My Boss Rent A Wife

Ting!

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Hannah pulled her phone from her bag, her eyes narrowing at the notification glowing on the screen. She quickly wiped a crumb from the corner of her lips with a tissue, her fingers twitching as she considered replying to the email.

Her heart sank. She’d have to work this Sunday.

"Seriously? You’re still doing that silly part-time job?" Lucy asked, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched her best friend.

"What’s your problem with it?" Hannah shot back, smacking her lips in irritation. "I’ve been doing this for years. There’s no way I’m giving it up now."

Lucy crossed her arms, an exasperated look on her face. "You already have a steady job, don’t you? Why not just leave the part-time gig? What’s the point of hanging on to it?"

Hannah squinted at her, stuffing a large piece of bread into her mouth as if to emphasize her defiance.

"You don’t get it, Lu," she said, her words muffled. "You get to have fun with someone, and you get paid for it. Where else can you find a job like that?"

Lucy arched an eyebrow, suppressing a laugh. "If someone overheard you, they’d think your part-time job was... well, something less than respectable."

"Like I care," Hannah retorted, sticking out her tongue. "As long as I’m making money, people can think what they want."

Hannah wasn’t bothered by anyone’s judgment. She knew she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Her job wasn’t scandalous, and she wasn’t selling herself to sleazy men. The idea alone made her shudder. What kind of person would do that?

Lucy leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Ann, I’m serious. Wouldn’t it be better to find a real boyfriend instead of... you know, pretending to be one? Isn’t that what you really want?"

Hannah chuckled bitterly, her gaze drifting to the rain-soaked street outside the window.

"If I could find a boyfriend, I wouldn’t need this job, would I?" She paused, watching people hurry by with umbrellas. Her voice softened. "You know why I do this, Lucy."

Lucy sighed, her teasing smile faltering. "You’re still not over him, are you?"

Hannah’s jaw tightened, and she looked away.

"Thought so," Lucy said, smirking.

"Oh, shut the fu*k up," Hannah muttered, annoyed.

She pushed her plate aside, her mind already drifting to her to-do list. After this, she needed to hit the supermarket. Great, she thought, realizing she’d forgotten her umbrella. ‘Just my luck.’

One of the reasons Hannah didn’t have a boyfriend was that she still couldn’t forget her high school crush. A senior she had admired from afar, he’d captured her heart with his quiet confidence and kind smile. Hannah had been so smitten that she’d chosen the same college—and even the same major—just to be closer to him.

She had clung to those feelings all through college, her devotion unwavering. But life had a way of moving people in different directions. He had left to study abroad, disappearing from her life entirely.

Now, years later, Hannah sighed heavily. Though she hadn’t seen him in person for so long, her feelings for him remained stubbornly intact.

‘Why can’t I let him go?’ she wondered for the thousandth time.

He didn’t even exist on social media, not a single trace of him to be found. It was as if he’d vanished from the digital world.

Is he doing well now?

"Ann," Lucy’s voice broke through her thoughts. "How long has it been since we graduated? And you’re still hung up on that guy?"

Hannah shrugged, avoiding her friend’s gaze.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "And don’t tell me you’ve never been interested in any of the guys who rented you."

"I don’t know, Lu," Hannah said softly. "I never felt anything for them. I do this job because... sometimes I just want to feel what it’s like to have a boyfriend. Even if it’s fake."

In all the years Hannah had been a rented girlfriend, not once had she felt any real connection with the men who hired her. Sure, a few had tried to pursue something more, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Sometimes, she felt like her life was stuck in a loop. She envied the couples she saw on the street, laughing and holding hands. She wanted to experience love—real love—but somehow, it always felt out of reach.

"Honestly, I don’t get you," Lucy said, shaking her head. "If you want a boyfriend so badly, just find a real one. Why play this rented girlfriend game? I swear, your brain works in the weirdest ways."

Hannah chuckled, grabbing her bag. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. I’m heading out. I need to stop by the supermarket before it gets too late."

Lucy blinked in surprise. "Wait, you’re leaving me here?!"

"You should head home too," Hannah said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Are you serious right now? You promised I could stay at your place tonight!" Lucy yelped, scrambling to pack up her things.