Tainted Desires | 18+

65 - Sacrifices

Terrence Toussaint

Mondays at the office were bustling as usual. Meetings, emails, and the relentless rhythm of corporate life filled my day. Yet, beneath the facade of a successful CEO, a storm of emotions raged within me.

How was I supposed to feel hearing the woman who could turn my night to day say she doesn't love me anymore?

Sitting behind my polished desk, I stared at the quarterly report on my desk, the numbers and figures blurring before my eyes. My mind was a whirlwind of confusion and self-doubt. It was a cruel irony that, as the CEO of the company, I could manage a team of employees, make tough decisions, and steer the ship of a successful business, yet I felt utterly powerless when it came to the woman who rocked my world.

My mind kept drifting back to Mirabelle.

Did she mean it? Was it over for good? I had spent the entirety of yesterday in a haze of confusion and heartache.

I don't love him.

This was the second time she was uttering those words, and it still felt like a cold, sharp knife through my heart. The first time, it had been directed to Eloise, and one would think it was just her putting up a front. But this time, it had been uttered in a different context, one that seemed to confirm what I had feared most.

The weight of her words hung heavily over me, and it was a burden I couldn't easily shake. I had replayed our entire relationship in my mind, searching for the moments when I might have failed her, when I might have pushed her away. But the truth was, I couldn't pinpoint a single reason.

She was the sole reason for my happiness. Why then would I do anything to push her away? To imagine that I might have driven her away unknowingly was a thought I couldn't bear.

But the doubts persisted. Was it something I said or did? Was it my own insecurities that pushed her away? The more I tried to make sense of it, the more elusive the answers became.

I wanted-

No, I needed her.

In more than one ways that did not seem humanly possible anymore. It was a craving that went beyond the physical; it was a yearning for her presence, her laughter, and the way her smile could brighten the darkest of days. No matter the things she had said... or has done, I still found myself wanting her.

She had imprinted herself onto my very soul, an indelible mark that refused to fade. I needed her, not just as a part of my life but as the very essence of it.

I yearned for the sound of her voice, the touch of her hand against my skin and the warmth of her embrace. It was a need that gnawed at me, a void that nothing else could fill.

But I also knew that I couldn't slow down. I had a week left to figure out this whole thing before Mirabelle thought I was done with her for good. I wasn't.

I couldn't ever.

Does she even want me?

The question haunted my every thought: Did Mirabelle even want me back? It was a relentless nagging in the back of my head, an uncertainty that gnawed at me.

Mirabelle had said hurtful things, and I had heard her speak the words that shattered my heart. She had given her blessings for Eloise and me, and the wounds from her departure still felt fresh.

A week away from an arranged marriage that I wanted no part of, and it was like a ticking time bomb threatening to obliterate any chance of reconciliation with Mirabelle. The pressure was mounting, but I couldn't let myself believe that it was too late, that I had lost her forever. The very idea of a life without her seemed unbearable. Life without her felt like a barren wasteland, void of the warmth and light she had brought into my world.