Chapter 42 - Story Time

Brian ushered Chloe to the dining table, where he had prepared a lavish meal. She sat at the table, fidgeting with her hands and her napkin. She knew they needed to talk, but she couldn't find the words to speak. At the current moment, all she could manage was to stare at him. Her mind went blank, leaving her body a drooling mess. "Chloe, are you okay? I think you have drool on your chin." Brian said, mockingly. Chloe snapped back into reality and wiped her chin only to find nothing there. "You are mean. How are you gonna tell a lady something is there when it's not?" Feeling the need to repay the sincerity, she said: "I bet you have practice telling women something is there when it's not." She smiled, pointing her eyes to his crotch. "Oh baby, you most definitely know what I have there, no need to lie. But if you forgot with that case of amnesia, then I will be more than happy to show you after dinner." Brian set a plate of delectable food in front of her. Her eyes grew big at the sight of it. She was astonished by his cooking skills. She politely waited for him to take a seat and begin to eat before she took a bite. "So, what brings you here? I thought you wanted space." Chloe hurried to swallow her food so she could speak. "I wanted space. Not for you to fly halfway around the world. I couldn't let you leave without telling you." Her voice trailed off. She scolded herself for not being brave enough to spit it out. It wasn't the first time she has told him, but why was this time so much harder. "What? What did you want to tell me?" Brian was doing his best to keep a straight emotionless face; in reality, he wanted to grin knowing what she wanted to tell him. Chloe looked at the table to gain the resolve to speak again. "I wanted to say, I'm sorry. I love you and am willing to hear your side and to try to see things from your perspective." "Okay, how about I tell you a story." Chloe sat picking at her plate; she nodded for him to continue. " There was a boy who was being neglected by his parents. His parents, who shoved him onto the closest servant and thought if they showed him any attention, it would spoil him. The boy ran away one day and saw a beautiful girl crying in the middle of the road. Before a car could hit her, he shoved her out of the way. He was badly injured and woke up in the hospital. The doctors explained how lucky he was to be alive. The boy saw his parents sitting and weeping beside him. Because of the accident, the boy's parents began to love him with all they had. When the boy reached adulthood, he tried to find the girl and gain any information he could. After his parents passed, her name was finally given to him. So he sought her out to thank her for saving him. If it hadn't been for her that day, his parents might have never noticed him." Brian paused, noticing Chloe had finished her food. He stood to take her plate to the kitchen. "Is that the whole story? What happened to the boy and girl?" Chloe was more than interested in the story now. Brian chuckled at the sight of her. It reminded him of an innocent child hearing a bedtime story. He grabbed two glasses from the counter and a bottle of wine. He didn't prefer wine, but he knew Chloe liked it, so for her, they will share a glass. He motioned for her to follow him to the living room to get more comfortable. "The boy did eventually find her. He hired someone to help find her and acquired her address. After a long period of looking, he became nervous about confronting her. One day, he gathered all his strength and showed up at her home. He met her father, who explained that the girl was in a relationship and was assured that he would pass along the message of gratitude. He thought the father was trying to run him off; maybe he knew who the boy turned out to be. Maybe he was just acting like a father. However, the boy left only to keep an eye on her from a distance. He still had the urge to protect her because he knew she was the only love he would ever have." Brian cut the story short and walked to the fireplace mantle, removing a beautifully rose printed hand-carved wooden box. "Come on. You cant end the story like that. What happened? Did they ever meet again? Did she love him? Did they get married?" Chloe was at the edge of her seat, wanting to know how the story ended. Brian smiled while walking back to sit next to her. "Yes, they did finally meet. By chance, they visited the same graveyard. He spotted her from across the yard and had to speak to her. He went to see her at work and had to come up with a ridiculous story about his phone being dead. She was going through something bad in her life, so he felt the need to protect her once again and asked her to live with him. She went through a long road to get her happy ending, including pregnancy. When she told the boy, he was so worried that he would lose her and acted out of fear. She ran away, upset. She got kidnapped, amnesia, and found out a horrible truth. So the boy made the single best choice of his life. He would leave. If she followed, he knew she loved him, and if she didn't, he would never return. He was lucky because she followed. Now the boy kneeled before the girl and asked. Chloe, will you be my wife?" Chloe, now in tears, looked down as he opened the box to see a shimmering gold band with small soft pink diamonds embedded in the shape of a heart. She looked at Brian, who was still waiting for an answer. She was so shocked by the proposal that all she could manage was a nod. Brian sat down beside her, placing the ring on her finger and pulled her into an erotic, seductive kiss.