Two #3
He was still grinning at her. ‘Fi, I love you, and I want to look after you for ever. I’ve reserved a slot at Chelsea registry office for when we get home. And I’ve got a surprise for you.’
She stuttered into laughter. ‘Your proposal is already a surprise.’
‘I’ve booked the honeymoon too! You’re going to love it. We’re off to Melbourne, so you can visit your folks, and I finally get to meet them!’
Her head shot forwards. She never talked about her parents, not even with Ivy.
Fiona had only told Ru where they lived and worked to stop his incessant questions.
What had given him the crazy idea of visiting them?
Didn’t he understand that they didn’t want to see her?
This was typical of him – confident he always knew best, secretly drafting a Plan B with the investors, booking the wedding and honeymoon without consulting her, tuning out every mention of her fractured relationship with her parents, assuming a leadership role and expecting her to acquiesce.
Why bother consulting her on momentous decisions like business ventures or marriage plans?
In a flash, she realized that much as she loved him, she couldn’t marry him.
He was so much surer of himself, so much more capable.
And he obviously thought he was better than her, saw himself as her protecter, which was not what she wanted from a husband.
She swallowed, hearing the quake in her voice. ‘No. I’m very sorry ... but I can’t marry you, Ru.’
His face seemed frozen. The beautiful jaw she loved to kiss went taut. He took a step aside, slanting his body away from hers and stared at the ground.
‘Why not?’ he said, the words sharp and clipped.
She blinked, shaking her head slowly. If he didn’t realize what he’d done wrong, how could she find the words to explain? She loved him and didn’t want to lose him, but she couldn’t ignore what he’d done.
‘Tell me,’ he insisted, his voice rising as though the sheer force of his personality could break her silence.
Ru turned to face her fully, his glare cutting into her.
His jaw worked furiously, the muscles straining in disbelief.
His brows drew together in a confused expression and his hands trembled as though barely able to contain the storm of emotions bubbling inside.
The combination struck Fiona mute. She had no idea how to respond.
If she raised her concerns, she didn’t think he would listen, dismissing them as mere frustration over her failed exam.
But that wasn’t it at all. His casual mention of how he’d approached the investors without consulting her, his undermining of her career, followed by his unilateral decision about their marriage plans had confirmed her deepest fear: he didn’t see her as an equal partner, either in business or in life.
‘Why?’ he demanded. There was a hint of despair in his voice now, which sent a chill through her. ‘Why won’t you marry me?’
Silence hung between them, a chasm too wide to breach.
Ru was the one to break it. ‘If you can’t even explain yourself to me, don’t bother coming back to my restaurant.
’ His lip curled – distorting his lovely features – as he channelled his pain into anger.
‘And yes, you heard right. It’s my restaurant.
As you keep reminding me, you’re just the wine waiter. ’
Fiona gasped. She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry.
She felt hot tears slithering down her cheeks.
How could he be so cruel? Yes, she’d said she couldn’t marry him, but she’d expected him to row back from the proposal, revert to their easy, relaxed relationship, perhaps make a joke of it all, allowing her time to digest everything she’d learned and find a way to talk it through.
The taste of her tears was a salty reminder of her failure and her sorrow.
Ru reached out for her, but she pushed him away, evading his encircling arms, like a wild animal desperate to break free of its captor.
Fiona tore up the beach, still sobbing, her chest heaving with each step.
She heard him calling out to stop, to come back, to talk to him, but she raced on, her eyes swollen with tears.
The damage was done. He’d finally spoken the truth, and he couldn’t take that back.
Above her, seagulls cried out as if in sympathy with the lonely figure below them. Her chest ached with the weight of her decision, her heart torn between love for him and the unbearable truth she couldn’t escape. But she had said no . Their relationship was over.
Listening to the waves crash against the shore, she felt as though the sea itself was mourning her loss, the pull of the tide mirroring the emptiness inside her. She had given him up – given them up. Every footfall in the sand took her further away from a life she didn’t want to lose.
Somewhere in the distance, a ship’s horn sounded, deep and almost mournful, and she collapsed to her knees on the sand, sobbing into her hands. She would never again feel his arms around her, his lips on hers.
What had she done?