The Heart Wants What It Wants (Completed)

Chapter 43

As promised, here's the next chapter, kiddos!

Chapter 43

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At the end of Raw on the following night, Joe packed up his things, and he and Val made a quick exit from the venue. Once the realization of his suspension set in, his mood grew dark again. He'd be leaving out on a flight to Tampa in the morning while Val went on to the next venue without him. Needless to say, he wasn't in the least bit thrilled about having to leave his fiancée behind. Apparently, his discontent was written on his face.

"So," Val said, breaking the silence that had engulfed the vehicle since their departure, "I've been thinking about your proposal."

"Yeah?" he replied, his eyes slightly widening with interest.

She placed her hand on top of his and let out a loud breath.

"Joe, don't be mad, but I think we should wait."
"Why?" he simply asked.

His voice was soft with disappointment, but also gruff with slight irritation. He didn't care about all the frills and thrills of a ceremony. All he wanted was for her to carry his last name and one day, his child. "You know that's all a show, right?" he said, glancing at her.

"No, it's not just a show. It's a ceremony that symbolizes the union between two people."

"You can get married with or without it, and right now, I don't care if we have one or not."

Val frowned at him and creased her brow.

"You're being a bit callous, aren't you?" she asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Callous? That's harsh. I'm being real. Sorry, if that's too much for you to handle."

"Whoa, hold it right there," she said, holding up her hand to halt his words. "What has gotten into you, Leati?"

"Nothing's gotten into me. I just don't see why you women put so much effort into these kinds of things."

"You women?" she repeated, appalled by his barbarian line of thinking. "We women put so much into these types of things, because we look forward to that day, starting from when we're little girls. We look forward to dressing up in a beautiful gown and walking down the aisle with our daddies. We look forward to having our daddies give us away to the love of our lives that we'll be with forever. We women look forward to having those memories to look back on. That's why we women put so much into it, and for you to even question why I'd wanna do it is quite asinine!" she nearly yelled, almost in tears.

Joe glanced at her just as they pulled onto the hotel parking lot. His guilt and regret for his words quickly escalated when a single tear rolled down Val's cheek as she sat with her arms tightly folded across her chest and clenching her teeth. Shit.

"Baby, I'm-"

"Shut up, Joe! You know how much this whole thing means to me! I can't believe you could be so insensitive!" she said, jumping out of the vehicle before he could stop her.

"Baby, wait!" he called out, following her into the hotel and onto the elevator.

She pressed the number "7" button and leaned against the back of the elevator.

"Val, I'm-"

"Don't talk to me," she advised, wiping tears from underneath her eyes.

He held up his hands in surrender and quietly waited for the elevator to reach the seventh floor. As soon as the doors slid open, Val exited and hurried down the hall with Joe following behind her at arm's length, afraid that she'd haul off and punch him at any moment.