It Should Have Been Like This (The Revised Version)

Chapter 26: A Night of Anguish

I feel the familiar sting of hurt and anger as I recall how he had forgotten my birthday. I had planned everything so meticulously — baking a cake, cooking a special meal, all with the intention of spending a simple, yet meaningful day with him. But he had broken his promise and never came home, leaving me to sleep off my disappointment while waiting for him.

For the past seven days, I've been giving him the silent treatment, refusing to even cook for him. Part of me wished I could just leave his house, but my anger hadn't quite reached that level yet. I was determined to make him feel the full weight of his oversight.

His Royal Majesty finally joined me in bed. I'd made sure to surround myself with a barrier of pillows, creating distance between us. He hadn't even bothered to apologize, dismissing my reaction as "childish."

"It's just a birthday," he said, the nonchalance in his voice only serving to infuriate me further.

"Laverne, are you still angry?" he asked, as if the answer wasn't obvious. I refused to respond, maintaining my silence and knowing full well how to effectively snub him. In a sudden motion, he knocked one of the pillows against my head, eliciting a groan from me.

I heard the sound of more pillows being tossed aside as he closed the distance, his warmth radiating behind me. I felt his breath on my ear, and I fought the urge to turn and face him, determined to hold firm in my silent protest.

"Laverne, I know I hurt you, I know what I did was bad, but I have an explanation," he began, his voice laced with remorse.

He went on to explain the work project that had gone awry, with a machine exploding and injuring some of his workers. "Despite that, it didn't go too well. The machine exploded on me, some workers got hurt and I took it out on you, I'm sorry," he said, acknowledging his poor reaction.

You can feel the tension as he admitted, "I shouldn't have forgotten about your day or said such mean words to you, I'm sorry." And just as I start to sense a glimmer of hope for a sincere apology, his actions betray his words. His hand reached up to cup my breast, and I realized he was trying to seduce me into forgiveness.

Filled with a mix of anger and disbelief, I shrugged him off and send my elbow flying back, hitting him in the stomach. "Seriously! You made a mistake and instead of trying to sincerely apologize, you just want sex! What is wrong with you, Rominic?" I exclaimed.

Rominic winced and complained, "Beau, you ought to call me Beau," in a childish manner, further aggravating the situation. I sat t up, pushing myself against the headboard and folding my arms angrily.

"If you had just explained, I would have understood, but what did you tell me? 'Stop making a big deal out of it, it's just a birthday'. That's what you said. You know fully well how important every celebration with you means to me, yet this is how you react. Do you always have to pour your frustration out on me? I'm your girlfriend, not your stress reliever. What do you take me for? Why must your anger always be on me? Is this why you convinced me to live with you, so I can suffer emotionally?"

As I lashed out, already swinging my hands in complaint, Rominic moved quickly and wrapped his arms around me, forcing my head against his chest. I kicked and screamed, trying to push him off, but he refused to let go. "No," I shouted, my voice filled with anguish, "You know fully well that aside from my friends, no one has ever been there for me. They are not around because you made me choose you over them. You promised me that you wouldn't hurt me or leave me. You know how my birthdays make me feel! You know how emotionally traumatizing it leaves me remembering that I am alone and my mother freaking died on this day! Yet you left me alone and even yelled at me about it! If my friends were still with me, I wouldn't fucking need you!"