A man falls in love with a large woman but he is ashamed to be seen with her in public so he invites a thin girl to go with him to his parents’ anniversary celebration.
Mark Hallspringer was determined to find the perfect woman: bright, charming, witty, and of course, beautiful with a dynamite figure and great style. After all, he was handsome, successful and athletic, and quite a catch. He deserved the best.
When Mark started talking to Anna, he had no romantic intentions whatsoever. She definitely wasn’t his type. The funny thing is that sometimes we get what we need, not what we want, and it took Mark a long, long time to realize that.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
It all started when Mark was asked to coordinate efforts between the company’s sales director and the marketing division. Marketing, as it turned out, was being run very efficiently by a woman called Anna Coulton.
Even though Mark and Anna had been working in the same company and the same building for three years, they had never met, not at meetings, or mixers, or even the Christmas party.
Mark sent Anna an email asking her to explain how she was articulating her marketing push with the sales division (sales were lagging and blaming marketing).
Anna’s reply was concise, clear, and neatly put the ball back on the salesforce side of the fence. Mark liked the way her mind worked, and he also liked the fact that she had put forward several suggestions to help boost sales.
The next day, he called her on the phone to discuss her ideas, and to set up a meeting between her and the sales director. Anna had a lovely throaty voice, and a lovely laugh, and halfway through they were chatting like old friends.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
From then on, Mark found himself calling Anna — supposedly to check up on progress — but in reality to hear her voice. He liked Anna Coulton’s intelligence and sense of humor, and he loved talking to her.
A few weeks of daily conversations down the line, Mark asked Anna out on a date. There was a long silence on the other end of the line. “Are you sure about that, Mark?” Anna asked.
“Of course!” Mark said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I may not be what you expect,” she said quietly. “I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.”
“Tea…” said Mark. “Did I ever tell you my mother’s British? I love tea, every type of tea, I’m addicted to tea…” Anna laughed and reluctantly agreed to have lunch with Mark on Saturday.
The day arrived and Mark waited impatiently outside the restaurant for Anna to arrive. “I should have asked if she was a blonde or a brunette!” he thought to himself. “How will I know who she is?”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
Just then, a large girl approached Mark and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hello, Mark,” said Anna’s throaty, sexy voice. “I’m Anna.”
Mark was stunned. Whatever he had expected wasn’t this! Anna was beautiful, yes, very beautiful with a face worthy of the cover of Vogue, but she was overweight. She was what they now tactfully call a plus-size.
But then they started talking, and Mark forgot about her weight and found himself completely fascinated by Anna and her radiant smile. At the end of lunch, he already knew he wanted to see her again.
Over the next six months, they fell in love, but Mark found himself cringing from the idea that other people would know he was dating a big girl. The truth is, he was embarrassed, and that embarrassment shamed him.
At work, they kept their relationship under wraps, because of company policy, but Mark had already met Anna’s family and knew she was waiting to meet his. The issue became even more pressing when he found himself proposing one night.
He loved Anna. He wanted to spend all his time, the rest of his life with her, but he didn’t want anyone to know… He imagined his kid brother’s smirk as he eyed Anna’s ample curves. No! It wasn’t going to happen!
Then disaster struck. His parents were having their 40th wedding anniversary celebration and Anna helped him to shop for a present. “So when is the party, babe?” Anna asked excitedly. “I can’t wait to meet them! Do they know we’re engaged?”
Mark nodded. “Yes, they do! They know all about you!” That was a lie. All that his parents knew was that Mark was in love and engaged to a beautiful girl called Anna, but they knew nothing specific about her at all.
Mark explained that the party would be at his parents’ home in Connecticut, and they would take the two-hour drive over on Friday night, then spend the weekend. Anna was delighted, and Mark was horrified. How was he going to get out of this bind? Anna expected to go, and his parents expected her there…
Then Mark had an idea. It was a stupid idea, though it seemed to be brilliant at the time mostly because it would save him embarrassment.
Two days before they were supposed to drive up to Connecticut, Mark called Anna. “Honey, I have bad news!” he said. “I’m on a plane. The board wants me up in Colorado to sort out a labor issue, which means I’ll be flying directly to Connecticut on Saturday morning, if at all. I’m sorry, you won’t be able to go with me!”
Anna was very disappointed. “Oh, no!” she gasped, I’m so sorry. But what about your present? Do you want me to send it by special delivery?”
Mark sighed with relief. Anna was taking it well. “Baby, that would be brilliant! Let me give you my parents’ address…”
Anna hung up the phone. Poor Mark! He’d sounded so disappointed! Anna stared down at his parents’ address and an idea popped into her head. Why not deliver the gift in person? It would be a lovely surprise for Mark!
That it would be a mistake didn’t even cross Anna’s mind until she knocked on the door of Mark’s parents’ house and a slender older woman answered.
“Yes?” the woman said politely.
Anna gave her best smile. “Hi,” she said. “This is an anniversary gift for Mr. and Mrs. Hallspringer?”
The woman smiled and took the present from Anna’s hands. “Thank you!” she said and started to close the door.
Anna put out her hand. “I’m Anna. Anna Coulton, Mark’s fiancée?” She started to feel nervous when the woman’s mouth hung open.
“Is this a joke, young woman?” she asked sternly. “Because my son and his fiancée Anna are sitting down to dinner with me this minute…” Anna pushed past the woman rudely and walked into the house.
There was a big table set up in the dining room and at one end was Mark, and next to him, hanging on to his arm was a slender gorgeous girl. “Mark!” Anna cried. “What is going on here?”
Mark jumped to his feet and his face turned deadly white. “Anna-” he stuttered. “It’s not what you think… This woman, she’s an actress…”
“I don’t understand,” Anna cried. “If you don’t love me, why did you propose!”
“I do love you!” Mark said. “It’s just that… I was afraid…You…You know…”
“No,” Anna said. “I don’t know. What about me?” The other people around the table were sitting in absolute silence and most of them were looking down, and away from Mark.
Mark whispered, “You’re so…big.”
Anna looked him in the eyes for one long moment then she took off her ring and placed it on the table.
“You don’t know what love is. If you loved me,” she said sadly, “you wouldn’t be ashamed of me.” Before Mark could say another word, she turned her back and walked out.
Mark tried to phone Anna again and again, but she wouldn’t take his phone calls, not even at work. He was desolate. He missed Anna more and more, and he now realized he might have lost her forever.
There had to be a way to win her back, to make her see that he’d learned his lesson… The next day, when Anna was walking up to the office block she and Mark worked in, she saw a crowd of her colleagues milling around in front of the building and pointing at a huge billboard on the other side of the street.
When they saw Anna, they all started to whistle and clap. Anna frowned, then she saw the billboard, and her mouth dropped open. On the huge billboard was a photo of herself and Mark, with their arms around each other.
A huge caption proclaimed, “I LOVE ANNA COULTON AND I WANT TO MARRY HER!” Anna was still trying to process the whole scene when Mark walked up to her and dropped to one knee.
“Please marry me,” Mark said with tears in his eyes. “I love you, now and forever, forgive me even if I’m an idiot!”
“You ARE an idiot!” Anna said, “But I still love you!”
Anna and Mark are making plans for a winter wedding up in Connecticut and all their friends and both families are invited.
What can we learn from this story?
- Accept people for who and what they are. Mark was in love with Anna but he was afraid of what people would think because she was plus-size.
- What matters the most is the love and kindness in people’s hearts, not their looks. When he lost Anna, Mark finally realized what really mattered to him.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a disabled woman who sees her father-in-law disappear into the woods with her two young children.
My Best Friend Asked Me to Help with Her Engagement Party — When I Arrived, I Was Horrified by Her Betrayal
When Oakley’s best friend Sophie ropes her into planning an engagement party, she’s happy to help, until the event turns into a nightmarish betrayal. Confronted by her cheating ex in a public proposal orchestrated by Sophie, Oakley is forced to question loyalty, love, and her own worth.
Friendships are complicated things. Sophie and I weren’t the storybook best friends who did everything together. Instead, ours was built on a shaky foundation of high school rivalry, competing for grades, sports, and even attention at parties.
Two high school girls | Source: Midjourney
But somewhere along the way, we found common ground. By college, she was the one I trusted with everything, the one who always had my back.
Or so I assumed.
When Sophie called me a few weeks ago, her voice bubbled with excitement through the phone.
“Oakley! Ryan and I are throwing a little engagement party,” she said, pausing dramatically. “It’s a surprise announcement. No one else knows yet, not even Ryan. Well, not about the party, I mean. So, I need your help.”
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Of course, Sophie,” I said, genuinely happy for her. “Congratulations, bestie!”
Ryan was a sweet and lovely guy, and Sophie deserved someone who treated her well and always put her first.
“But it’s not a big thing,” she added quickly. “I want a cozy and intimate vibe, you know? Just our closest people. I’ll send out the invitations and whatnot when you’re ready with them. You’re so good at planning these events. Can you handle it?”
A woman talking on a phone | Source: Midjourney
I didn’t hesitate. I actually loved planning events.
“Absolutely,” I said. “Just tell me what you need and if there’s anything specific you want.”
Over the next few weeks, I noticed Sophie’s usual chatter had a strange edge to it. She was jumpy and dismissive whenever I pressed her for details.
“I don’t want to jinx it,” she’d say with a nervous laugh.
A party-planning notebook | Source: Midjourney
“Jinx what?” I asked. “Everything is already planned. I just need to get the cake order finalized and it will all be sorted. Nothing can be jinxed, Soph. It’s all going to be perfect.”
“You can’t be too careful…” she said wryly.
I figured it was just pre-party jitters. She’d always been a little dramatic, but I thought it was part of her charm. I didn’t question it.
By Friday night, I had spent hours arranging pink and gold balloons, fairy lights, and floral centerpieces. Sophie’s backyard looked like a scene from a romantic movie.
A backyard setup | Source: Midjourney
Sophie squealed in delight when she saw the setup.
“It’s exactly how I imagined it!” she gushed. “Thank you, Oak. You’ve made it perfect. Just perfect.”
When Saturday arrived, I loaded the last box of heart-shaped balloons into my car, excited to see Sophie’s big reveal to Ryan. He had been away for work since Thursday, and he was going to walk into the surprise engagement on his way home.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
I could already picture it:
Ryan’s stunned face, the joy in Sophie’s eyes, and the warmth of celebrating her happiness, surrounded by all their closest people.
But when I stepped into the event hall, my excitement curdled into something cold and heavy.
Jason, my ex-boyfriend, stood in the center of the living room, which now had vases of flowers and some of the pink and gold balloons all over.
A man standing in a living room | Source: Midjourney
He wore a suit and held a small, velvet ring box. His grin spread wide, the same grin that had once charmed me and now made my stomach churn.
“Surprise!” Sophie chirped, rushing toward me with a wide smile. “Jason has been planning this for weeks! And we thought, who better to help with the decorations than you? Isn’t it romantic?”
I stared at her, the pieces slowly clicking into place.
This wasn’t Sophie and Ryan’s engagement party. This was Jason’s proposal to me.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
Jason’s proposal.
Jason?!
And I had unknowingly helped decorate and cater for the entire event.
“What the hell is this?” I managed to whisper, my voice shaking as my knees almost buckled.
Jason stepped closer, the same confidence oozing from him that had once been magnetic.
A man in a suit | Source: Midjourney
“I know I messed up,” he began, as if acknowledging the understatement of the century. “But I’ve changed, Oakley. You’re the only one for me. And I want to spend the rest of my life proving it.”
My mind reeled.
Jason, who had cheated on me with a coworker, forced me into questioning my worth, and dumped me with a single text after weeks of silence, now thought this public spectacle would erase it all?
I turned to Sophie, desperate for an explanation.
An upset woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
“You knew what he did to me,” I said, my voice breaking. “You knew, Sophie.”
She shrugged, smiling as if she hadn’t just betrayed me.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Besides, he’s serious now. He’s ready to commit, Oak. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? Isn’t that what matters?”
The air seemed to leave my lungs altogether.
A woman with her hands on her hips | Source: Midjourney
Sophie had always been impulsive, but this was something else entirely.
“You thought this was okay?” I asked.
“It’s a grand gesture, Oakley!” she said brightly. “I think you’ll thank me one day.”
I had barely noticed my parents standing in the corner of the room until my mom stepped forward. Her voice was soft, pleading.
An older woman standing in a living room | Source: Midjourney
“Jason explained everything, Oak. He made a mistake, sure, but he’s trying to make it right. Don’t be so stubborn, sweetheart. You’re not getting any younger, and how often does a man who wants to propose come along?”
I felt the walls close in.
My humiliation, my anger… it was all secondary to the suffocating realization that the people I trusted the most in this world were siding with him.
An upset woman holding her head | Source: Midjourney
With him.
Just as I turned to leave, Noah walked in carrying the cake box I’d asked him to bring in. I wasn’t going to trust myself to carry it with my heels on.
I had forgotten about Noah. But seeing him made me feel better. He had always been a calming presence for me.
He paused, his eyes scanning the room, his brows knitting in confusion. Then, his gaze landed on me, tear-streaked and trembling.
A man holding a cake box | Source: Midjourney
“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice steady but firm.
Jason puffed up his chest like a rooster.
“I’m proposing to Oakley, Noah. You don’t have an issue with that, do you?”
Noah’s eyes darted to me, and then back to Jason.
A man standing with his hands in his pockets | Source: Midjourney
“Do you want this?” he asked, his voice softer now.
I shook my head, unable to speak through the lump in my throat.
“Then let’s go,” Noah said without hesitation.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. The cool night air hit my face like a lifeline as we stepped outside.
A woman standing outside | Source: Midjourney
We drove in silence for a while, my thoughts a tangled mess of rage and betrayal. Finally, I told Noah everything. I expected him to offer advice or a quick solution, but he didn’t. Instead, he just listened.
Noah had been around for years, and while I told him about most things in our friendship, I wasn’t always open about talking about Jason.
Over the following months, our relationship became more intimate. Noah became a rock of sorts. He never pushed, never pried; he simply was. And when the time was right, our friendship deepened into something more.
A man driving a car | Source: Midjourney
It started out as a dinner from a drive-thru and turned into a romantic picnic in a parking lot. Noah reminded me that love wasn’t supposed to hurt or feel like an uphill battle.
As for Sophie?
It had been months since that night, months of cutting Sophie out of my life, deleting her texts without reading them, and dodging her calls. I thought I’d moved on, that I’d buried the hurt.
Then, one chilly afternoon in early spring, she showed up at the café where I was meeting Noah.
The interior of a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
The bell above the door jingled as she stepped inside, her bright smile faltering slightly when she saw me.
I froze, mid-sip of my latte.
Sophie approached with hesitant steps, her voice too bright.
“Oakley! I was hoping I’d run into you!”
I didn’t return her smile.
A woman in a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“What do you want, Sophie?”
Her expression flickered. Disappointment? Irritation? But she quickly covered it with the kind of grin that used to fool me.
“I just want to talk. Can we, um, can I sit?”
I nodded.
“I’ve missed you,” she began, her voice soft as she slid into the chair. “I know you’re mad, but I hate how things ended. I just want to explain.”
A woman sitting in a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“Explain what, Sophie? That you thought it was a good idea to ambush me with the guy who destroyed me? That you cared so little about my feelings you turned my pain into some romantic gesture for Jason?”
She flinched but held her ground.
“It wasn’t like that,” she said quickly. “I was trying to help you. You and Jason… there was so much love there, Oakley. I just thought if he could show you he was serious, you’d see it too.”
“Serious? He broke me, and you knew that.”
A woman holding her head | Source: Midjourney
“People change!” she exclaimed. “He told me he regretted it, that he wanted to make things right. Isn’t that what everyone wants? To be forgiven?”
I shook my head.
“I thought you’d be happy! You used to love him, Oakley! How was I supposed to know you’d react like that?”
My jaw dropped.
An upset woman sitting in a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“React like that? You mean like a normal person who doesn’t want to be blindsided by their abusive ex in front of their family and friends?”
“You’re blowing this out of proportion, Oakley. Like you always do. I wanted you to be happy like me.”
I stared at her, the full weight of her words hitting me.
“No, you were trying to force me into the life you thought I should want. You’ve never cared about what I actually feel, Sophie. It’s always been about you.”
An upset woman in a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“That’s not true,” she said.
“It is. Now, please leave,” I said.
Just then, the bells above the door jingled again, and Noah walked in, beaming.
Bells hanging in a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“That’s my cue to leave,” Sophie huffed.
“I assume that wasn’t an apology, was it?” Noah asked.
“No,” I said with a small, bitter laugh. “But that’s okay. I don’t need her apology anymore.”
A woman walking away | Source: Midjourney
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you:
When Lily and Jason’s son, Nathan, brings his fiancée home for the long weekend, Lily is excited to get to know the young woman. But during that weekend, she notices her husband acting strange. So, she tries to uncover what is going on with Jason — only to open a can of worms with secrets wriggling everywhere.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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