He'd gone beyond his player ways for her.
She'd grown beyond her traumatic past for him.
Together, their love was beyond.
Until one fatal accident.
__________
When she loses the love of her life in a car crash, Althea has nothing left in California...
Imagine what it be like to touch the sky, yeah, yeah.'
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*ALTHEA'S POV*
October 28, 2023.
"Jordon, what convinced you to tell him yes?"
Kylie pointed at my hand, and I couldn't count how many deafening heartbeats it took me to catch the diamond on my shaky finger. Though it must have barely equaled a second, and another to realize I'd dropped the box of tissues, which I instantly bent down to pick up, trying to buy myself some time to think about my answer.
What was I supposed to say in front of Giada, the mother of my 'late' boyfriend who had lied to me about his death and whom she thought was my ex?
"Don't worry about me. Kylie and I both answered honestly, and you can too, carina." Giada offered me a reassuring smile as if reading my thoughts, better than I did as I straightened up, and I didn't know if it was the sudden change in elevation or just the abrupt turn in the conversation, but everything was spinning.
What was I supposed to say now?
Kylie and Giada had replied almost instantly, while I kept rolling my lips together, every thud inside my ribcage echoing in the silence like the countdown to a final sentence, although there was no judgment in their patient gazes, only a sparkle of curiosity and an encouraging look in my best friend's blue eyes.
She knew how bad I was at expressing my emotions, or even processing them. So why had she even asked?
One question at a time. For now, I focused on the ring on my finger.
I remembered well the moment Jordon had opened the robin-egg blue box, the dazzling lights of the New York view behind reflecting in the diamond, the waiter in a three-piece suit showing up with a fresh bottle of champagne barely two seconds after as I'd replied 'yes' instantly.
I could still see it all behind my wide eyes like the scene from a romantic movie. One of those classic old movies though, the six-month-old memories appearing older as the black and white images of my dark sheath dress and Jordon's immaculate Hugo Boss shirt replayed with no sound, or maybe I just couldn't catch the lines of my thoughts over the loud hammering of my heart.
I could barely hear my words in the present.
"I said..."
"Are you ready to check for any adjustments?" The same saleswoman as before walked in, interrupting the trail my voice had been off to, and I didn't know how much time had passed since she'd left, but I rushed to reply,
