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“Sometimes the thought does cross my mind if I’m being honest, but then, my thoughts from the past make sure I don't get that far.”
“You'd give up a chance at love?” I asked him for clarification.
“No, a chance at heartbreak. I can’t risk it again,” he said. He seemed to have made up his mind.
“You’re a businessman. You take risks all the time. You’re even taking a risk right now with this fake engagement. What if you take a risk with someone and actually find your soul mate?” I tried to reason with him. I was trying to steer our conversation in the direction where I could finally tell him how I truly felt about him.
“I don’t know, Reyna. I guess when the time is right, love will find me again, but right now, I’m not sure I'm looking for love or if it's what I need right now,” he said. The atmosphere was heavy with tension. I could feel his gaze on me, part of me knowing how he felt about me, and part being confused by his words.
"I…," he started, his voice a low rumble. He cleared his throat. "Reyna, I feel something for you. I love spending time with you, I love the time we spend together…but I'm not sure..." His words trailed off, and I could feel my heart breaking. It seemed like he was too afraid to admit what he felt, though the truth was there in his eyes and in all the actions he showed me.
I could sense the pain and confusion in his expression, and I wanted nothing more than to take it away. So, I reached out and touched his hand, offering him a silent promise. And suddenly, I saw a flicker of hope in his eyes.
"Bryce, there's something I need to tell you," I started, my voice barely above a whisper. He turned his head to look at me, his hazel eyes full of curiosity. "I know we agreed to this fake engagement for business reasons, but... but I think I've fallen in love with you."
The words rushed out of my mouth before I could even comprehend what I was saying. Bryce and I still lay facing each other, neither of us sure what to say next. The intensity of the moment was palpable, the air between us crackled with a strange electricity. I had never felt this way before, and I had to let him know. There was no denying it any longer.
The seconds ticked by, and at that moment, I felt as if the entire world had paused. All I could focus on were his glimmering eyes, but couldn't really tell what was going on behind them. At that moment, I knew that whatever happened in the future, this moment was one I would never forget.
Slowly, Bryce's expression softened and he reached out to take my hand in his. He paused for a moment, battling the thoughts in his head. I could tell he didn’t know how to respond.
Finally, as if the moment had been decided for us, he cleared his throat and said simply, "We'll work this out, Reyna." His voice cracked as he spoke the words, and before I could stop myself, I squeezed his hand tightly, telling him without words that I agreed; no matter what happened, everything would, in fact, be alright.
"But you'll be sure to tell me, you know, when you know…"
Just then, his phone rang, breaking off our conversation. We both broke out of the trance and Bryce walked away to attend to the call. I slipped back into the pool. From there, I watched Bryce as he paced up and down while he spoke on the phone. Something was definitely wrong.
The call took a bit of time. I was relieved when he finally joined me in the pool.
“I just got off the phone with Tom. He says that the media is calling our engagement a sham and it’s actually affecting our ratings as a marketing company. We need to do an interview with ATL Lifestyle and fix this,” he announced, and just like that, our previous conversation was dropped.
“Bryce, you and I were having a discussion. Isn’t that important, too?” I asked, indignant.
“Not at the moment, Reyna. There are millions at stake. We can discuss our personal matters later. We got into this personal relationship for business reasons, so that's the priority. We both knew that.” He looked at his phone without even paying attention to me. The pain of his rejection was like a physical blow. I felt it in my chest, a tightening sensation as if my heart was being squeezed until it was too small to hold any more emotion. I could feel the tears welling up, hot and heavy, blurring my vision and spilling down my face. "I'm sorry, I have to go." He pulled himself out of the pool by the ladder and grabbed a towel.
He had already turned his back on me and was walking away, but I still found myself reaching out.
"Please," I said, my voice thin and watery. "Don't go. Not like this."
He stopped, his shoulders rising and falling with a deep sigh. He didn't turn around, but I saw his head dip down, just a fraction. He turned and looked at me with uncharacteristically sad eyes. When he spoke, his words were barely more than a whisper.
"Maybe this isn't worth the risk. I’m afraid of getting hurt again and I’m even more afraid of hurting you when I fail to fulfill your expectations," he said, and then he was gone.
I felt my heart start to break as I continued to tread water, watching him disappear.
Maybe he was right. Love wasn’t worth the risk. I had told him how I felt and it was like he found a way to shut down the conversation because he didn’t dare to tell me how he felt. Tears started to stream down my cheeks.
I pulled myself up to sit at the edge of the pool, sniffling more than I cared to. Dammit, why did it have to end this way? As I looked out into the distance, I couldn't help but feel betrayed by Bryce's sudden dismissal of our conversation. Was I just a pawn in his game of business? Did he ever care about me or was I just a means to an end? Would he ever be able to put a personal relationship before business?
These thoughts raced through my mind as I let the tears fall. All of what we did and felt couldn't have been fake…
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Bryce standing behind me with a look of concern on his face.
"Reyna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dismiss you like that. It's just that the situation with the media is serious and we need to take care of it before it spirals out of control," he explained. I looked up at him, still feeling hurt but at the same time grateful for his apology.
"I understand, Bryce. But what about us? What happens after all this is over?"
Bryce sighed deeply and crouched down next to me.
