11. Elizabeth
I stood beside Will, observing him dominate the conversation, cutting my statements short as if I were irrelevant. Letting out a breath, I played with the ring on my finger. It was beautiful but, unfortunately, not my perfect size.
If he wanted to get me a ring, he could have at least asked for my size instead of getting one that could easily slip off. Letting out another breath, I adjusted myself as my legs were starting to ache.
God knows how much I hate wearing heels, but of course, I had to put on these three-inch pencil heels to match the dress I was wearing.
If I wasn’t relevant in the conversation, he could at least release me to go have my seat rather than using me first as the subject of discussion and then smoothly diverting into business talks with his clients. With how smooth he was, it felt as though he had pre-planned this moment in his head.
His lines and his moves were just too smooth to have come up with on the spot. With how effortlessly he talked business to potential investors, it was not a surprise that he was a billionaire. Only someone confident in their craft could speak as Will was speaking this evening.
Despite his smoothness, it did not change the fact that he was embarrassingly dismissing me or ignoring my humanity. I was not just some log of wood who could stand by his side all day while he did all of the talking.
Frustrated by Will ignoring me, I tapped him lightly once again. All I wanted was for him to release my hand so I could go sit down. My legs were starting to ache so bad.
“Will?” I whispered softly, but he didn’t pay me the least attention.
“Will?” I said again, this time more aggressive than the first, getting the attention of his investors first and then him. I immediately wore a smile as I tried to hide the annoyance underneath.
“Yes?” Will responded impatiently, pushing me further to the wall.
“I would like to go sit while you continue your conversation. Please excuse me, gentlemen,” I said immediately without giving him a chance to protest.
I immediately found an empty seat and settled in on it while pouring myself a glass of wine. As I scanned the venue, irritation began to well up within me. If this was the life of the rich, I wasn’t sure I was interested. All I could think about was how soon we would be leaving this place. Not to exaggerate, but the air was starting to suffocate me.
As I remained seated, patiently waiting for Will to finish his conversations, an hour passed, then two, before he was finally done. You could tell from my face that I was not having it.
Just imagine sitting aimlessly at a party where you didn’t know anyone. Oh, before you claim that I wasn’t socializing, well, my efforts at socializing were futile, with the snobby responses I received, especially from the women.
I could not tell if that was just how they were or if they particularly disliked me for some reason. If we were to be in some soap opera, I would have concluded that it was probably because I was “engaged” to Will.
“All right, you ready to go?” I heard Will say as he walked up to where I sat.
“I thought we were going to sleep over here,” I sarcastically replied as I stood up from my seat and walked out of the venue, heading straight out of the venue and down to the parking lot.
Thank goodness most of the reporters were no longer outside. I could easily slip past the few that were left without drawing any attention to myself.
Checking the time on my phone; it was past 1:00 a.m.
“Just great,” I said as I waited for Will to open up the doors.
Getting in immediately, I let out a heavy sigh, trying to relieve myself of the anger I felt within.
“I didn’t know you were that exhausted. But you would have to get used to these things. That’s how these parties usually are.”
“Oh, never again,” I replied as I fixed my gaze out of the window.
“What do you mean ‘never again’?” Will asked.
“I would rather not talk about it. Could you please drive me home? I’m exhausted,” I said before looking out the window again, giving him the signal he needed to know that I wasn’t interested in further conversations.
The ride home was silent but edgy. I could tell Will had a lot to say but was trying to be careful.
In no time, we reached my place, and the moment he parked the car, I pulled out the ring on my finger and dropped it in the open compartment in between us.
“You can have your oversized ring.”
With that, I got out of the car, pulled off my shoes, and began my journey back to my apartment.
“Wait a minute, Liz!” I heard Will call me, followed by the slam of the door of his car.
“What is it now, Will?”
“Did I do something wrong? Do you not like the ring?”
I let out a chuckle at his ignorance. “If you’re really this ignorant, it is no surprise that you’re still single.”
“Okay, now don’t go there. If I did something wrong, I expect you to be mature enough and communicate with me rather than give the silent treatment.”
“Oh, like I communicated while you were talking to your client? Not caring less about what I had to say? You know what, Will? Maybe this entire thing was a mistake. Look, I’m tired and frustrated. My legs are all sore, and I just want to sleep.”
“Let’s finish up this conversation, Liz,” Will insisted, pushing me further to the wall. Couldn’t he see that I was exhausted?
“What do you want me to say?”
“What I did wrong!”
“Fine, I hated the fact that you kept me standing for hours in uncomfortable shoes that I had to wear so as to fit into your type. I hate how you cut me short every single time I was going to interact. I hate how you made me feel so irrelevant, using me as a subject matter as though I wasn’t standing right next to you, all so you could smoothly bring in conversations about your business. Is that okay for you now?” I let out how I felt without even thinking twice.
It wasn’t until I had finished all I had to say that I looked at him. We remained silent for a moment before I heard him say the words I never thought he could say.
“I’m sorry I did all that,” Will said right before swallowing a lump in his throat. In all honesty, he had not realized those errors all through the night. “It wasn’t my intention to make you feel irrelevant. I’m sorry, okay?”
I watched him apologize genuinely, and I knew I couldn’t retain my anger anymore. “It’s all right, I guess. Just please pay more attention and let tonight never repeat itself.”
“I promise to do better.”
“All right, good night.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Will asked, pointing to the ring.
“Oh yeah.” I took the ring from his hands, admiring it even more.
“I would try to have a new one made in your perfect size.”
“No, don’t bother. I mean, it’s not so bad, and it’s all for the charade, isn’t it?”
“Right,” Will said with a smile on his face.
“Good night, Will.”
“Good night, Liz.”
On that note, I turned around and went into the apartment building, eager for the moment my body was going to hit my bed.
As I reminisced on the moment I had just had with Will, I realized that he wasn’t such a bad person after all.
Oh, what a long night!