Page 112 of Maddening Fixation

“Stand.”

Slowly, he obeyed, though he kept the ring box open in his hand.

The sadness in his smile was impossible to ignore.

I became painfully aware of the estate guards standing several yards away.

They weren’t looking directly at us.

Professional men never did.

But they had undoubtedly heard every word.

Thankfully, they were loyal enough to carry secrets to their graves.

“This...”

I gestured helplessly toward the ring.

“...should never have happened like this.”

His hopeful expression began to crack.

“We’ve known each other for a few months, Egor. A few months. We have never dated. We have never had a conversation about becoming something more. You skipped every step that was supposed to come before this.”

I took a slow breath, choosing my words carefully.

“I do care about you. I value you. But I don’t love you the way you want me to. I can’t force feelings that aren’t there.”

I shook my head gently.

“I’m sorry, Egor. But my answer is no.”

For a moment, his face gave nothing away.

Then his expression shifted into something I couldn’t quite read.

“So that’s what this was?” he asked quietly. “The conversations... the late-night calls... the trust we built between us...”

His voice lowered.

“All of that meant nothing to you?”

I blinked.

“You can’t honestly tell me you never felt it,” he continued. “You never felt something changing between us?”

Something changing between us?

Was that what he thought this had been?

That all those moments had been leading somewhere I never agreed to go?

He took a cautious step closer.

“I know this isn’t the perfect moment,” he said. “But life rarely gives us perfect moments. I don’t want to lose another day pretending we’re only friends.”

He lifted the ring slightly, his eyes never leaving mine.