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“It’s the same thing, Veronica. No matter which way you put it,” he said in a quiet voice.
“It’s not the same thing. Frank and I have feelings for each other. How many other girls have you had one night stands with?” she was yelling now, unconcerned about who could hear her.
Calvin’s silence said a lot about his answer. He had definitely slept with more women.
The door to the bedroom opened abruptly, and Veronica whipped her head around to find Frank entering.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave now, Calvin,” Frank said and crossed his hands in front of him. Beside Calvin, Frank towered above him and even though he was older, he appeared to be stronger and more muscular. Calvin looked up at him and then back to Veronica.
“So, this is how it’s going to be? Your new boyfriend is going to step in and kick me out of your room? After all these years?” he said, his words drawling and dripping with rage.
“All those years mean nothing after what you just told me. You’ve been cheating on me the whole time. I tried to do the right thing here and not get into a marriage based on lies,” Veronica yelled and Calvin only scoffed it off.
“Please, leave Calvin. I’m going to ask you politely this last time,” Frank’s deep calm voice cut through the air and now Calvin looked like he wasn’t going to take his chances.
“Goodbye, Veronica,” he said and she watched him in fuming silence as he walked to her dresser, picked up the box with her ring and left the room, sidestepping Frank on his way out.
When he shut the door behind him, Frank turned to look at her and she could tell that he had been worried.
Chapter 15
“I’m so sorry that you had to witness this, the girls…” Veronica cried, but before she could cover her face with her hands, Frank had rushed towards her and taken her into his arms.
“Don’t worry about that. Are you okay?” he asked, trying to get her to look up at him.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit in shock. I didn’t expect him to just turn up here,” she said, wiping her damp cheeks with the backs of her hands.
“I heard loud voices and came up here. I didn’t want to intervene unless absolutely necessary. But I didn’t want him to hurt you either,” he said and drew her into his arms.
Veronica rested her head on his chest as she tried to catch her breath again. Frank remained as he was, with his arms around her, and gently rocked her from side to side.
“He’s been cheating on me. For years, Frank and I had no idea. I feel so foolish,” she burst into tears again, and now Frank wiped the tears away from her cheeks and continued to rock her. It comforted her, the rocking motion, and she laid her head on his chest again.
“He figured out about us, and wanted me to stop and just go back home with him,” she said, in a meek voice. Frank allowed a few seconds to pass before he said anything, almost as though he was allowing the words to sink into his mind.
“Your home is here, Veronica, with us,” he said and she looked up at him with her sparkling earnest eyes. He was right. There was nowhere else on Earth that she would rather call home.
“I don’t ever want to see him again,” she said, in a whimpering whisper.
“You don’t have to,” he replied and gently stroked her forehead, pushing her curls away from her face.
“I’m just glad you decided to stay,” he added and she couldn’t help but smile.
“I wouldn’t leave for anything. This is where I want to be,” Veronica admitted and Frank leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was soft and gentle, while they continued to sway in each other’s arms. Veronica felt like she could have stayed there forever, just rocking in his arms like that.
“And he took your ring away too!” he said abruptly and she looked up at him and rolled her eyes. The last thing she cared about was Calvin’s ring.
“But it’s a good thing that I have something to replace it with,” he said and gently pushed her away.
Veronica’s brows crossed in confusion as she watched Frank take out a red velvet box from the pocket of his pants. Unlike Calvin, he didn’t drop to his knee but remained standing over her, looking down at her with a warm smile spreading on his face.
Veronica felt like her breath was caught in her throat. She hadn’t expected him to propose. She hadn’t even expected him to formally commit. She was just happy knowing that she could be near him for a while.
“I’ve been carrying this around in my pocket for a few days, before you went for your date with him. After that I just wanted to give you a chance to decide for yourself, before putting you in the spot like this,” Frank said and Veronica couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“That is the most romantic proposal I’ve ever heard,” she said sarcastically and Frank smiled.
“What I really want to say is, that ever since I met you I knew that you were a woman who I respected and someone I could trust. The fact that I find you irresistible and I want to make love to you all the time, is just an additional bonus. I want my daughters to grow up around a woman like you, I can see the positive influence that you’ve had in their lives and in mine. My days are just nicer with you around. So, will you be my wife?” Frank ended this by popping open the box and presenting the ring to her. It was a pink diamond, cut out in the shape of a heart, studded with small rubies around it.
