False pretences
“I’m so glad that you both came here tonight,” Michael says to Jeremy and Kim as we sit at the kitchen table after finishing the meal that I prepared for us all.
“Eh up, he’s about to do a toast,” Jeremy says, laughing.
“It must be serious,” Kim chimes in.
“It is actually,” Michael confirms. “I don’t know if either of you realised, but today is the day of mine and Lucy’s one year anniversary.”
Fuck.
One year, already?
It had completely slipped my mind, but that’s hardly surprising with everything that has been going on.
“That’s why we wanted you two here tonight, to celebrate with us,” Michael continues.
“Ah, that’s so sweet,” Kim says, placing her hand over her heart.
Yeah, real fucking sweet.
Shame that he treats me worse than a dog.
“There’s something that I have been wanting to ask for a while now,” Michael says as he stands up and puts his hand in his trouser pocket. I stare at him with wide eyes as I anticipate what he is going to say.
“I think that it’s fair to say that Lucy and I have had our ups and downs, but for the most part, we have been blissfully happy. I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it, and I never want to. You complete me, Lucy. You were always the missing part of me. You made me come alive, learn to love and my heart belongs to you.” I hear Kim gasp and my heart pounds faster with every word that comes out of his mouth.
Please don’t do what I think you are about to.
Please just finish the toast by raising your glass.
Please God don’t let him trap me further.
“On that note,” Michael continues as he pushes his chair back and drops to one knee beside me. “I would be honoured if you would agree to spend the rest of your life with me.” With those words, he pulls a small box out of his trouser pocket and opens it, revealing a silver ring with three small diamonds along the front.
“Oh my God,” Kim says in the background, but I barely hear her over the rushing of the blood pumping in my ears.
“I love you, Lucy, and I want the whole world to know that you’re mine.” His eyes bore into me, and I know that he thinks this declaration is heartfelt, but I am feeling nothing but panic right now.
“I think that we make a great team, and I want to be able to call you my wife.” He takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly before finishing his speech. “Marry me, Lucy, and I will spend the rest of our days making you happy.”
Oh God.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t think.
I can’t marry him.
I can’t let him do this to me.
I don’t want to spend my life with him.
I just want to get the fuck out.
His expectant eyes shine with unshed tears, and I can feel Kim and Jeremy holding back their excitement as they wait for my answer.
My mouth is dry, my hope of leaving dying as I utter the words that everyone else wants to hear.
