Maybe this time [Completed]

Chapter 32

PAUL

We had our reunion two months later. It was difficult coordinating everyone's schedules but I knew Cristy can make a rabbit appear out of a hat.

And I really needed see Elisse and Ray together to clear all the doubts and the fears that were nagging at me.

When it finally came to it, I had my answer. And it was worth the wait.

Elisse reacted differently to Ray now, she was more aloof and distant, and not constantly on her toes like the last time. Even when he approached her, she stayed the same. He did not have the effect he had on her before.

But I still wanted to hear it straight from her. There would be no second guessing this time.

"Regretting the divorce?" I asked her casually, carefully controlling my voice so she won't notice how much was on the line depending on her answer.

"Nah, it was the best decision we could have ever made," she replied slowly. "We weren't compatible, you know? We are better off as friends, we just didn't realize it sooner."

I let her words sink in, figuring out which parts were true and which were a cover up of what she really feels.

But Elisse had never been good at pretending. She was very transparent to people who knew her, and I believe I knew her well enough by now.

"I know," I finally replied, satisfied with her answer.

She raised her eyebrows at me in surprise.

"I knew from the start that it wouldn't work. He can't make you happy, he doesn't get you," I explained.

"U-huh. If you knew, why didn't you say anything?"

She had forgotten our conversation. I, on the other hand, remember everything.

But I don't mind. The future is more important.

"I did. Many times. You just chose not to listen."

"Okay, tell me now. I'm listening."

Not yet. It's not the right time. Or place.

"Later. Let's talk later," I promised.

I knew how much this would irritate her, she doesn't like to be left hanging. But this is a conversation that's been waiting twenty years to happen, we can't afford to have any interruptions.

We had agreed to meet on Saturday, and at first I planned on bringing her to a cafe where we could talk quietly.

But as Saturday came, my emotions were so unstable that I knew we needed a more private place to talk.

I brought her to the house that the company had lent me for the six months that I'll be here, my "future house" as they called it, assuming that my taking their offer was a done deal. Little did they know that the choice was not mine to make.

And then I told Elisse everything. About how I had always loved her. How I always hoped she would notice. And how it broke my heart every time she ignored what we had.

I told her about the darkest day of my life, when I stood in the corner of the church, silently watching her walk away from me and into someone else's arms.

She never knew I was there. No one from the station knew, except for a few higher ups and the head of human resources.

I told her about the day I found out she had given birth, and how much I wished it were mine.

I told her about how I spent the past fifteen years, coping with the void she had left behind, breathing but not really living.

And I told her about my past. I laid all my cards on the table.

I lay down my heart. And then I waited.