Vote, Comment and Share 💕
QOTD: You are enough.
ROMY:
I was sitting in a large hall, filled with news reporters, with Melissa and Marcus in the centre, Annabeth to his left and me to the extreme right. We were announcing our merger. It was all going well and I was really happy because all our hard work had finally paid off. Melissa and Marcus answered most of the questions related to the merger, both of them were admirable leaders, their pride and happiness for their project was noticeable in the way they talked about it and the way their faces happily flushed.
We stood in the lobby of our office building, casually chatting with the employees about the press meet. It was a long conference, but we made it through with zero drama and Melissa was visibly relaxed after the press meet. She suddenly looked every bit of her sixty years, like she was tired, rather than the chic business mogul I'd seen. I smiled as she walked up to me as the person I talked to swiftly excused themself upon seeing her.
"Melissa, you did it." I smiled and held her hands in mine.
"No Romy, we all did it." Her voice shook a bit as her eyes turned misty.
"Hell yes we did." I giggle.
Melissa just smiled with a faraway look in her eyes, "It finally feels like I achieved something worthwhile you know?"
I was confused, "Worthwhile? Don't get me wrong, this merger is great, but Monroe Publishing as a whole is awesome Mel. It's more than worthwhile. It's the place where you make so many authors' dreams of being published come true." I gave her hand a firm squeeze.
She just shook her head, "It just seems like I've finally got something to show for my decision to not get married or ever have children you know?" I could only tilt my head, confused.
"I fell in love with the most magnetic man, as I fell in love with him, I realized I'd never find love like that, ever again. Then we discovered that our goals didn't align. I wanted to work, have a career while he wanted a woman who didn't really have career aspirations, who would have preferred to be a housewife. It hurt us both to break apart, but I finally feel like I've made something out of myself. Something substantial, that might make up for me losing the love of my life."
I could only stare at her as tears rolled down her cheeks. People had begun to stare at us. I led her down the lobby and into an empty cabin and offered her water. She sniffed lightly and wiped her tears and exhaled quietly. She looked up and I couldn't see any signs of her previous emotional outburst and realized she didn't want to talk about it.
I smile gently and give her a hug hoping it would make her feel better. She's calmer when we break apart and pats me on the shoulder. "Why don't you go on, Romy, I think I'll retire for the night."
I nod and walk out of the cabin only to run headfirst into Marcus. He steadies me by holding on to my arms and smiles down at me, brushing a stray hair back from my face. I stare at him, a blush rising on my cheeks at his loving looks. I push myself back from his arms as I realize we were standing in the middle of the hallway, where anyone could've spotted us. I distance myself from him, ignoring how my heart stings at the action. He frowns slightly, realizing what was happening and shoves his hands in his pockets clenching his jaw tightly. My mood sours instantly, all the happiness from announcing the deal vanishes, leaving me tired all of a sudden.
I give him a tired smile as he turns around and quickly fall into step next to him, we walk quietly towards the hall where all the employees are celebrating with food and drinks, I quickly peek inside to hear the laughter and music and sigh to myself, even if everything is fucked up, this deal was this good for us. I walked into the room not looking back to see if he followed me into the room.
I shook multiple people's hands and exchanged congratulations with them as I walked to my seat to gather my phone and bag. I stifled a yawn as I picked up my stuff and waved a tired goodbye to my colleagues and walked towards the exit where I could see Marcus waiting for me. I smiled tiredly. A sudden commotion pulled my attention towards the stage. I see an overly happy Annabeth standing on stage. Uh-oh. That was not good. I turn to look at Marcus so quickly I almost break my neck, his brows are furrowed and he's heading up to the stage and all I can do is watch helplessly as the pit my stomach begins to grow and my hands shake and my knees feel weak. I quickly grab a chair and settle down, knowing whatever will come now will kill me. I unzip my bag to grab my water bottle when I notice the box with the diamond bracelet missing and my anxiety peaks. I gasp lightly and scrounge my bag thoroughly all the while still hearing light mumbling on the stage, someone setting up a mic. I begin to see white spots in my vision. But I breathe in and out forcefully, drinking some of my water and setting it down.
It was like she was waiting for me to finish freaking out. The moment I lift my head I see a rather grave looking Marcus stand next to a glowing Annabeth. They looked like a light haired princess and a dark knight came together. Like the grumpy/sunshine trope books I loved reading so much. Her hand comes forward to grip the mic on the stage when I see her wrist shining, my jaw falls open when I realize that it's the bracelet Marcus gifted me this morning.
Nothing good was gonna happen now. I just knew it. She looked around the room, with a charming smile and held on to the mic a little bit tighter before clearing her voice to get everyone's attention.
"Hey everyone! I am so proud of all of you for making this merger happen. This marks a great new chapter for both of our companies. So cheers to that!" She squeals and the room erupts in cheers while I am glued to my spot in anxiety.
"Speaking of new chapters, Marcus and I are expecting a baby!" She squeals again, launching herself into Marcus' arms, who was giving the crowd a stiff smile, his eyes scanning the room restlessly for me.
My entire body went rigid and I couldn't hear anything for a good minute. I stared at nothing while trying to stop myself from screaming. When I feel like I can get up without fainting or having a mental breakdown, I stand up and gather my belongings yet again and move to the stage where people had begun to form a small crowd around the beautiful couple. I couldn't crumble in front of them.
I cut right through the crowd and envelop Anna in a fragile hug. I could feel the coldness of her palms through my shirt. It took everything I had not to shiver. I pull back and plaster a good natured smile and extend my hand for a congratulation. She responded by extending the bracelet clad hand in my direction. It felt like a slap, I could see the smug look on her face. She had won. And she knew it.
I shake her hand stiffly, my voice hoarse when I congratulate her and look up to Marcus, whose eyes are pleading with me to understand him.
But not anymore. He betrayed me.
I did not want to see his face anymore. So I ignore his facial expressions and walk away.
"Because it's everything I've ever wanted from life. I love you, Romy."
"I love you Romy"
"I love you Romy"
"I love you Romy"
"I love you Romy"
His voice echoed in my head as I drove home slowly. Everytime I heard his 'I love you' a fresh wave of pain consumed me. It became so intense I had to pull over to the side of the street to stop myself from sobbing when my phone lit up with a call from the love of my life.
"BABY! WHERE ARE YOU? I'VE LOOKED EVERYWHERE" Comes Marcus' frantic voice.
"I'm on my way home." I respond sniffling.
"Are-are you crying baby girl?"
"Yeah, I seem to be doing it a lot these days."
"I'm so sorry, love. Please let's talk. I'll be at your place in 30 minutes. I'll ju-"
I cut him off before he could spin another beautiful web of lies I'd allow myself to get trapped in, " Tell me Marcus, is the baby yours?" I hoped with all my heart he'd say no.
"There might be a chance, it happened the night we met Romy. Anna and I got shit-faced drunk and one thing led to another, babe I'm so sorry-"
I cut the call and scream into my empty car. I screamed once. Twice. Thrice.
I texted Cassie to not come over right now, saying I was tired. I texted Melissa and got myself a leave of three days. I stepped into the shower to clean my body and religiously did my skincare after. The man had already fucked my life up. I wasn't gonna let him fuck my skin up too.
I finally got into some pajamas. I really thought my crying would intensify when I got home, but surprisingly I haven't shed a single tear. Maybe I'd be okay. Maybe I won't.
As I tucked myself into bed that night, I hoped this was all one big nightmare and I'd wake up tomorrow, hoping Marcus did not even exist. Let alone him stepping all over my poor heart.
HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!
I'M SO SO SO HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT ROMY HAS HIT 50.6K READS!
It wouldn't have been a reality if you guys hadn't shown consistent love and affection to this book. And for that I'm so deeply grateful to you guys. My beautiful pumpkins, my loves and sweet sweet reader family.
This has been a literal dream. Writing this book, seeing it go from 1K reads to 50K reads. I cannot get over it. so thank you, thank you so much. You may not know how much this helped me believe in myself as a writer. I went from just dreaming about writing something people love to actually doing it.
Stay safe and hydrated.
I love you all
Until next time,
-Sri❤️