° ° RAMI'S POV ° °
-Will you marry me? - My words hit each other as I hold the box exposing the ring to her with trembling hands. I feel my heart pounding in my chest and I think Lucy can hear it.
I try to swallow but my throat feels like the crotch of a buzzard and the silence envelops us. My knee against the floor starts to hurt due the weight while I wait for Lucy to say something...
Please say something!
But she doesn't say anything, her eyes watch me dilated while the tears accumulate.
-Lucy ... - I whisper with fear
From her comes a gasp with her tears finally overflowing and I see how my biggest fears come true as she begins to shake her head
-I'm sorry - she manages to say with her choked voice
She sorry?!
-I can't - she finishes talking with her broken voice
I try to say something but from my mouth no understandable word comes out, I still hold the ring for her but she only covers her face with her hands before leaving me there alone, surrounded by Freddie and Mary's apartment and hundreds of lit candles.
What just happened?!
I fell to my knees on the ground in shock, staring at nothing for several seconds.
- Lucy - I whispered as if she was still there, taking the ring between my fingers.
Sami and I had gone to the jewelry shop last November, where I designed the ring myself. The idea of giving it to her as a Christmas gift but without her knowing it had come from Yasmine, and the idea of proposing it on the set of Freddie and Mary's apartment had come to me in the middle of my conversation with Joe, when I told him about my plans with Lucy, the rest of the guys don't know about this. Everything was planned to perfection, even Mr. Boynton had granted his blessing when I asked Lucy's hand to him last Christmas Eve.... But there I was after proposing, alone and still with the ring in my hands.
"I'm sorry, I can't," her words echoed in my ears. And like a torture my mind played with me reminding me all the times that Lucy had shown me that she loved me.
Lucy loves me!
That had not been a "No", she had said "I can't". So, what was happening? I stood up placing the ring inside my pocket and walking back to the party. Something was wrong.
"I should tell you something, but I can't right now. Would you trust me?" I remembered her words, someone change my name to Ramen if this had nothing to do with that and I was sure that Emma was a key player in whatever was happening.
I went into the party and Joe came immediately to me
- What happened? Where is Lucy? - he said confused
- Where is Emma?
- What does it matter where Lucy's sister is? Where is Lucy and most importantly, what did she say? - Joe took me by the shoulders
- She said she can't - I repeated her words, which felt like a kick in the balls
- But what...
-Excuse me - I left Joe aside when I found Emma next to Ben at one of the tables
- What's up, Ram? - Ben noticed me - Why that face?
- Would you allow me a moment with Emma? - I tried to sound polite
