Heal my heart.

22

Gracie
I open one email pending to be read on my laptop. It's from Mr. Roberts. I direct my full attention to it. It's about some dinner party with The times of California. Why are they dining with the rivals? I read it further. Tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm, some fancy chinese restaurant and will last till 10:00 pm. I sigh. So many parties, dinners, get togethers and meetings, when will people realize the bliss of staying at home with your loved ones? Getting over for the day, I got up and went down. I crossed the street and sat in a silver Mercedes. Alastair's.
"How was your day?" He asked. "Good. About that dinner party, you're coming right? You have to. I'll be bored as hell without you there."
"I will be there. It's from Mr. Roberts after all."
I flinch. It still hurts that he is our boss's son in law.
"Where is Paige?" I ask, suddenly feeling uneasy about being in a car with him while his fiancé is probably waiting for him.
"She's with some of her friends, shopping. What more can I expect of her?" He says irritatedly.
We stay in silence for a while. He looks like he's in some other world. "What are you thinking of baby?" I ask, grazing his knuckles with my fingers.
"You forgave me too easily." He says letting out a sigh.
"I did think about it before forgiving you."
"We both, we just have a tendency of jumping into things. We fell into a relationship too fast in our teen years and when we were back together, we patched up easily. Now, I felt like I had to chase you, butter you up, but you just accepted me back. Not that it's a bad thing, you were always so understanding, but it feels so unreal. Have I crossed a line over here?" He says nervously.
I sigh. "I don't think I forgave you too easily. It's just that, I can't go around this chasing pattern anymore. I love you too much to let go or stay mad at you. I want to cherish all the moments. What's the point of staying away from you when I know I won't be able to? I had to forgive you. It's too exhausting, loving you, you know that right? In the end, all we regret is the chances that we didn't take. Moreover, I know what you must have gone through."
"How?" He asks, his brows furrowed.
"My parents wanted me to give Ben a chance, they believe I'll stay single for the rest of my life otherwise."
"What?" He almost bumps the car to a stop.
"Calm down. I'm not actually marrying him though, or even dating him. Mom and dad had just talked to me about it."
"And what are you thinking?"
"Of course not. He's a friend, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Have you lost it?" Ben looks at me in utter disbelief as he paces around the house. Ivy eyes me from the couch silently. I'm just sprawled on the couch like a potato while these two give me disapproving glares.
"No I still have it." I roll my eyes at Ben.
"You're informing about patching up with him almost forty days later and now you've forgiven him even after knowing that he is engaged. Who does that?" He waves his hands around exaggeratedly.
"I've explained that to you already. I don't think I need to repeat it." I say looking at him pointedly.
"Cut the sarcasm. Oh you're just not getting it. Ivy atleast say something to her!" He plops down on the couch giving up on me.
"What makes you think that he'll chuck that richie Roberts for you?" Ivy says calmly from the couch end. She's grown to be so elegant, it's getting to my head now.
"It's not about money." I say.
"I know that. But do you even know Mr. Roberts? I've done my fair share of research on him as an Economics student back in college. He's a very persuasive and manipulative man; he won't let Alastair leave his only daughter."
I bite my lip. "He is talking it out. Basically, we also tried to find out if Paige is somewhat cheating on him or is not loyal enough. But he couldn't find a clue, she's too closed up or clung to him."
"I don't know. Honestly, I don't think it will work out. I won't say you shouldn't have forgiven him, because I can imagine how that scene might have played out when he took the decision to get married to Paige. It would have been a lot of pressure, on one side, his entire career might have been on sake and on the other, there was no chance of him anyways meeting the only girl that ever mattered again."
"How are things with Chris?" I ask for a change in the topic.
Her eyes immediately lit up. "I'm going to meet his parents tomorrow. I think we're on the right track." She rubs her hands in glee.
Despite my misery, I smile for my friend. "That's really good to know."
"I know right." She sits back in bliss.
"Whatever happened to your friend Melissa and her Ronnie?" Ben asks quietly from the side.
"His name is Roland." Ivy gives him a blank stare.
"Yeah same thing." He rolls his eyes.
"I haven't talked to Mel since so long." I sigh.
"You two aren't as great friends as you used to be." Ivy says.
"Yeah, time just goes on, we drifted apart. But I'll still do anything for her in a heartbeat." I say.
"She'll do the same for you." Ivy says. "She is pregnant."
I choked on the water I was drinking. Ben jumped up from his seat. "What the fuck?"
Ivy looks amused. "Calm your asses down. She is pregnant with Roland. They then got quickly engaged and are marrying two months later. She'll give you people an official invite too. I just happened to visit Seattle last month so I know."
I rest my head back on the couch and think hard about what all we've come to from that year in Presidency. It seems like it happened just yesterday. I have to call Mel up.
"Ben, I think we should leave. Grace has to get ready for her dinner with the bosses and clients." Ivy says.
Hell, here goes nothing.