Mr. Corporate Law

1.2: L&W Lawyer - Adrian Lawler

"Can I ask you something?" I gulped, my heart began to race again.

He nodded.

"What am I to you?"

"The woman I'm going to marry, who else would you be?"

"Do you still love me?" I asked straight after.

"Why not?"

"Do you?" I bit at my bottom lip to avoid tearing up, my fingers curled around the hem of my grey silk button down blouse, my eyes closed as I held my breath to hear his answer, but he didn't say a word. A linger of silence between us made the uneasiness become harder to bear, my chest tightened as I shook my head to move away from him. I couldn't be around him any longer.

"Ah, Marianne, come here," He called me as soon as I stepped forward, his hand wrapped around my wrist as he twirled me back around and an 'oof' escaped me as I landed against his chest. Dominic did it again, his deep voice fully put me in a trance once he started to say my name over and over in a soft whisper. His other hand cupped my chin to force me to lock eyes with him again, his lips slightly curved upwards to form an odd smile that seemed too forced and fake.

I gripped on the hand that cupped my chin and felt my eyes water. I had a heavy heart, the familiar punches hit at me again, it reminded me of all those time he made me feel that way. "Stop it, Dominic, if you don't-"

"Shut up." He hissed.

"Now you're just being bossy-"

"I said shut up, Marianne, and open you eyes." He said with a stern tone, making me leap on the spot from the sudden aggression. I did as I was told, so I opened my eyes and glared straight into his. The way he looked at me made me shake, not out of fear or the attempted seduction, but from the fact that the man I fell in love with had completely changed and I worried that he would not come back to me.

Dominic's thumb trailed around my lips, each stroke became a lot gentler from the last. The water that built up in my eyes began to trickle down as I asked, "Do you love me, Dominic?"

"How can I not love you, Marianne?"

"What does that even mean?" The growing frustration made me push him away as my arms flailed up into the air. "We really need to talk about us when we have a time, but right now, I can't even stand being right in front of you!" I wrinkled my nose in disgust before I opened the door of the range rover and hopped in, slamming the door right in his face.

I leaned my head against the palm of my hands, shutting my eyes tight to avoid making eye contact or seeing Dominic at all. My heart ached - very badly - and I didn't know what to do. I needed to find a way to get him to see what he was missing, to see that he changed. I really needed to. If not, then I guess I'd have to do the worse thing I could think of right now.

I pretended to sleep when I heard the door slam shut at the other side, and the pretending ended up real when I eventually fell asleep through the whole ride. My dreams coaxed my pain and sadness, they filled my heart and soul with the old Dominic and the adventures we had together when we first started dating. I was very fortunate to have been able to keep those memories and remember them while I slowly suffered with separation from a completely different person that looked just like the Dominic Walsh I vividly imagined.

Although I knew my dreams of him had to end, and it ended right at the moment where Dominic proposed to me. My eyes opened wide and I caught sight of an unfamiliar ceiling, there was a heavy feeling over my body and there was actual comfort underneath me. I sat up and felt the blanket slither down from above my chest to my lap, and my skin peeled so soothingly from the soft white sheets of the bed. I even let out a satisfied moan.