
"No, you wait," She replied angrily. "You even said it yourself. A relationship cannot function when there isn't mutual honesty between two partners. It's over Leo."
The next few minutes seem vague to her as Jake threw Leo out of the loft.
Then, Leo was gone and Jake's arms engulfed her tiny body.
"I want to be alone" was all Greenlee could utter. Then, she left to go to the park.
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And here she is. Upon arriving, she cannot bear it any longer and big drops of salty tears streaked her face and smeared her mascara. She probably looks dead. But she didn't care. Who cares anymore? How could Leo do this to her? She loved....wait. LOVES him. She still does. How can he be so hypocritical?
She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder. Spinning around, she gasps as she comes face to face with Chris Rockell!
"Hello sweetcheeks! Remember me? What's wrong? What guy do you want me to punch out this time?" Chris smiled knowingly.
Chris Rockell. They had gone way back since Pre-K. Chris's family is also very rich. Greenlee remembered all the times in junior high when she and Chris had caused trouble for the teachers and students of the school. There was one incident that she remembered more than anything.
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Greenlee was crying after being dumped by yet another guy. After beating the poor chap up, Chris approached Greenlee.
"Hey, you ok now?"
"No, why can't I make anyone love me? Why am I always by myself? I bet I'll still be single by the time I'm 50! And live a desperate old maid."
"Hey, don't say that!" Christ protested. "Promise me something. When we're both 25, and are still single, and if we don't have any steady relationships then, let's get married. You promise?"
Greenlee smiled, "Promise."
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Chris listens attentively as Greenlee relates to him her past with Leo.
"So, I'm hurt that he would do that to me," she finally finishes.
"I know exactly how you feel Greenlee," Chris says huskily. Greenlee takes a look at Chris's eyes and in it, she sees a world of pain and loneliness. She remembers feeling the same way before she met Leo. And now that she knows that Leo is interested in her only for her money....
Chris kneels down and takes out a box. In it a diamond shone brighter than the Heaven's stars. "Marry me, Greenlee. We're both 25 now, Greenlee. Remember the promise? I never found someone who can love me as much as I love them. I know you feel the same way too. Please marry me. We can both make each other feel better."
Marriage? So fast? Greenlee sighs. Might as well. She would never love anyone more than Leo DuPres, and she never will. But Chris would be good to her.
"Yes"
"Yes?"
"Yes, Chris, I will marry you."
Chris grins and gives Greenlee a tender kiss. Greenlee feels nothing as Chris's lips lightly compress her own. It isn't the same passion that she and Leo had share before he ruined everything.
"Come on!" Chris encourages. "Let's elope!"
Few Days Later:
Jake muses over the state of affairs.
Greenlee had told him everything about her plans for eloping with Chris. Jake knows that Greenlee doesn't love Chris. There's only one man that Greenlee would ever love and that's Leo DuPres. However, nothing Jake said would dissuade her from marrying Chris.
"We're going to New York City and staying at the Plaza Hotel." Greenlee had informed him. With that, she packed up some of her things and left.
Jake feels pretty bad about the whole situation. He decides to take a walk to refresh himself. Just then, he sees Leo. Leo looks tired and worn up. His clothes are wrinkly and his face- there are shadows under his eyes.
"Leo, there's something I think you should know...."
A Day Later:
Leo finds himself running down the streets on Madison Avenue. He doesn't quite remember how he got there. All he remembers is that urgent fear of not wanting to lose Greenlee.
"Don't do it Greens! WE can make it last forever!" He repeats that phrase over and over in his head like a mantra.
He turns and darts down to Fifth Avenue, 90th Street. There stands an Episcopalian Church named after Saint John.
Leo turns the knob and opens the door. He hopes that he isn't too late.
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Chris grins, "Here we are baby."
Greenlee gives him a forced smile. "Let's get it over with," she says.
"Dearly beloved...." The priest drones on.
"If we can make this work, we can make it last forever. Greenlee, I can take you places you've never been before...." Leo's words to her in the boathouse keep on haunting her. Repeating in her head. Oh why must he continue to be in her mind constantly? Then, it hit her. Leo is her soul. Her LIFE. She loves him from his devilish grins to his sea-green eyes. She can never be with anyone else except Leo no matter what he does
"I do!" Chris's words broke her out of her trance.
"and do you Greenlee Smyth take Chris Rockell to--" the priests asks.
"I don't! I can't! I can't!" Greenlee breaks down.
Suddenly, the doors fly open. In walks a frantic Leo DuPres!
Greenlee feels her legs quivering as he strides up to her.
"Don't do it!" Leo pleas. "Marry me Greenlee! I never meant to hurt you! I was going to tell you! I love you!"
At this point, both Leo and Greenlee are crying.
"Oh dear...." the priest is befuddled. (I suppose this doesn't happen every day)
"Father, would you marry us?" Greenlee asks tentatively.
Chris objected, "Hey! What about me?"
Greenlee and Leo turned around.
"Get over it man," Leo gloated.
"Chris, I love Leo," Greenlee explains. "You understand right?"
Chris heaves a sigh and nods. "Congrats to the two lovebirds. Greenlee, you finally found someone that loves you as much as you love him. I only wish that I could be as lucky."
"You will. Hey, if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone!" Greenlee gives Chris a peck on the cheek.
"Shall we start over again with a different groom?" the priest asks solemnly. "Dearly beloved...." (And you know the rest!)