Page 79 of The Revenge Plan

“I don’t know Caiden,” she got up and made her way toward the living room. I followed her as she went to stand by the floor to ceiling windows. She looked out at the city skyline with her arms folded with her back to me, “This is too much for me to process. How do I know…”

“That I’m not lying? You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but it’s the truth. I want to be with you.”

She faced me, “What brought this on?”

A realization that I loved her. If I told her now, she wouldn’t believe me. She would probably throw me out and I would miss my chance. “Seeing things differently. Recognizing that I was a fool and wasting my energy.”

“It’s still too much. Can you give me time?”

“Fine. Sure. I’ll leave you alone.” I wasn’t sure if I should do it, but I did anyway. I made my way towards her and kissed her on her forehead. She didn’t resist. “Goodnight,” I said to her and left.

The following three days were the worst I had ever experienced. I did as I promised, left her alone, went to work thinking about her and got back home with her still on my mind. I contemplated going to her apartment and asking her if she had thought about it.

What was worse, I never saw her during those three days? Either she was leaving for work early or late. Maybe she wasn’t going to work at all. It felt like the last two months all over again when I had been tortured by her absence. How I could live without her before this, I did not know. By the third day, I was ready to barge into her apartment and demand an answer. I might have done it if she hadn’t rang my doorbell.

50

He opened the door before I was ready to prep myself. He looked good as always, dressed in casual clothes. His hair flopped around his forehead, making him look roguish. This would not be easy.

“Hi,” he said.

“I want to discuss what we talked about last time.”

“Come in.” He led me into his apartment, “Do you want a cup of tea?” he asked over his shoulder, “I was in the middle of making some.” I nodded, took my seat on the kitchen counter, and watched him as he prepared the cups.

Tea and Caiden are two things that I never envisioned going well together. I always thought of him as a coffee guy, and when we were together, that was what he had drank. Maybe this was the new Caiden.

Speaking of new Caiden, I was still surprised by what he had said by the time he was in my apartment. It was an apology I had never expected to get. I still had my doubts about his truthfulness, but it was still something. And when he had said he would give me time; he had done so. New Caiden was unnerving. He came over and pushed a cup toward me. I took a sip. The tea had a red, amber like hue and went down smoothly. “What is this?”

“Roiboos tea. You don’t like it?”

“It tastes good.”

He gave me a bright big smile, as if my approval meant the world to him.

“How’s work?” he asked. It was such a benign question and yet, I could help but think that he never asked me about my work at all before. I assumed he was trying to break the ice.

“It’s good. We’ve been making some progress in getting the parents to have their children attend the school we built. How’s yours?”

“Not as noble as what you’ve been doing, but things are going well. It’s been a little hectic since the sale, but nothing I can’t handle.”

The sale. Greyson had called me, telling me they were going ahead with it. It surprised me he thought I should know about it, considering that I wasn’t getting anything from it. I took another sip and looked at Caiden. He had an air of expectancy around him.

“I wanted to give you that answer you wanted.”

He made a sharp intake of his breath, but when he spoke, his voice was calm, “And what was your decision?”

“I don’t want a divorce.” The smile on his face was enough to make my heart quiver, “But,” his face fell a little, “I don’t want us to get back together yet. I don’t think I can do it even for the baby.”

“Yet? But you’re open for some time in the future, right?” His hopeful face was making me reconsider. I wanted nothing more than to be in his arms again. My mind went back to the time he had cradled me on the couch. It had felt so good to be held like that. I had felt nothing like it. Was the same person even available? My heart was still scarred by our relationship. “I don’t know.”

“What if you give me a chance to prove myself?”

“I don’t think you can successfully change my mind.”

“I could try. If after that you want nothing to do with me, I would be fine. I wouldn’t even mind a divorce.”

It was tempting. Very tempting. I took a sip of the golden red liquid. It coursed warmly down my throat. “Fine.” I said.

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