That Stupid Ring

Part 7

I look at him, shocked. "Will, I don't think━" 

He slides the ring into my finger and it fits nicely. 

He smiles, "This is also my way of telling you that no matter what the future holds, we're always as close as we are right now in Nettleton."

I look at the ring on my finger, and I look at him.

He squeezes my hand tight. "I'm in love with you, Paris. I swear to God, I am." 

I look over to our side to see the sunset. 

There's a cloud over it.

No sunset today.

***

 ******** BACK TO THE PRESENT *******

PAMELA'S CUBICLE AT WORK

"Oh no...." Dale's voice shakes as if he's about to cry, "My tears are coming. I can feel it."

"I didn't know that ring was the legendary Royal engagement ring," I tell him, "I thought it was just a stupid ring he carried around."

"Exactly! Why did he carry it around? Did he make a habit of carrying a ring in his pocket in case he meets the right girl?"

"He told me he had a hunch. The ring was left to him when his mother passed away, and he took it with him before he left for Nettleton to meet me. Regardless, you have to remember how young we were back then. We were very, very young. We're bound to do stupid stuff."

"Then what happened? Did you go to London with him?"

I shake my head, "I wasn't ready for that, of course. Meeting his family and all. I stayed at Nettleton and he went back to London the next day."

"And?" 

"And," I sigh, feeling a pang of pain on my chest all of a sudden, "He never returned."

"WHAT!" Dale shouts, "What the heck? He said he'll go back right away! He said it'll only take two hours tops!" 

"I waited for him there in Nettleton for three days and he didn't even call━"

"THREE DAYS?"

"Dale I'm not joking here. If you're don't lower your voice, I will stop my story."

"I'm sorry but this is outrageous! Didn't he try to contact you?"

I shake my head, "Nope. You see, he gave me this one number which he said to call if I wanted to reach him while he was in London. That number was switched off all the way. I waited and waited, but I never heard from him. After three days, I figured he's not coming back so I left."

"Holy sh━ Did you cry?"

I shake my head, "I don't think so. I guess deep down, I expected it to happen. Deep down, I never actually believed him when he told me that it was never going to be over for us. Who was I kidding? He's the friggin Prince of England and I was this nobody. There's a reason why Cinderella was a fairy tale, not a biography."

"So in a way, you knew it was going to end badly?"

I nod, "Yes. So I packed my bag, said goodbye to Edith and flew back to New York."

"And he never called you after that? Not even once?"

I shake my head, "I never heard from him. Until today his staff called me asking for the ring."

"Bastard."

I shrug, "Well, what do you expect?"

"So where's the ring now? Can I see it before you return it? Oh my God, let's find a fake one that looks exactly like it and sell the original one to Tiffany's. We can use the money to go to Ibiza or something."

"I left the ring at Nettleton."

"Are you kidding?"

"What do you expect? I was upset! Everything he said when he gave that ring to me was clearly a festival of bullshit, so why should I keep it? I left the ring inside the cupboard in that room at the top of the water tower, where he gave it to me in the first place. I've told that Alfred guy to go there and get it."

"So the ring has been there all these years?"

I nod, "Seven years, to be exact."

***