“Miss Kim, we’re finished. Is it to your satisfaction?”

Valerie shot out of her chair as soon as they removed the sheet covering her torso. “Yes, it is. Thank you very much. I’ll be going now.”

“Do you want us to inform Mr. Goldchild about your preparations?”

“No!”

The stylist’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I mean-” Valerie flashed a nervous smile. “I’ll tell him myself about the great job you guys did.”

The stylist beamed and bobbed her head. “Thank you, Miss Kim!”

Valerie grabbed her purse. A message popped up on her phone before she could stash it. It was Richard again.

Rolling her eyes, she wrote out a quick reply.

She didn’t need to see her phone to know that he had asked her where she was going. She headed out of the shop and was assaulted by a cacophony of blaring horns and the smell of garbage. Weirdly enough, she welcomed it.

Her gaze drifted down the road until she noticed the car plate number of her taxi. She hurried towards it and got in. 

“Are you Valerie Kim?” the taxi driver asked

“Yes. Please hurry to this Mr. Always Right shop.”

Slumping down in the back seat, she glanced at her phone. The message from Richard laid unread. She swiped the messaging app away and opened up her news app. The taxi ride should take about ten minutes or so. Ample time for her to catch up with the latest news.

The app showed today’s date - April 4, 2022. Skipping past the hardcore news, she went straight to the Life section. Her wedding to Richard was announced on the front page. She cringed at the sight of it printed in bold, black letters.

Once upon a time, she would have loved to let the whole world know about it. Now, she was thankful that her picture wasn’t plastered on the screen. She scrolled past the announcement and read some articles on a few celebrity controversies. That soothed her a little.

After reading a dozen or so articles, the tension in her body subsided. She could breathe easier with the huge rock lifted off her chest. She could even pretend that everything was back to normal. Maybe she didn’t need to see this fortune teller.

A ping from her phone distracted her. She opened up the message.

Valerie sucked in a breath. Her heart constricted again. Gritting her teeth, she swiped the message away. Trembling fingers tapped on the screen with increased fervor as she tried to navigate back to the news. 

Her thumb accidentally grazed against the Technology section, opening up the latest articles from an hour ago. A familiar name caught her attention - RomCon.

It was the latest crowdsourced relationship application that had been making waves in the dating community over the last few years. The headline read “RomCon receives Most Promising Startup Award despite consumer concerns about privacy and morality”.

Desperate to distract herself from Richard’s message, she read the article at a snail’s pace. As it turned out, an increasing number of people were upset and angry that RomCon would provide their services to help lovers stay in a relationship that one party did not want.

She grimaced. When RomCon first made its name in the papers, she had thought it would be an interesting company that helped people in relationships. That included providing the right kind of help. Like helping people break up with an abuser or a possessive boyfriend.

Her heart skipped a beat. Was that what she thought about Richard?  

The taxi driver’s voice broke through her train of thought. “Miss Kim, we’re here.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a five-star rating and exited the taxi.

Patting down her flowery mini-skirt, she looked around at her surroundings. As it turned out, Mr. Always Right was located in the middle of a sleazy suburb. There was a strip joint just down the street and a few bars sprinkled on every corner.

While she took in the place, two middle-aged men passed her by and whistled in appreciation. Her eyes narrowed to slits. She flipped them the middle finger, obscenities spilling from her lips like second nature.

They hurried off without looking her in the eyes. Satisfied that she still had what it took, a smug smile grew across her cheeks. If Richard had seen that, she would never hear the end of it. He liked his women prim and proper despite having gotten to know her when she moonlighted as an escort.

She cracked her neck, something that Richard didn’t like either. It felt good to be back to her old self. With a strut in her walk, she entered the rundown building with the red sign “Mr. Always Right”. 

This was shaping up to be a good day if she let herself forget about the wedding, that is. Maybe Mr. Always Right could help with that.