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“Yes, she is my girlfriend. And maybe soon, she’ll be my wife,” Calvin said in a happy voice to the little girl, before turning to Veronica with a smile.
“I’ll take over from here, Veronica. You both should go ahead,” Frank said and Veronica whipped her head around to look at him. He looked as calm as ever, and now he was walking towards them. He brushed past her as he walked over to the spot where his daughters were playing, and Veronica felt an electric shock run down her spine when their arms lightly touched.
She felt like she was beginning to choke up, like she was going to break down and cry. Lying had never come naturally to her, and now she felt like a horrible human being for keeping her affair with Frank hidden for so long.
“Shall we go up to your room, babe?” Calvin’s voice interrupted her thoughts and Veronica glared at him, speechless still. He reached for her hand and tugged at it, and that was when she started walking, leading him out of the room. Veronica wanted nothing more than to just be out of that space. She wanted Calvin away from Frank and the girls, as though he might end up causing some kind of harm to them.
“Why would you just turn up here unannounced?” Veronica let her voice loose the moment she shut the door of her bedroom behind her. Calvin had walked in and was now standing in the middle of the floor, looking around him with some awe. He turned to fix his eyes on her again and then arched his brows.
“Mr Davenport doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, why are you so worked up about it?” Calvin asked and Veronica shook her head with rage.
“He’s polite, so he won’t ask you to get out of his house. But I know he doesn’t like strangers coming to the house unannounced, demanding to be let in,” she continued. Calvin didn’t seem perturbed by the sound of her voice, he either didn’t care or didn’t seem to notice that her voice was raised and that seemed to be upset.
“Well, I’m your boyfriend, that doesn’t make me a stranger. I didn’t demand to be let in either. I just asked if I could talk to you and thanked him for the apartment he got me. He let me in and took me to the den himself,” Calvin said and then started walking around the room a little. He was running his fingers over the soft fabric of her fresh bed linen, admiring the thread count apparently. He looked up at Veronica and smiled suddenly.
“You seem to have it pretty good here,” he said, in a tone that almost sounded like he was jealous of her.
“Yeah, isn’t this what you wanted for me?” she asked, glaring at him. Calvin shrugged his shoulders and nodded.
“I wanted you to manage your work better, bring in new and high paying clients. I didn’t want you to shut me out of your life completely,” he said and then took a few steps towards her.
“I haven’t shut you out of my life,” she snapped and Calvin raised his brows again.
“I had to beg you to go out on a date with me,” he said but he didn’t seem to be begging now. All the sweetness and kindness he had portrayed earlier had somehow vanished. Calvin had turned back into the man who Veronica was trying to escape when she took up the job.
“I was busy, I’m sorry about that,” Veronica said and Calvin pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his pants and took in a deep breath.
“Let’s forget that for a moment, shall we? I proposed to you two nights ago, Veronica. You still haven’t given me a yes,” he said and she noticed now that his nostrils were flared.
Veronica looked about her room and sighed.
“I’m still thinking about it. I just need some time,” she said. It wasn’t that she hadn’t made up her mind already, she just didn’t know yet how she was going to break it to him. What reason she was going to give.
“Need some time for what? We’ve been together for so long, Veronica. Isn’t this a natural progression of a long term relationship? Isn’t marriage what you wanted?” Calvin asked, and now he came closer to her. She remained where she was, nervous of what she might do if he tried to get any closer.
She could see that he was disturbed. Even though he wasn’t being as nice to her any more, she knew that she would be breaking his heart very badly if she just said no, bluntly.
“I don’t know if I’m ready yet,” she said, meeting his burning gaze. She was losing some of her earlier confidence now. Her bravado was beginning to crumble. On one hand she didn’t want Calvin to manipulate her like he always did, and on the other, she didn’t want to hurt him either.
“You’re not ready yet…with me or with anyone?” he asked, and his voice had softened a little.
Veronica looked away from him, trying to avoid his questioning gaze and she breathed deeply in through her nose and let out another sigh.
“I don’t know Calvin, I just think it’s the wrong time…it isn’t your fault,” she said and Calvin shook his head, then he let out a small cruel laugh.
“I know it’s not my fault. I’ve done everything by the textbook. I’ve done everything I could to give you a better life, to guide you in the right direction, save up for our future together…Hell, I even got you this job,” he continued with a snarl in his voice.
“Maybe, that’s just it Calvin, maybe I didn’t need your guidance. Maybe I didn’t need you to give me a better life. You didn’t approve of my business decisions any way,” she snapped and then there was silence between them.
Calvin was staring at her, with a sort of blank glazed expression in his eyes, while Veronica stared back at him with her shoulders heaving. She wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to say next.
He allowed the silence to extend between them for some time, before he cleared his throat and clenched his jaw.
“So, can I just put us out of this misery and ask you here and now if your answer is going to be no? I’m giving you the chance, Veronica, to get out of this easily,” Calvin said and Veronica suddenly felt like her mouth had run dry.
“Yes…I mean no. I mean, it’s going to be a no. I’m sorry Calvin,” she cried and felt hot tears pricking the backs of her eyelids as she tried to hold his gaze.
Calvin only nodded. Like he was expecting that very answer.
