Entangled (Phoenix 1)

CHAPTER 32

They stood in one another's arms. Fiona had tears in her eyes, but she was caught off guard when she felt dampness on her shoulder.

She whispered, "Justin."

"I am so sorry, Fiona. For everything." He tightened his grip on her.

"It is okay." She told him, softly. She didn't know how to react to emotional Justin.

"No, Fiona. It is not." He didn't leave his position. Fiona, on the other hand, took a slight step backward. He had tears in his eyes as she saw his face.

"Oh, Justin. Everything will be fine." She made an attempt to reassure him.

"Will it? I have been such a jerk to you."

"Why don't you sit down?" She wanted to calm him down. Justin was beyond exhausted, so he took her words to heart and sat on the floor, his back supported by the edge of the bed. Fiona followed in his footsteps.

"I am sorry, Fi, and I truly mean it." He stated it again to her.

"Justin, what is going on?" Fiona asked him.

"Fiona, can we talk? I know that this might not be the best time, but I have to get it out. I cannot take this any longer." Justin pleaded. Fiona's heart melted at this.

"Of course. I am so sorry that I have been..." He, however, cut her off. He closed her eyes, for couple of seconds before he spoke to her.

"You should not feel sorry. I should be. It was not one of my brilliant moves to leave you hanging the day we got married. But I was pissed at my grandmother. And I took it out on you unknowingly. The next day I wanted to apologize, but then it was very awkward. I didn't know how to approach you. After that, so many days had passed, and there was much too much silence between us."

"You could have just talked out of random, Justin. I would have listened to you." Fiona told him.

"I am aware of that now. To be honest, I was planning to, but something or other kept me occupied, and I wanted to speak with you privately and in peace. I wanted to apologize to you properly. In fact, I was waiting to catch you the day you went to Emily's place so we could sort everything out between us. But then..."

"I mistakenly forgot to turn on the charger..." Fiona went on.

"And I got worried sick. But that day was a breakthrough as we talked. But the fear I felt was nothing compared to the day you disappeared without informing anyone of your whereabouts. You scared the living daylights out of me."

"I am sorry for that. It was a childish move on my part." Fiona agreed.

"Yes, it was, but then I couldn't hold it against you. If anyone had overheard my chat with my grandmother, they would have fled. I am not going to lie and say I only said it to hurt my grandmother since it wasn't a lie. That is what I felt, but it was the day we got married. So all the anguish which I had was not on you or directed at you."

"I don't blame you for feeling that way. I hated the situation in which we were. It was just that I felt you were punishing me for everything that had happened to both of us. The conversation that day was a final straw for me. So, I left." Fiona explained her point of view to Justin.

Instead of putting the blame on her, he took the responsibility.

"I understand what you are saying now, Fi. James had warned me repeatedly to talk to you, say something, anything, but I just kept putting it off. But I was telling the truth when I said that divorce had never crossed my mind. The only thing which was on a loop was to talk to you and explain everything, and then from there, we would figure everything." Justin clarified.

"I get that now."

"I should not have yelled at you yesterday. Even though I am still upset with you for the childish stunt that you have been playing, I am angrier at myself."

Justin's statement made Fiona look at him with surprise.

But he continued nonetheless. "Yeah, if I had talked to you sooner, then you would not have made these idiotic decisions. So it is entirely on me. I am extremely sorry, Fiona."

She was fighting hard not to cry.

"Fiona, I understand that forgiving me in a single day is hard. But please, don't give up on us. Just not yet. I am not saying this because we had a particularly emotional day. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time." Justin was about to continue when he noticed her wiping her tears, which she was desperately trying to control.

"Fiona." He encircled his arm around her. The moment he did, Fiona couldn't stop herself, and she cried profusely into his chest.

"I promise you. We will be okay. I am not screwing this up. I won't force my decision on you, but know that I still have enough hope left for both of us."

She tightened her grip on his shirt in response.

They sat in the same position for a long time. The presence of each other was soothing, and it was enough for both of them. Fiona gradually drew away from him once she had calmed herself.

"You okay?" Justin asked her in concern.

"Yeah, and thank you, Justin. That means a lot." Fiona told him honestly.

"Please, don't thank me. I will do that once I am satisfied that I have compensated for all my previous unjust actions." He wiped her tears away from her cheeks. She nodded in acknowledgement.

Justin took her to the bed. He still had one arm wrapped gently around her, helping her to lie down. He then returned to his side and did the same. He took the blanket and took it upon himself to cover both of them.

"Fiona?" He called out to her.

"Yeah."

"Thank you for coming with me today. It means the world to me." He told her what was in this heart.

"All you have to do is ask. I know we started this relationship on the wrong footing, and your grandmother is just as crazy as mine, if not more, but she loves you. I will always be by your side if you want." Fiona told him, meaning every single word.

He grabbed her hands beneath the duvet in response to her and drew them to his chest, close to his heart. They were closer than usual because the bed was not exactly king-size.

Then they both fell asleep peacefully, with clear and tranquil heads.