I wiped away my tears as I realized that he wasn't going to show up. I had been sitting at the table for almost an hour, hoping that he'd show. I was such an idiot for believing that he would ever show up.
He had made it clear that he didn't want anything to do with me when he gave me the divorce papers. So why did I believe that it was him who had sent the invite.
Just because Fae had said so?
Maybe this was all a plot against me, to make a fool out of me.
"Ma'am would you like to order now?" I heard the waitress ask for the tenth time this night.
I looked at her and found her looking back with sympathy masking her face as I wiped away more tears.
"No, I'm leaving," I replied, trying to keep my composure.
I stood up and walked away but when I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned around to find her standing beside me with the same expression.
"You have to pay for the drinks," she said in a small voice, referring to the drinks I had ordered while waiting.
I nodded my head slowly as I walked to the front where the hostess was standing, slightly embarrassed. I reached into my purse and pulled out a bill and handed it to her before leaving. Not in the mood to stay any longer, I decided to let her keep the change.
As I stepped outside, I felt a cool breeze surrounding me, reminding me of how light my coat was. I hugged it closer to my body in an attempt to stay warm as I walked towards the parking lot.
When my car was within sight, I heard the person whom I had been waiting all night for.
"Victoria!"
I turned around to find Alex running towards me. I was tempted to take a few steps forward to see if it was really him but before I could, he was already standing before me, trying to catch his breath.
"So you finally decided to show," I said bitterly, feeling my eyes sting as the tears I thought I had wiped away started to return.
"What do you mean?" he asked when his breathing had finally returned to normal.
"You sent me an invite remember? Meet me at eight tomorrow at the restaurant I proposed. Wear something formal. Remember?" I asked him, repeating what the card had said.
"What are you talking about? I never sent anything like that to you."
"Besides me, you're the only one who knows where you proposed to me. How can you tell me that it wasn't you?!" I yelled.
"Because it wasn't me Victoria," he replied calmly.
"Would you just stop lying?!"
I couldn't believe that he was lying right to my face. How could I ever have been married to him?
"I'm not lying! I'm sorry if you don't believe me but it's the truth!" His tone was dripping with anger as he spoke.
We both remained silent as we looked at each other, waiting to see what the other would say or do. But neither of us said anything as we looked at each other with blank faces, not wanting to show the other person just how much this was affecting us.
Suddenly, his eyes widened and he dragged his hand across his face, something he used to do when he came to a realization he didn't like.
"What is it?" I asked softly.
"It was him."
"Who─"
"But why? What would he gain from this?" he continued, more to himself.
"What are you talking about Alex?" I asked again.
"Mike. He must've been the one who sent it to you."
That new piece of information hit me like a slap to the face. Why would he send me something like this? I thought to myself.
"Did he want to be with you that bad?" he whispered. I looked at him questionably.
"What are you talking about?"
He sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing," he said.
But I wasn't convinced. If it was nothing, he wouldn't behave the way that he was. So what was it?
But more than that, I had really hoped that it was him who had sent me that invite. I had sincerely hoped that it was a final sign that he really wanted to be with me after all.
Before I could stop myself, I asked him a question which I was dreading the answer to.
"Do you not want to be with me Alex?" His head jerked up immediately.
"What?" he breathed.
"Do you really not want to be with me?" I asked again, looking away as I finally felt a few tears fall from my eyes. I already knew the answer, I just had to hear him say it to be sure.
"I heard what you said. But why would you ask that?" he asked, taking a few steps closer to me. Instinctively, I took a few steps back, not wanting him to get any closer.
"Just answer me. Please. I need to know."
He remained in his spot looking down, as if he was thinking about something. But before I could say anything else, I saw him walking towards me. I wanted to continue avoiding being close to him but a small part of me, which hoped that he would want to be with me, forced me to stay in place.
I looked anywhere but at his face. I felt a finger under my chin as I felt my tears increase, taking his silence as an answer to my question. The answer which I really didn't want.
He lifted my head, forcing me to look into his eyes. He looked at me with a blank face for a few moments before a small smile appeared on his face.
"Why are you crying Victoria?" he asked firmly. I removed my head from his finger and attempted to wipe away a few tears but he grabbed onto my hand, effectively stopping me.
"Answer me."
"I'm crying because you don't want to be with me," I answered, looking directly into his eyes.
"Did I say that to you?" he asked.
"You didn't have to."
"When are you going to stop jumping to conclusions?" he asked again.
"I'm not─"
But before I could finish my sentence, I felt a warm pair of lips on mine. I closed my eyes as the familiar warm sensation travelled through me, bringing back memories I had tried to forget, thinking that he didn't want to be with me anymore. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist as the kiss deepened.
We pulled apart equally breathless.
"Alex, is this what you want?" I asked him after catching my breath, looking into his eyes as I felt his arms wrap tighter around my waist.
"Do you want to be with me?" I asked in a whisper. His silence was killing me and I couldn't tell if I was going to like his answer or not. But I still kept looking at him, searching his eyes for a hint that maybe this really was something that he wanted─that he wanted to be with me for the rest of our lives.
I felt his arms drop from me and he looked away. My eyes began to sting as I took in the meaning of his action; he didn't want this afterall. I swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the lump which had formed in my throat as tears threatened to fall. I turned around to leave but I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, stopping me.
"Now I really know what your answer is Alex, you don't need to tell me." I tried to remain strong but as the last words left my lips, my strength dissipated and I felt myself crumble as the tears finally fell.
"No you don't Victoria. Just wait and listen."
"What more do I need to listen to? I already know what you're going to─" before I could finish my sentence again, I felt his lips on mine again. I couldn't think as my body immediately reacted, causing me to wrap my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss.
We both struggled to catch our breaths when we pulled apart. He looked into my eyes as I did his, searching for the answer. But there was only one way that I could get it, and that was if he told me.
"What does this mean?" I asked. He removed his arms where they were around my waist and took hold of both of my hands.
"It means that I love you Victoria, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
"I want to go back to when we woke up everyday beside each other, and went to sleep knowing that the first people we'd see was each other. I don't want to imagine doing any of that with anyone else because I can't.
"I love you Victoria, and I don't know how many times I have to say it for you to see just how much I do. But I want to be with you─I need to be with you or else I don't know how I'm going to survive."
Did he really mean every word he said?
"You've already survived without me," I said, looking away from him. But he placed his hand on my check and turned my head to face him.
"Do you know how I did it?" He asked. I shook my head no. "After seeing the way you reacted when I attempted suicide, it was the hope of being able to be with you again that kept me going. I never thought of being with anyone else but you."
"What about Fae? I saw you leaving the building with her a few times," I said, feeling the tears return.
"What?"
"You can't lie to me about that Alex. I live in the same building as her."
Although she had told me that there was nothing going on between them, it was hard to believe it when I kept seeing them together. Something had to be going on.
"There's nothing going on between us. You can ask her if you want. All I did was help her repaint one of her rooms. You know how picky she can be when it comes to her style," he replied, chuckling slightly at the last part.
I did know how picky she could be but she had never told me that. Was he speaking the truth?
"Victoria, please listen to me when I say I love you. Because I really do."
I looked at him, not saying a word. When the silence had dawned for too long, he moved. I thought that he was going to leave but instead, he got down on one knee, pulling out his wallet.
I looked at him puzzled as he opened it, unzipping a small pocket and taking out the ring that I had left with him when I had seen him with Amanda.
"You kept it?" I asked, not believing what I saw. A small smile appeared on his lips as he looked up into my eyes.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
I didn't answer as I watched him wrap his hand around my left hand, kneeling on one knee, and bringing it close enough for him to slip it on.
"Victoria, I don't know if you want to get back together with me. But I do know that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, the way it was supposed to be from the start. And no matter what you decide, you are the rightful owner of this ring."
He stood up, continuing to smile brightly at me. He walked closer to me and hugged me, kissing my cheek as he pulled away. He turned around to walk away without asking me anything.
If he wanted to be with me, why was he walking away without asking me if I wanted to be with him the same way he did with me?
I walked towards him and held onto his wrist. He turned around slightly surprised.
"Why didn't you ask me if I want to be with you?" I asked him. He smiled.
"Because I wanted you to tell me when you were ready."
I sighed as I looked at him.
"You don't know how long I've been ready to tell you," I said, smiling at him.
"What's your answer Victoria?"
My smile widened as I looked at the man I loved. A small smile started to form as he continued to look at me.
"I want to be with you too Alex."
His smile turned into a large grin.
"Are you serious?" I nodded my head eagerly.
"I am."
A loud shriek left my lips as I felt him lift me and spin us around. When he stopped, he placed me back on the ground, placing both of his hands on my cheeks.
"You know I love you right?" He asked. I nodded again.
"I love you too Alex."
That was all I could say before I felt his lips on mine for the third time.
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