Till Death Do Us Part

ch. 19 - Double Vision

"What did you have in mind?" he asked, seeming apprehensive.

"Well, I need you to tell me the history of your relationship first. Not just that summary you gave me when we were doing that bullshit wedding registry."

He breathed deeply before taking a seat on his couch, pushing away his laptop and the various papers scattered all around so that I could take a seat. "As I told you before, she ended up in my own club. I was instantly attracted to her the moment I set my eyes on her. I could tell she needed some cheering up, so I sat down and started to chat with her. We kept things pretty light and casual at first, the basic questions everyone always asks during small talk. When she found out I ran the club we were both in, she was amazed. She revealed that she herself had her own club, but she never had a single moment to breathe, let alone walk around and talk to customers. I figured that was my way in regarding spending more time with her and getting to know her without coming on too strong. I told her I would help her with whatever she needed since I obviously knew my way around the business. She was so in over her head that she agreed without a second thought.

"We started spending large amounts of our time together. I have one of the best management teams in the business, so it didn't hurt me that I was spending pretty much all my time at her club in her office. I helped her reconfigure her entire business model, but more than that I started to break down her walls. She told me the story of how Rouge came to be. She told me all about her late marriage. I found out her dreams and goals, what she truly wanted out of life. I told her mine in return. She was the first woman I'd ever met that actually listened to what I said and asked questions about me instead of focusing the entire conversation on herself. I hadn't realized throughout the year and some months I'd spent working on her club with her that I'd fallen head over heels for her. When I finally did realize how I felt for her, I immediately made my move. I thought the feelings were reciprocated because, well, we..." he trailed off, his cheeks taking on a pinkish hue. I chuckled quietly before nodding for him to continue.

"Anyway, after the first time neither one of us really addressed what had happened; we didn't have to. It became an unspoken understanding between the two of us that after a long day of work we would go to either of our houses and just destress together. That went on for about six months. Things were amazing. Beyond amazing. After we were done exploring each other's bodies, we would just lie in bed and talk for hours. I knew her better than I knew myself."

"So what happened?" I asked, knowing the full story was coming to fruition.

"I proposed," he stated casually. I blinked a few times as my jaw dropped open.

"You proposed?" I gawked.

A small smile pulled at his lips, the faraway look in his eyes still present. "Sure did. I got the ring shipped from home. It was my mother's and her mother's before that and so on; a family heirloom. I didn't feel the need to ask her to be my girlfriend first. I just wanted to skip ahead to her taking my last name and us growing old together."

"But...?" I questioned, knowing that it didn't all go down how he'd envisioned.

"She's terrified of commitment. Terrified that I'll do to her what her husband did to her," he stated with a beaten-down look. My heart ached for him as I reached forward and placed a comforting hand on his own. He flipped it so he could squeeze my hand.

"Her feelings are valid, but her concern isn't. She has to know that you would never do that to her," I insisted.

"She does, that's the hardest part. She's beaten herself up so much about this ever since I've proposed. I can see it in her eyes; she hates herself. And I think that's what kills me the most. I did this to her. Had I just waited and not jumped the gun, I could've avoided all of this," he grunted, hanging his head and staring at the floor.