“I think she would appreciate the truth.”
“What if she is well over it? I wouldn’t blame her; it’s been seven years. I honestly have no idea what I’m doing here, but Christian has put this idea in my head, and I can barely get a shut eye because I keep thinking what if.”
“Christian says you have daughters.”
“Two of them,” Mason replied with a ghost of a smile.
“Well, I’m sure that your honesty will pay for something. You might get your children back even if you don’t get your wife back. It’s not like she’s married to the man, right?”
Mason nodded. “It’s not like she’s married to the man.”
We both went quiet.
“Christian tells me you’re having dinner with his parents tonight.”
I nodded in response. “I’m terrified about what the outcome would be. I love Christian, and I don’t want to lose him, but I don’t want him to lose being the company’s CEO. He’s worked too hard for this.”
“I’m going to say something that will sound very hypocritical, but deal with it. Christian is willing to make the sacrifice for you because he believes you’re the one for him. If you have any doubts, now would be the best time to let him know.”
He looked over to me, and I quickly shook my head. Mason returned his eyes back to the house.
“Good. All you need to start thinking is that you’re worthy of being the one he chooses. That’s all. He loves you; you love him. That’s all that is supposed to matter in this scenario.”
I nodded. I could do that.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go and try my hands at getting my family back.”
“Good luck.”
Mason offered me a smile, and I stood long enough to see him knock on the door and get invited in. I wore a smile on my face before turning and walking to my house, sparing Christian’s a look before going in.
In a few hours, we were going to be meeting his family, and I was going to believe that I deserved to be with their son. I was going to be as brave as Mason.
****
The dress I ended up wearing was navy blue and came to a stop just below my knees. Allison and I decided upon it. And the entire time, Allison told me to stand my ground to her parents.
“It’s important that you don’t let them scare you, Fiona.”
I’ve heard so many variations of the advice that I was determined to not disappoint any of them.
The necklace, paired with the navy blue dress, was made of white pearls that Christian had gotten for the occasion. The shoes were also white. I looked elegant when I stared at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t help but feel a little bit overdressed. It felt like we were going to a ball or some overly formal event.
The bell to the apartment rang through, and I stood frozen, watching my reflection in the mirror.
“You look wonderful, Fiona,” Allison’s voice came from the speaker, pulling me out of my head. I looked over at her on the screen with a smile as the bell rang again. “Don’t keep my brother waiting. It’ll be fine. Speak to you later.”
I nodded, and walked out of the living room, clutching the accompanying white purse. I opened the door to find Christian in a navy blue suit. I couldn’t hide the grin on my face.
“You look beautiful,” Christian said, taking my hand. I blushed to the floor before replying.
“You look handsome, too.”
Liam smiled at me as we approached the car. He opened the door to let us in, and I smiled at him, too. I hoped to the heavens that it would go well, as Liam pulled out of the compound and into the street. Christian held my hand, rubbing his thumb in a circular motion all around the back of my hand.
****
The dining table was quiet save for the sound of the cutlery touching the plates. I couldn’t tell how the food tasted because I was anxious. And it didn’t help that the other occupants of the table kept eating like they didn’t know why we were there.
Occasionally, I’d feel like Melissa was looking at me, but her eyes were fixed on the plate in front of her when I looked over at her. It felt like I was going crazy with paranoia.
I looked over at Christian, and he smiled at me before holding my hand under the table. Over and over again, I told myself that I was worthy of Christian. I wasn’t going to back down from a confrontation, and I wasn’t going to let them think that I couldn’t stand by their son.
Indeed, I couldn’t boast of as much money as they could, but if Christian felt the same way I felt and I was certain of how I felt, I wouldn’t let him fight for us alone.
The dinner table was cleared, and all left were the glasses of red wine. I didn’t bother drinking mine for fear that my hand was going to shake, and they would all know how nervous and scared I was.
“I heard from Kevin that you invited him to a restaurant to tell him and his family off,” Christian’s father said, breaking the silence.
I snapped my head to look at Christian, who immediately rubbed his thumb on the back of my hand, his eyes never leaving his parents.
“I didn’t tell them off.”
“Saying you don’t need them sounds like the same thing to me.”
Christian exhaled and looked to the side before turning his attention back to them. “I needed to make sure they understood what I meant at dinner the other day. And I didn’t want the both of you interfering with it.”
“We’re your parents,” Melissa said immediately, sparing me a look as if I was going about pointing at random people and trying to convince Christian that they were his parents.
