Chapter 34

I drove away from Roxy's place feeling lighter. I meant what I said earlier. I was calling it off with Mel. I'd known it for days, maybe even longer. The more time I'd spent with Roxy, the more I knew that I could never tie myself to Mel. I knew I'd be breaking a promise, I'd be walking away from a deal with a friend, something that I never thought that I'd do. But in all honesty, I'd walk away from anything, as long as it brought me back to Roxy. I knew my family would understand. My parents liked Mel, but then again they liked most people. My family was notoriously good hearted. Even my sister, although she could have a rough exterior. She had made her opinion of Mel well known for a while now, ever since the first time she met her. I wasn't sure how she knew about Roxy, of course I'd mentioned her, who she was, what she was like etc, but I hadn't spoken of my feelings towards her. Not to anyone. It wasn't that I didn't want to, quite the opposite, I wanted to tell everyone, but until the wedding was officially cancelled, I couldn't speak of it.

Walking through the door of my place a little later I changed and got into bed, wondering how I could ensure that me breaking things off with Mel, wouldn't end badly for anyone. I wanted her to still get her promotion, I just needed to figure out how. Preferably quickly, because there was no way I was going to hold off from being with her any longer.

***********

I watched as she disappeared from view. Leaving me confused and with my heart crushed. I knew something was wrong, something that she wasn't telling me. We were going to be together, she knew that, and she wanted it too. I knew she did. I had no idea why she didn't tell me what was going on. I could see it in her eyes, the pain, the sadness. There was no way that it was the look of someone happily ending a relationship. If she really didn't want to be with me, she wouldn't have been so obviously in pain. I tried to think of anything that she might have said that would explain it, have a hidden meaning perhaps, but the ache inside my chest was too much, and my mind was cloudy with the fear that I'd lost her for good. Did I do something, was I to blame for this? Of course I was, I'd been the one to put her into this situation. I was the one who had yet to break up with Mel... Mel. I swore loudly, a passing woman turned to scowl at me, but I didn't care. I stormed from the park, anger coursing through me. She has to have something to do with this, it's the only thing that makes sense.

I arrived back at the office, punching the lift button and then storming out when I reached the floor. I didn't wait for her assistant to allow me through, I just marched right on in. Mel's face rose from behind her laptop, she took off her glasses and looked surprised to see me.

"Sean, what are you doing here?"

It was then that I noticed her eye, half covered with makeup, but still, a dark purple tinge was clearly visible.

"What happened to your eye?" I asked, I tried to stifle the anger in my tone, but I still sounded cold, distant.

She pulled her fringe over it, trying to shield it from view.

"It's nothing, I'm okay. I already got it checked out."

"What happened?" I repeated.

It seemed a bit of a coincidence to me that she had a black eye on the same day that Roxy broke up with me. I knew Roxy was a feisty type, I also knew she could defend herself, she had before. Mel's eyes narrowed at me, I couldn't make out what was going on in her mind. The next minute, she broke into tears, clutching at her desk and holding a hand to her lips.

I was instantly taken aback, I didn't know what was going on, I'd never seen Mel cry like this, maybe even at all.

"It was so scary,"

Her words were shaky through the sobs. I walked towards her, still unsure of what was going on. I knelt in front of her, and she dropped her hand. I saw real tears flooding from her eyes, and my anger ebbed away to be replaced with concern.

"What was?"

"I was leaving work, I went to my car and thing guy, he grabbed me. He tried to take my bag, he hit me."

Her body shook with renewed sobs, and I reached out, laying a comforting hand on her arm, feeling like a total jerk for presuming something else. She must have been terrified. Even through my own pain, I couldn't walk away from Mel right now. She turned and rested her head on my chest, nestling against me as she continued to cry.

"Come on, let me take you home, you shouldn't be at work right now."

I freed myself from her grasp, and told her assistant that she was leaving for the day. As much as I may not love her, I wasn't going to leave her like this. I just hoped I could figure out what was going on with Roxy before the wedding, until then, this was a rocky road that I'd have to ride out.

************

I'd been trying to get in touch with Roxy non stop since that day. I'd called, texted, even been to her house. I didn't get anywhere with any of the attempts that I made. The last few times I went to her house, it was empty. A neighbour of hers passed by and told me she hadn't been home in weeks. By this point, I wasn't sure what else I could do. I called her work and they said she'd taken some time off. I knew this wasn't the behaviour of a person who had happily broken up with someone. She was doing the opposite. Disappearing somewhere and taking time out, pretty much exactly what I had wanted to do. But work gave me purpose. It stopped me from concentrating on missing her so much, that and the dreaded wedding countdown. I knew Mel had her bridal shower the other day, but surprisingly she hadn't been crowing on about it since that night.

It was the end of a long morning of meetings, and I was walking to the break room when I heard talking from inside. I groaned as I realised it was Clarice and Helena, Mel's superiors. I couldn't handle being grilled about the wedding. I decided to take a detour to the sandwich bar out on the street, but I'd barely turned from the door before what they said caught my attention.

"...Rosie was it?" Clarice's voice carried out to me in the hall.

"Roxy." Helena replied.

"Oh yeah, that was it. She sure knows how to throw a party."

"You aren't kidding, I've never seen anything like it. But did you see Mel's face?"

Clarice laughed, and I heard the scraping of chairs on the ground before she continued.

"I know! My god, I thought she was going to throw a fit at one point. I'm not sure what's going on there, but, for sisters, they certainly weren't on the same page."

"You can say that again. I think Mel thought she was getting a tasteful little tea party, not a red light district party in a bar, complete with strippers, half naked guests and cock shaped shot glasses."

They both dissolved into laughter and I nearly choked myself. So Roxy wasn't playing nice.

"That's my girl." I whispered.

It was further proof that something was going on. But I couldn't allow myself to get carried away. I hadn't been able to speak to her yet, and it was clear that something was going on. Something that, no matter how hard I tried to prove wasn't her choice, was stopping us being together. The longer this went on, the less likely it was that we were going to have a chance. The wedding was nearly upon us, and so far, I'd gotten nowhere.

************

I couldn't sleep when I got home, the rehearsal dinner was the longest time I'd spent near Roxy since before she broke it off. I hadn't stopped looking at her for most of the evening. It was torture seeing her so close and not being able to talk to her, to touch her, to kiss her. She looked as beautiful as ever, but there was still that sadness in her eyes. She'd avoided eye contact with me all night. I tried to get closer the moment I saw her, but before I could get to her, she had vanished, only resurfacing when the dinner actually kicked off. Of course Evan didn't leave her side. Forever her guardian, her protector. I was glad she had him, even if I was jealous at the same time.

I lay in bed, the same place that I'd enjoyed my first intimate night with Roxy. My phone was clenched in my hand as I stared at her number, wishing that I could call it and hear her answer. I wondered how she was at that moment, whether she was thinking about me, like I was her. Or whether she was moving on with her life. Even as the sky grew paler, and the moon made way for the sun, I still held hope that she might step in, that she might tell me that she didn't mean it, something happened to make her say it, and she wants me as much as I want her.

***************

Walking through the doors at the botanical gardens. It felt like walking into a trap. Everything was draped in white clean and cold colouring, the winter wonderland theme that Mel had picked was icy and emotionless to me. It had no warmth, no love, no character. Of course that was very fitting given the situation. But it wasn't anything like how I had ever intended for my wedding to be. I was kind of relieved at the same time, I would have hated for my perfect wedding to be to a woman that I didn't love. However I had come to realise that this wedding may be the one thing that actually stops me from having my dream wedding. Purely as it will cost me my dream bride. I saw my mother, father and Kat ahead, waving me towards them. I had told them all that I would meet them all down here. I didn't want anyone to see how truly depressed I was in the lead up to it. My parent's faces seemed to drop as they saw me, even as I tried to keep a smile going, I couldn't fight the falter. My mother looked at me as though she was trying to figure me out, my father's expression was one of consideration, whilst Kat looked furious. I had to suppress a laugh as I took note of her outfit. A black dress and black flower in her hair. That was my sister alright. She looked more set for a funeral than a wedding, which I'm sure was perfectly intentional. I didn't want to get into anything though, so ignored their expressions, giving them all a brief hug and walking with them towards the room where I'd await the time for my fate to be decided.

The small room was suffocating to me. As everyone cheered and toasted, handing me glasses of champagne and congratulating me, all I could think of was that this was the worst time of my life. I should never have agreed to it. My best mates were sat in the corner, wearing their tuxedos and cracking jokes. My parents left to take their seats and I felt sicker as each minute meant less time until the main event.

"I just need a minute." I said, as one of them walked my way.

I walked backwards, and exited the door, letting out a breath that I felt like I'd been holding for a year. I gazed across the grounds, the white glow from the wintery sky cast a cold glare through the hall. I turned my back on it, and that's when I saw her. Standing ahead, in some pink feathery disaster. My heart seemed to awaken at her close proximity, throwing itself against my chest. I began to step forwards, my eyes fixed on her, not wanting to drift from her face in case I lost her. Even that awful dress couldn't disguise her beauty. But the pain, I could see it even from this distance, it made my heart ache. I wanted to go to her, scoop her into my arms and never let her go. I could see that she wasn't here for that though. There was no light left in her eyes. No hope, just defeat and sadness. I saw Evan round the corner behind her, coming to a halt at her shoulder. I was glad he was here. I knew he would look after her. Do what he needed to for her. I didn't have a chance to move further towards them as Kat and Derek exited the room, walking right between us. Derek grabbed my arm, muttering something that I didn't even notice, and dragged me back into the room. The last thing I saw before I was inside, was the woman that I loved, standing, broken, in the hall. There was no denying it to myself anymore. I was in love with Roxy. I wanted her more than anything.

I didn't take note of how long I was caught up in those thoughts, but the sound of the door slamming open jolted me out of them. Kat stood there, a look of pure determination on her face.

"Everyone out!" She ordered.

I looked at her, wondering what the hell was going on. No one else moved, all of them acting as though she was throwing an insignificant strop.

"If I have to say it again, I swear to all of you, your family jewels will have a new home in your windpipe. Now move it!"

I blinked in surprise at the aggression and malice in her threat. Slowly the guys all rose to their feet and made their way towards the door. The last to leave had barely got to the other side before Kat slammed the door, hitting his ass on the way.

"Kat what the hell?" I started to ask, but she cut me off.

"Shut up a minute, look, I don't have time to beat around the bush. I know you don't want Mel. I know you and Roxy had something going, I also know that it's over-"

"Yeah, how the fuck do you know all of that?" I spoke up, cutting her off mid sentence.

She rolled her eyes, and shook her head in exasperation.

"Are you kidding me? Sean, you're my big brother, do you really think I don't know what you look like when you care about something, let alone hearing it in your voice as you talk about her. Hate to break it to you bro, but you're not as subtle as you think. In fact, I'm pretty sure mom and dad are waiting for you to snap out of this insanity too."

"It doesn't matter, Roxy called it off."

"I know about that." She waved me off impatiently. "Look, last night at the rehearsal dinner, I heard Roxy and Mel in the kitchen. I didn't catch much, but they said something about a deal, and Roxy threatened Mel. Said she'd give her more than a black eye if she went back on her word."

My mind flashed back to the day in Mel's office. I couldn't believe it. I was fucking right. It was Roxy who did that. What kind of person lies about being attacked. I nearly yelled in anger as I realised just how stupid I'd been to be taken in by that. I realised Kat was still talking, and focused my attention back on her.

"... I don't know when that happened, but god I so wish I could have seen it. Or who knows, maybe even inflicted one myself. She definitely deserved a matching pair."

"Kat!" I snapped.

She realised she was getting off track and shook herself.

"Right, well anyway, I was just going to talk to mom and I saw Roxy run off. Evan chased after her, and I may have followed, and sorta... overheard everything they said."

"What did they say?" I asked, desperation coursing through me as I longed to hear the words that I'd waited for so long to hear.

Kat launched into the explanation, telling me their entire conversation, complete with side commentary of how much of a bitch that Mel was. I had to snap at her a few more times to keep her focused from going into a full tirade of abuse about Mel. The more she told me the more that everything made sense and the more that I felt for Roxy. I couldn't believe that Mel would do that to her own sister, my anger turned to dislike and loathing. I was so pissed off, but through that, I was hopeful. Roxy didn't want to end it. She wanted me, and I wanted her. I didn't care about my job. Mel could have it, she could have me sacked, whatever. I didn't give a damn, as long as I had Roxy by my side, anything was worth it. As for my family. She would never stand a chance. That's something that Mel would never understand. Our family is built on love, not power. You can't break apart love. Especially not by means of manipulation and hate. If only Roxy had had a family like mine, she would have known that. Instead of being brought up by people who never showed her that love, then she would never have gone along with this.

"You can't go through with this, not after that. You don't owe her anything. You owe yourself everything. You and Roxy have a shot at true love. Don't let that go for some manipulative bitch."

I swooped down on Kat, picking her up and spinning her around, kissing the top of her head, and saying thank you more times than I could count, then I ran to the door, yanking it open and running down the hallway, hearing Kat calling after me.

"So I guess I'll be the one calling it off then?!"

I ran through the crowd of guests, out into the parking lot and stopping a cab that was halfway towards the exit. I jumped inside and gave him Roxy's address. I hoped she'd be there, even if she wasn't, I'd find a way to find her, even if I had to go to every place she'd ever been and harass every single person until someone told me something. Nerves were swishing within me, but I refused to allow them to consume me. I was going to find the woman that I loved, and nothing was going to keep me from her. I would make sure she knew she was my world and that I would never let her go again.

When the taxi stopped outside her house, I nearly collapsed with relief, seeing the light on in the hallway. She was here. I threw a few notes to the driver and ran up the path, banging on the door as hard as I can, hoping that she'd answer. She didn't, but I wasn't going to give up. I knocked harder and when that didn't work, I rang the bell too. Eventually the door swung open and there she was. The pure perfection of the woman I could never be without, the one who had turned my life around and stole my heart. It would forever be hers, and I knew that I would make sure from this moment on, she would forever be mine. I swooped into the hallway and finally took the kiss that I had longed for since that day in the park. A kiss that would be the first of many more, and the one that I poured everything I had into. Everything else could wait for a moment. This moment was just too perfect to miss. Like every moment with Roxy always was, because she was my world, and with her, I was home.