So Right, Yet So Wrong

6

With the weekend past Mark felt it'd be best not to go straight home, but to text Crystal instead : "I'm so sorry, can I plz come home".

As her phone buzzed Crystal woke with a stir realizing that it's 12 in the afternoon and that she had missed work. Her head throbbed and she soon began to ache everywhere. Crystal looked down beside her to see her dreaded secret lover sleeping peacefully at her side. She decided not to wake her as she walked into the bathroom to examine herself.
The full body mirror in the HoneyMoon Suite showcased the scratches on her back and thighs, the hickeys on her neck and chest, the handcuff indents on her wrists but most of all the engagement ring still on her finger. She looked down in disgust and took the ring off with a swift movement and threw it into the duffle bag beside the tub. *Ting* the ring hit something glass that Crystal hadn't remembered packing. As she walked over to the bag she could hear Natalie stir in the next room. She called out to her "Goodmorni- well good afternoon my love". The lack of response let Crystal know that Natalie just rolled back over and continued to sleep. She must have been tired from the previous nights events. So Crystal resumed searching through the bag until she found the culprit of the musical ting. It was a ring shaped candle, completely burned with no wax left and at the bottom, a ring. She gasped and fell to her knees, beside the new ring was the engagement ring that Mark gave her, it was meek in comparison to the one in the bottom of the candle glass. Crystal began to weep as she remember all that her and Mark had been through: they were high school sweethearts, they went to college together, bought a home, they wanted to start a family. And here she was, slowly throwing away everything they worked for, sure he was in the wrong also, and maybe that's what broke her the most. Why was it so hard to get her fairytale ending. She cried to herself for 10 minutes before she felt a touch on her back, Natalie woke up and came to her side immediately. "what's wrong, did you change your mind?" Crystal stopped crying abruptly and looked with such confusion at the question. "changed my mind about what?!" She raised her eyebrow as well as her voice. They drank the night before but no enough for her to commit to something so serious, right? Natalie pushed back her dreads and knelt down beside Crystal as she took the new ring out of the glass. "This cost me one of my cars and $6,000 out of my savings, I know we were drunk last night but my feelings are true, Crystal I love you, I have been attracted to you since I began working with you, I dreamt of the day that you would recognize me, I've seen your fiancé out with other women, Crystal I'm not saying these things to convince you why you should leave him, I'm saying these things because.... Well because I love you" she trailed off looking into Crystals teary eyes, she knew everything she just said cut deeper than she ever meant to. She wanted to take back everything she just said, but she couldn't. They sat in silence for a moment before Crystal spoke "I think I'm ready." She sniffled and stood up, both rings in hand, and walked over to the sink placed them on the counter. Crystal examined herself again, she studied the lines in her face, the bags under her eyes, the pout of her lips. She began to recognize the woman looking back at her again, but for some reason this worried her. She soon came to the realization that she didn't recognize herself before because she was actually happy, the woman that stared back at her before was confident, strong and powerful. But as she studied herself now she saw vulnerability, insecurity and weakness. Quickly she decided that she would leave Mark, she'd start a new life, one where she was happy with all her choices, starting with the first choice: Natalie.
They ordered room service and had brunch delivered to the suite where they'd devise a plan to make this terrible mess work in everyone's favor. As they ate and talked Crystal started to feel a eerie sense of relief, she would finally begin the life she imagined. But never had she thought she'd love this life with another woman, her mind raced with what her family and friends would think. She felt relieved but there was still a heavy weight on her chest. How would she break this news to them: she's a 28 year old woman, CEO of her own company, she has a house and 2 cars paid in full in her name, oh and she's in love with a woman and she's going to leave her fiancé for her 8 days before the wedding.

"SHIT THE WEDDING!!!" Crystal stopped eating and ran around the room packing as fast as she could, all the planning they'd worked on and she hadn't factored in the wedding, or the lack of wedding I should say.