Of course, I knew that.
“We broke up about a year ago.” He continued.
Oh, that was a while ago.
“I am not perfect, but she was worse.”
“What do you mean?” I had become confident since he had chosen to tell me about everything of his own accord.
“We technically have different priorities in life. What I value, she doesn’t, and she doesn’t want to, yet she expects me to find reasons to accept her values, though they don’t correspond with mine.” He paused and glanced at me.
“She values her dresses and jewelry more than relationships. She hardly cares if you get hurt, and then she always wants her choices, decisions, and opinions to override any other person’s, especially me. She doesn’t respect my feelings, and she just acts insensitively.”
By then, he was absolutely pissed off.
“Several times I have tried to get her to value other people, at least than herself, and not treat anyone with disdain or disrespect, but she’s Aurora Williams, the great heiress to a vast empire, after all. I tried to salvage the relationship, but she eventually pushed me to the wall.”
“I’m sorry about that,” was all I could say. It was apparent that that woman was not very nice, based on the way she had spoken to me, and that she was a complete stranger.
“No, it’s fine. It’s just driving me crazy that she keeps coming back trying to fix what’s unamendable.” He sighed again.
He looked so pathetic; I felt pity for him. Aurora must be stupid to have provoked such an understanding man like Christian to break up with her.
It was terrible, however, to let her turn and twist his spirit this way.
“Shall we take a walk?” I suggested.
We were very much into the night, but then the street lights illuminated our entire surroundings.
“Sure.” He agreed quickly, and then we got out of the car.
I had not been on a date in a long time, longer than I actually imagined, so it truly felt nice to be someone’s date after such a long time.
Then I was grateful it was not just a random person but Christian.
The gentle night breeze fanned my hair in different directions, sometimes slapping my face, and we did not walk any distance at all when my legs started aching.
“These shoes are killing me,” I muttered to myself, trying to steady my weight on them despite the pain.
“Are you okay?” He appeared to have heard me. “ Do your feet hurt?”
I nodded, almost in tears.
“I’ll take them off,” he said, instantly stopping to unbuckle my stilettos.
I was taken aback by both his words and actions. I’d never expected him to volunteer to take off my shoes.
As his hand brushed against my ankle, a shiver ran through me, triggering untold sensations.
“Thank you,” I managed to say when he had finished.
“I’ll keep them with me.” He took me by surprise once more.
Now, as my shoes dangled in the care of his hands, I wondered what more could happen.
The night was quiet save for the ceaseless chirping of crickets. Once in a while, a car sped past us, and as the night grew older, so did the cars appear lesser.
When we had walked quite a distance from the car, he decided to strike up a conversation.
“When did you become so interested in paintings?”
“Well,” I rubbed my arms. Interestingly, he took off his blazer and told me to wear it.
“You know how cold nights are these days.” He added.
“Thank you.” When I wore it, I was tempted to sniff his cologne.
“Yeah. So I was asking when you became an art connoisseur.”
“Ah, since I wanted to attend an art school but couldn’t, I decided to indulge in whatever art I see. I don’t have a collection yet, but I have been at it for about six years. Allison knows about it.” I playfully added the final sentence.
“Cool. I think it’s a nice thing. Dedicated people like you are not only needed in a particular sphere. Thankfully, you are with the company.” He smiled.
“Thank you,” I reciprocated.
“So, have you ever drawn or painted anything?” He inquired.
“Yes,” I bit my lips. “ It was a representation of the fragments of my imagination then.”
