Crash and Burn: A Love Story

My boyfriend refuses to accompany me to the airport to pick my mother up, but he later rams into my car from behind in my new Maybach. He looks at my secondhand car and wraps an arm around the young woman beside him, who looks frightened.

He says, "It's just a rusty old Volkswagen Beetle! So what if I've crashed into it? I can afford to pay for the damages!"

The crowd praises him for being handsome and rich. With his back to them, he warns, "This is the woman my mom wants me to date. I'm just playing along for her sake. Don't make things embarrassing for me."

I nod understandingly and tell the young woman, "Since you like collecting trash so much, you can have both him and the car. I'll have my lawyer send you the bill."

Now, my boyfriend panics. He looks devastated as he hangs around outside my company all day, begging me to give him another chance.

With my car parked on the side of the road, I was just about to send my boyfriend, Harrison Leach, a text when I got rear-ended.

"Harry, my mom's flying in late. I'm waiting for her outside the airport. I know you're working overtime, so you don't have to worry about us. Just focus on your work."

I didn't even get to press send before a loud bang rang out. The force from the collision bumped my car several yards forward. Even my phone flew out of my hands.

The pain from banging my head against the steering wheel made me wince. Still reeling from the shock, I stuck my head out of the window—only to realize that the car that bumped into mine was the Maybach I bought and had fully paid for already three months ago.

Although the car was registered to my name, Harrison was the one who used it. He'd told me he had to work late today and refused to accompany me while I received my mother at the airport, who'd made the trip just to meet him.

But seeing as how he'd shown up here at the airport, I figured he must've seen the news about the flight delay online and rushed over to surprise me.

Touched by his gesture, I got out of the car. Approaching the Maybach, I was just about to call out to him when my voice got stuck in my throat.

A young woman I didn't recognize was sitting in the driver's seat, looking extremely panicked—and my boyfriend had his arm out protectively in front of her as he consoled her gently.

"Does it hurt anywhere, babe? I can't stand to see you hurt."

I'd never seen such a warm and gentle side of Harrison before.

The young woman looked moved too. She threw herself at him, and he didn't reject her. In fact, as if dissatisfied with the level of intimacy they were already displaying, he even cupped her face and kissed her tears dry