“Fine. I’m about to head into the office for a meeting, so I only have a few minutes. What can I do for you?”
“Baron, do you still love me?” I ask, ripping off the Band-Aid. I watch him closely to see his reaction. All he does is raise his eyebrows.
“What kind of a question is that?”
“A perfectly reasonable one if we’re meant to be getting married in a few weeks,” I fire back.
His gaze drops away from the phone, and I hear him exhale a long, slow sigh. “Lark, I really don’t have time for this.”
Stubbornly, I ignore him. “It shouldn’t be that hard toanswer me. Unless you don’t, in which case, we’re making a big mistake.”
“We’ve been together for so long, and our families —”
“Forget our families, Baron. I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love with my entire heart and soul. And I deserve to marry someone who loves me that way in return.” I pause, staring at him until he finally looks up. “And so do you.”
Emotions play across his usually placid face, eventually settling on relief. And that sentiment is echoed in myself. Baron’s not a bad guy, he’s just not right for me. And I’m not going to settle fornot rightany longer.
“I did love you.”
I finally give him a small smile, because I get it. “I know. It was good for a while. But we changed.”
He nods slowly. “We did. And I’m sorry for that.” He glances to the side, then back to the phone as he stands up. “Look, can we continue this later, I really do need to go.”
And just like that, any goodwill I was feeling for him based on how this conversation was going dissipates. How can this not take priority?
“No, your meeting can wait a couple more minutes.”
I guess my annoyance comes through because he stops. “Okay…”
Taking a deep breath, I finally say it. “I don’t think we should get married.”
I see his lips purse as he blows out his breath. “No, I don’t suppose we should.” There’s a slight tinge of regret to his voice, but mostly it’s acceptance.
Which gives me the courage to forge on, all the words thathave been swirling around in my head for weeks pouring out of me. Being this honest, this raw, feels uncomfortable, there’s no doubt. Especially since we’ve never been this way with each other. But instinctively, I know there’s no other option right now. Not if we want a clean break.
“And I think it’s best if we go our separate ways. Amicably. I don’t hate you or anything, but I don’t love you, and I don’t want to be with you anymore. You’re a good man, and at one point, we were happy together. But that doesn’t mean we’re meant to be together forever. No matter what everyone else thinks. We want different things, have different goals and ideas for the future. And we probably should have talked about all of that before we got engaged, but I think we both got caught up in what we believed weshoulddo instead of what wewantedto do.”
He nods again.
“So this is me saying it’s time to do what we want, what will make us happy. Instead of worrying about everyone else.”
A small, somewhat sad smile twitches at his lips. “You’re a smart woman, Lark. Kind and beautiful. You would have made an excellent wife. But you’re right. We changed. As individuals and as a couple. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I let it get this far.”
Hearing him apologize, hearing him be honest and admit his feelings in return, is exactly what I needed. The last chain around me falls away. I didn’t realize I was harbouring some guilt over my decision to end our relationship, but given how good I feel right now, I guess I did. And now, knowing he doesn’t want to go through with it either, that guilt dissipatesleaving me feeling nothing but relief.
We talk for a few minutes longer, sorting out the details of how and when we’ll tell our families. In the end, we decide to handle it separately, for which I’m eternally grateful. Not having to face Cordelia Hazelwood and tell her that her wedding plans were for nothing? Sounds great to me.
I hang up with Baron after agreeing we’ll meet up when he’s back in town for us to return anything we have of each other’s and for me to give the ring back. Then I slide it off my finger and set it on my dresser. Staring down at the band, the diamond sparkling up at me, I feel an overwhelming sense of lightness. As if removing that ring removed a weight from me.
I still have to deal with my own family, but after that? I’m free.
And I know exactly what I’m going to do first.
Chapter ten
Monty
I woke up to an empty apartment and a sore neck from sleeping on the couch. Not the best start to my day.
