Page 35 of Vitamin Sea
No harm, no foul.
The red lace was soft between her fingers as she held up the outfit in front of a mirror. She reconsidered wearing it when she realized that if Liamwasgoing to propose to her that evening, lots of photos would be taken. He might even have hired a photographer to capture the whole thing. Which might present a problem when it came to showing her coworkers photos from her engagement.
All her concerns washed away after she slipped on the dress—it was too stunning. If it came down to it, she would just leave out any pictures when recounting the engagement to her coworkers.
“Ready?” Liam’s voice came from the living room.
“Almost!” Chloe called from their bedroom. She applied a quick swipe of lipstick. She had put her hair in hot curlers earlier and opted for a dark, smoky eye.
“You look great,” Liam said when she emerged from their bedroom.
As far as looking great, she could say the same about him. His salt-and-pepper hair had been cut a few days before and he was wearing a sharp black suit with a white shirt—leaving the top two buttons undone and giving a hint of his hard chest underneath.
Things had finally gotten steamy in the bedroom a few days after the failed anniversary dinner, and although Liam hadseemed distracted, it had put Chloe’s mind at ease. He had initiated it after she told him how hurt she felt over his absence the last several months. Because of that and in addition to the special dinner he had booked for this evening, she was feeling optimistic. The six months of insecurity, disconnection, and lack of sex was just a blip. Something all couples went through. Liam was almost done the deal he was working on and, soon enough, their relationship would be back on track. After all, they lived together, they were close to each other’s friends and families; they vacationed together, made goals together, loved each other, and supported one another through thick and thin. If that wasn’t the makings of a solid, lifetime relationship, she didn’t know what was.
Along the snow-covered streets of Yorkville, Opus, a knock-out food and wine establishment, occupied an ordinary brick building. Under the dim lights, soft music, and low-toned chatter of fellow diners, she and Liam enjoyed appetizers, mains, and a bottle of wine while they talked about Chloe’s work and her upcoming assignments.
Liam ordered dessert for Chloe and poured the remainder of their wine into Chloe’s glass before taking a deep breath and uttering four horrible words.
“We need to talk,” he said, fixing her with an inscrutable stare.
At first, Chloe wasn’t concerned. After all, they rarely fought. And if there was an issue that they needed to talk about, she was sure it would be something they could easily resolve.
Still—there was something about the look on his face. It was an expression that she couldn’t quite place. A mixture of hesitancy and concern. And something else. He looked uncertain. Scared, maybe.
It was odd and she didn’t know what to make of it. Maybe it was just nerves due to the prospect of proposing?
She gave her boyfriend a quizzical look and took a drink of wine. After putting the glass down, she gave Liam an expectant look.
“Okay—talk about what?”
Liam swallowed.
“You know that I love you, Chlo?”
Chloe nodded, puzzled that he was starting off a discussion this way.
“These past five years together have been great.”
That’s odd, she thought to herself. Why did it sound like Liam, her boyfriend of five years, her future husband, the father of her future children, the man she would grow old together and die with, was prepping her for an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ type of conversation? It sure was a weird way to start out his ‘asking for her hand in marriage’ speech.
“Sorry?” Chloe said, struggling to process the words and expression on her boyfriend’s face. She suddenly had a sick feeling about what was coming; she wasn’t so sure she wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I said,” Liam sounded exasperated, “these last five years have been great.”
“Sorry?” she said again, this time sounding desperate. She was beginning to suspect that something sinister was coming. If she didn’t actually let him get the words out, maybe what she was beginning to suspect was happening wouldn’t actually come about. Like avoiding collections. They can’t force you to pay if you don’t answer their calls.
Liam gave her a guilty look and a sinking feeling came over her.
“That’s why this is so difficult,” he said barreling ahead.
Oh god. It was happening. He wasn’t going to propose to her. He was going to break up with her. At Opus. At their specialrestaurant. After their five-year anniversary. After they had built a life together.
Over the next five minutes, Chloe had an anxiety black out. Six months after the fact, there would still be a hole in her memory. She didn’t know the exact words that he had used, but she knew that they all boiled down to one thing: Liam didn’t want to be with her anymore.
She wept openly at the table—composure and meticulously applied makeup be damned. Tears streamed down her face as he talked, but what he said, she couldn’t recall. All she knew was it was bad.
She became vaguely aware at one point of their waiter placing a dish of crème brûlée down in front of her while trying his best to be discrete. She felt someone’s eyes on her and noticed the woman at the table next to theirs. She was definitely eavesdropping. A dinner roll had been hovering three inches away from her mouth for the past few minutes and Chloe finally turned and gave her a teary glare.
