Better with you

Chapter 37

Alexis pov

Who could it even be at this hour?

I hesitated to go near the door.

Before I could ask who it is, the bell rang again.

"Alexis, it's me!" Ray shouted from the other side of the door. Relied washed all over me. I immediately opened the door.

"I'm so so sorry for how I behaved. Let me explain my outburst." Ray said, with urgency in his voice. He looked more distressed than before. I didn't say anything, instead I pulled him in a hug.

I didn't care about how he behaved back then. All I cared about was that he was here. He came back for me.

Once we let go, he held my face in both his hands.
"I could wait an eternity for you. I'm not upset that you didn't reach out to me. I just.. I think a part of me broke when I found out that you were at a party. It is not that I was hurt because you were happy. I was hurt because I realised that you were happier without me and maybe you shouldn't be with me." He said. Poor baby, he had gotten things misunderstood.

"Ray.." I took his hands in mine.
"You are so wrong about everything. I am not happy without you. I couldn't be. We're just going through a conflict, it doesn't mean we are not supposed to be together." I said.

I ushered him towards the couch. We sat facing each other.
"Do you still want to talk?" He asked me.
"Yes, if you do as well." I said. He nodded.

I began to speak.

"I know I didn't give you the time and space to explain yourself, and I get that I was being defensive instead of being open and understanding with you, but I hope you understand that I feel, I don't know, betrayed? Because you made a decision without talking to me first. It was so unexpected that I just panicked and reacted the way I did, which I'm not very proud of. I'm really sorry for being so insensitive towards you." I said. He took in what I said.

Then he began speaking. He told me that from his lawyer he found out that Ray and I cannot be in a relationship according to the State Law, considering that we share a professional relationship. This was also mentioned in one of the clauses of my contract, which the both of us seemed to have overlooked.

In order for us to continue dating, the loophole was that I should stop working for him. He believed that the timing was on our side because his father was recovering well, and the doctor mentioned that Samuel wouldn't really need me as much.

"The reason why I didn't tell you earlier is because I thought that if you found out we were in conflict with the law, you wouldn't want to be with me, or that you would leave me. So I thought, I can terminate our professional relationship, and then we can continue to date." He stopped to take a long breath.

"I was going to explain everything to you once you had signed the last of the documents, which you still haven't." He said the last part comically.
"But yeah, that didn't go as I planned. And here we are." He added.

I felt numb for a moment. I knew of the part in the contract about not engaging in romantic/sexual relationships with your employer. However, I wasn't aware of the legal consequences it had. And he's right, if I had known, I would've left. I couldn't put him or myself in danger. I never would.

I was just so speechless. I couldn't form words. Ray had always been so fucking considerate of the smallest of things. I should've known there was a bigger reason behind all of this.

"So.. the whole thing about you not wanting me to be a nurse.. was all a lie?" I asked.
"No. It is true that we don't want you to be a nurse anymore. But please don't take it the wrong way." He said, scooting closer so he could hold my hand.

"You are like family to us. We cannot have you working for us if you're family. I hope you can see how messy that would be." He said.

Back then I wasn't in the headspace to understand him, but now I do. I completely understand what he meant. He couldn't possibly let his girlfriend work for him, and take care of his dad at that. It would be really complicated.

"I know I came off the wrong way and it gave you the impression that I wanted you out of the house, but that is not at all what I want. I want with me at all times, Alex. I cannot be away from you for even a single minute. However, I knew that if you stayed with us, you would not stop working because being a nurse is all you know. And that is why I wanted to talk to you so we could come up with some solution around it." He said. His voice was so tired and strained.

I felt terrible that I never gave him a chance to explain, and that I made him feel invisible. Guilt consumed me.

At this point, my eyes were tear-soaked.

"I don't know how to tell you how sorry I am, Ray. I really wish I could go back and redo this, except this time I would not assume things and id let you explain." I said.

"I don't want your apology, Alex. I just want to be sure that I have made myself understood, and that you and I are okay." He said. Uncertainty was written all over his face.

I cupped his face before speaking.
"Yes, I understand you and you're right, and you and I are okay. We're okay." I reassured him. It was a reassurance to myself as well, since I wasn't sure about the fate of our relationship.

"Oh, I love you so much." He said before snaking his hand around my neck and pulling me into a kiss. I felt alive as soon as our mouths touched. I had missed him so much. I had missed his mouth, his kisses, his touch. It was oxygen to me.

I moved closer to him and straddled him. The kiss was filled with so much longing and passion. It conveyed that we had missed each other.

After what seemed like forever, we stopped. Mostly because we were tired and sleepy. Ray wrapped both his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly as he stuffed his face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around his head and rubbed his back. I wanted us to stay like this forever.

"I missed you so much, Alexis. I thought you had decided to never speak to me again." He said. I could feel through his touch that he was scared to lose me.
"Oh no no baby. That is far from what I was thinking. In fact, I thought you didn't want to speak to me." I said. We giggled at how silly this was.

He sat up straight to look at me.
"You mean so much to me, that I can never imagine a life without you. I cannot put into words how much I love you, and if I do, it cannot do justice to the depth of my desire." He said. There was so much power in his words. It made me feel warm and safe. I knew in my heart that this was the man of my dreams.

I didn't know what to say so I just kissed him and hoped that he could understand that I loved him just as much.

He stood up while I was still straddling him, and walked to my bedroom. He let me down when we were in the room to look around my space. I realised that this was the first time he was in my house, in my bedroom.

A/N
TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS GUYS!!!
The book is about to come to an end soon, and I'm going to miss writing it. Hence, I would really love to know how you feel about the story. Please comment and vote!!