Page 33
Story: His Ring, Her Rules
He took my hand and led me to the patio, but instead of sitting down on the chairs, we stopped a few steps before it.
He grasped both of my hands and looked me in the eyes. “I really s**k at giving cheesy speeches, but I’ll try,” he replied.
Vivian Hayes Dante, or should I say, Clara Dante, you made me mad the moment I walked into your office. I wanted to calm you down and shut your crazy mouth, but over time, I realized that this is what I need. You are what I need. I want to spend the rest of my life with you; I want to grow old with you. I want to see you grow old… I want to see wrinkles on your face, and I won’t mind it, either. I want to hold you in my arms; I want to be in your arms; I want you to give me a warm hug whenever I feel low.
He stopped, and at that time, I was doing everything I could to keep from crying. He got closer and put his forehead on mine.
“You are my everything, Clara. I can’t risk losing you ever. I have said this before, and I am saying this again: you keep me sane. You are what I have been craving for the past ten years of my life.”
He pulled back, and I was already weeping.
“Look,” he replied, “I really don’t want to get married again, but there is one thing I can ask you.”
Please don’t tell me he’s going to ask.
He looked for something in his back pocket and then brought out a little jewelry box. I cried.
I had no idea this would happen. I assumed it was just a date.
He took my right hand and knelt down to open the box, which had a ring.
“Will you always be mine?”
It was hard to believe that my fantasy came true: Jaxon was proposing to me. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t for marriage; all that mattered was that he was kneeling in front of me.
I could never have imagined this in a million years.
“Jaxon,” I cried.
“Are you going to run away from me? Is that why you aren’t saying anything? I swear I will get you kidnapped from anywhere in the world.”
“Yes…I am all yours, Jaxon. Forever and ever,” I said.
Jaxon pulled the ring out and put it on my right ring finger.
He got up and gave me a hard embrace as I cried on his shoulder.
He softly rubbed little circles on my back and murmured, “You are crying as if I asked you to give yourself to me.”
I punched him in the back as my arms were over his neck, and he laughed.
I pulled away and held both of his cheeks in my hands as I softly kissed him. He slipped his hand that was on my back down and gripped my waist, drawing me further closer.
I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, which made it salty because of my tears. It wasn’t very deep, but it was deep enough for me to pour my feelings into it when my tongue touched his. As I was leaving, I kissed him one more time on the jaw.
“Now your makeup won’t get messed up,” he said with a laugh.
I muttered, “You ruined my mood, idiot,” and pushed myself away from him.
He laughed quietly, kissed the side of my head, and then walked me to the table, where he drew out a chair and sat me down.
He sat down in front of me and stated, “So, your dream has come true now?”
“How…how do you know?”
He didn’t answer; he simply grinned at me and tapped something on his phone. A couple of waiters showed up out of nowhere with platters of food within a minute.
“Jaxon…did someone tell you?”
He leaned in and said, “Do you think I won’t notice that you acted differently yesterday after seeing that couple? It was pretty clear, so I just asked your friends later, and here we are…”
I smiled and thought about how brilliant my hubby was. He did that to make me happy. And at that moment, it was hard for me not to tell him how much I loved him. I know that if I do, he will flee for the hills.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He responded, “Like…you are very lucky to have me,” in a cocky way.
But “I am” meant there was nothing to conceal.
“Okay, enough with the cheesy talk. I can’t take it anymore. Let’s eat; I’m hungry.”
When I told him that, he was certainly uncomfortable. Every time I say something like that, he becomes uncomfortable. Forget it.
The dinner was great, and the view in front of me, both Jaxon and the Eiffel Tower, made it much better.
When we were done eating, he stood up and held out his hand to me. “Dance?”
I nodded, took his hand, and stood up. That’s when I saw that there were already some speakers there that I hadn’t noticed earlier.
He grasped my left arm with his right hand and put his left arm around my waist while I put my hand around his neck.
The music started playing, and at first, it was instrumental. We gently swayed to the music while looking into each other’s eyes.
When the words started, I knew it was the song “Tale as old as time” from Beauty and the Beast.
“True as it can be, a story as old as time, barely even friends, then someone bends unexpectedly.”
As the second paragraph began, Jaxon started to mumble the words to the song while looking intently into my eyes. “Just a small change, Small, to say the least. Both were a bit terrified; Neither one prepared
The beast and the beauty.
I recognized that the song fit our circumstances. We weren’t even friends yet. I bent…
He spun me around and then grasped me by the waist again while he kept whispering the words.
“Always the same, always a surprise, always as before, and always as sure as the sun will rise (Oh, oh, oh, oh)”
We both closed our eyes, and he leaned closer and put his forehead against mine.
“Always the same, always a surprise, always as before, always just as sure
The sun shall rise (Oh, oh, oh).
He twisted me around so that my back was against his front, and we swayed softly to the music. He bent down and put his chin on my shoulder, his lips brushing across my flesh.
“Once upon a time (ooh, ooh, ooh), a tune as old as a song, bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong…”
There was one thing I knew for sure: I would tell him about my pregnancy tonight.
I ran my fingers through my hair in annoyance while sitting on the side of the bed. Why am I so anxious?
I didn’t do anything wrong.
Jaxon came into the bedroom, plugged in his phone, and was ready to lie down when I asked, “Jaxon?”
“Yes?”
“Um…I need to tell you something.”
He walked over and crouched down in front of me and said, “Yes?”
“I am pregnant,” I exclaimed in one breath, and I didn’t even know what I was saying.
“Sorry, what?”
I took a big breath, swallowed loudly, and closed my eyes. “I-I…am…pregnant.”
I gently opened my eyes and saw that his face was blank, and his mouth was wide open.
I kept saying in my brain, “Please be happy.”
He mumbled, “You…you are pregnant,” but it wasn’t a question; he was just telling himself.
He stood up slowly and said to himself, “She is pregnant.” Then he walked out of the room, and my heart broke because he looked so astonished. He is not happy.
I bit my lips to keep from crying and put my hand on my tummy.
He isn’t pleased, and of course, he doesn’t want to be a dad yet. But I want this baby. I want our baby.
I don’t even know if he loves me or not. I haven’t told him how I feel, and I’m already pregnant. It must have been a shock for him.
I stayed in that posture because I was too numb to move. What if he tells me to get an abortion?
I heard him walk in and saw that he had unkempt hair like he had run his fingers through it a thousand times.
This time, instead of a blank look, he seemed like he couldn’t believe what he saw.
He stood in front of me and said, “Say that again.” I didn’t say anything since I didn’t know what to say.
“Clara, say that again,” he asked in a louder voice.
He grasped both of my hands and looked me in the eyes. “I really s**k at giving cheesy speeches, but I’ll try,” he replied.
Vivian Hayes Dante, or should I say, Clara Dante, you made me mad the moment I walked into your office. I wanted to calm you down and shut your crazy mouth, but over time, I realized that this is what I need. You are what I need. I want to spend the rest of my life with you; I want to grow old with you. I want to see you grow old… I want to see wrinkles on your face, and I won’t mind it, either. I want to hold you in my arms; I want to be in your arms; I want you to give me a warm hug whenever I feel low.
He stopped, and at that time, I was doing everything I could to keep from crying. He got closer and put his forehead on mine.
“You are my everything, Clara. I can’t risk losing you ever. I have said this before, and I am saying this again: you keep me sane. You are what I have been craving for the past ten years of my life.”
He pulled back, and I was already weeping.
“Look,” he replied, “I really don’t want to get married again, but there is one thing I can ask you.”
Please don’t tell me he’s going to ask.
He looked for something in his back pocket and then brought out a little jewelry box. I cried.
I had no idea this would happen. I assumed it was just a date.
He took my right hand and knelt down to open the box, which had a ring.
“Will you always be mine?”
It was hard to believe that my fantasy came true: Jaxon was proposing to me. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t for marriage; all that mattered was that he was kneeling in front of me.
I could never have imagined this in a million years.
“Jaxon,” I cried.
“Are you going to run away from me? Is that why you aren’t saying anything? I swear I will get you kidnapped from anywhere in the world.”
“Yes…I am all yours, Jaxon. Forever and ever,” I said.
Jaxon pulled the ring out and put it on my right ring finger.
He got up and gave me a hard embrace as I cried on his shoulder.
He softly rubbed little circles on my back and murmured, “You are crying as if I asked you to give yourself to me.”
I punched him in the back as my arms were over his neck, and he laughed.
I pulled away and held both of his cheeks in my hands as I softly kissed him. He slipped his hand that was on my back down and gripped my waist, drawing me further closer.
I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, which made it salty because of my tears. It wasn’t very deep, but it was deep enough for me to pour my feelings into it when my tongue touched his. As I was leaving, I kissed him one more time on the jaw.
“Now your makeup won’t get messed up,” he said with a laugh.
I muttered, “You ruined my mood, idiot,” and pushed myself away from him.
He laughed quietly, kissed the side of my head, and then walked me to the table, where he drew out a chair and sat me down.
He sat down in front of me and stated, “So, your dream has come true now?”
“How…how do you know?”
He didn’t answer; he simply grinned at me and tapped something on his phone. A couple of waiters showed up out of nowhere with platters of food within a minute.
“Jaxon…did someone tell you?”
He leaned in and said, “Do you think I won’t notice that you acted differently yesterday after seeing that couple? It was pretty clear, so I just asked your friends later, and here we are…”
I smiled and thought about how brilliant my hubby was. He did that to make me happy. And at that moment, it was hard for me not to tell him how much I loved him. I know that if I do, he will flee for the hills.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He responded, “Like…you are very lucky to have me,” in a cocky way.
But “I am” meant there was nothing to conceal.
“Okay, enough with the cheesy talk. I can’t take it anymore. Let’s eat; I’m hungry.”
When I told him that, he was certainly uncomfortable. Every time I say something like that, he becomes uncomfortable. Forget it.
The dinner was great, and the view in front of me, both Jaxon and the Eiffel Tower, made it much better.
When we were done eating, he stood up and held out his hand to me. “Dance?”
I nodded, took his hand, and stood up. That’s when I saw that there were already some speakers there that I hadn’t noticed earlier.
He grasped my left arm with his right hand and put his left arm around my waist while I put my hand around his neck.
The music started playing, and at first, it was instrumental. We gently swayed to the music while looking into each other’s eyes.
When the words started, I knew it was the song “Tale as old as time” from Beauty and the Beast.
“True as it can be, a story as old as time, barely even friends, then someone bends unexpectedly.”
As the second paragraph began, Jaxon started to mumble the words to the song while looking intently into my eyes. “Just a small change, Small, to say the least. Both were a bit terrified; Neither one prepared
The beast and the beauty.
I recognized that the song fit our circumstances. We weren’t even friends yet. I bent…
He spun me around and then grasped me by the waist again while he kept whispering the words.
“Always the same, always a surprise, always as before, and always as sure as the sun will rise (Oh, oh, oh, oh)”
We both closed our eyes, and he leaned closer and put his forehead against mine.
“Always the same, always a surprise, always as before, always just as sure
The sun shall rise (Oh, oh, oh).
He twisted me around so that my back was against his front, and we swayed softly to the music. He bent down and put his chin on my shoulder, his lips brushing across my flesh.
“Once upon a time (ooh, ooh, ooh), a tune as old as a song, bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong…”
There was one thing I knew for sure: I would tell him about my pregnancy tonight.
I ran my fingers through my hair in annoyance while sitting on the side of the bed. Why am I so anxious?
I didn’t do anything wrong.
Jaxon came into the bedroom, plugged in his phone, and was ready to lie down when I asked, “Jaxon?”
“Yes?”
“Um…I need to tell you something.”
He walked over and crouched down in front of me and said, “Yes?”
“I am pregnant,” I exclaimed in one breath, and I didn’t even know what I was saying.
“Sorry, what?”
I took a big breath, swallowed loudly, and closed my eyes. “I-I…am…pregnant.”
I gently opened my eyes and saw that his face was blank, and his mouth was wide open.
I kept saying in my brain, “Please be happy.”
He mumbled, “You…you are pregnant,” but it wasn’t a question; he was just telling himself.
He stood up slowly and said to himself, “She is pregnant.” Then he walked out of the room, and my heart broke because he looked so astonished. He is not happy.
I bit my lips to keep from crying and put my hand on my tummy.
He isn’t pleased, and of course, he doesn’t want to be a dad yet. But I want this baby. I want our baby.
I don’t even know if he loves me or not. I haven’t told him how I feel, and I’m already pregnant. It must have been a shock for him.
I stayed in that posture because I was too numb to move. What if he tells me to get an abortion?
I heard him walk in and saw that he had unkempt hair like he had run his fingers through it a thousand times.
This time, instead of a blank look, he seemed like he couldn’t believe what he saw.
He stood in front of me and said, “Say that again.” I didn’t say anything since I didn’t know what to say.
“Clara, say that again,” he asked in a louder voice.