Captivating Simon

Epilogue

Two weeks after the fateful event with Simon, which left Quinn forever broken, she managed to act normal and is on her moving on phase, thanks to her friends and of course, Frank who never left her side.

She was packing her things, getting ready to call it a day in the office when her secretary handed her a big-ass Toblerone bar. 

"Is this for me?" She asked Claudia - her tiny secretary who looked tinier holding the chocolate bar.

"You're the only Quinn Rae I know who works in this office, so yes." She giggled. "The person who gave you that either likes you a lot or wants you fat."

"The latter, maybe." She laughed and went home.

She was about to go up the steps to her apartment when she noticed a familiar figure jogging in place  three doors from her apartment  waiting to cross the street, and judging from what he was wearing it looks like he was going for an evening run to the nearest park, or jog his way to a gym five blocks away from their building.

Quinn's heart skipped a beat when the person turned to her and smiled before crossing the street. 

It couldn't possibly be Simon. The last time she saw him, his hair was long and  unkempt and he grew his beard. And the man who just smiled at her had short hair brushed up messily, and a 5 o'clock shadow. 

Maybe I'm just missing him again. She thought and she went inside her apartment to freshen up before meeting up with her friends.

The next day, she woke up earlier than usual, changed  into a casual tee and walking shorts and went out to buy bagels from the office building near her apartment. 

She was checking her social media while waiting in line when she heard a familiar voice. 

"Simon?" she called out the person in front of the line who was already taking his coffee.

Simon turned and immediately smiled the moment he saw her. "Hey"

"What are you doing here?" Quinn couldn't believe her eyes. He was the man from the previous day who smiled at her.

"Getting coffee?" He answered, his smile was already reaching his eyes.

"I mean, what are you doing here in Brussels?" She asked impatiently.

"Oh." He moved away from the line and stood beside her. "I moved here four days ago."

"What?!" She asked in surprise. 

"You heard it right. I moved here few days ago so I can pursue this girl I really like." He said casually. "Or, you know what, scratch that. I moved here to pursue the girl I can't live without." 

Before she can ask him further details, the person behind her tapped her to inform her that it was her turn to order. She quickly told the guy her order and turned to Simon again who was annoyingly beaming beside her.

"Well, I'm happy for you and hope you guys end up together." She said sarcastically to hide the sadness from her voice.

"I hope the same." Simon said, his smile turned into a full-blown toothpaste commercial smile.

"Okay." She managed to say, despite her annoyance with how fast he was able to move on. "I got to go."

"Hey."

"Yes?" she turned back to him.

"Are you free tonight?"

"I'm not sure. I have to clean my apartment today because my cousins are visiting, so I'm not sure if I'd finish by the end of the day."

His smile faded. "Oh"

"See you around." she said before starting to walk towards her apartment.

Simon tried to keep up. "What if I help you with the cleaning?"

"Huh?" she stopped a few feet from him (trying to distance herself) and looked at him, confusion written all over her face.

"I'm not doing anything today, maybe I can help. It would make cleaning easier."

"I don't understand."

He stepped towards her, leaving a small space between them which made Quinn nervous and uncomfortable. "I want to spend time with you. Will you let me?" 

"What about the girl?"

He laughed a hearty laugh before pinching her nose. "You're cute."

"Simon, I'm serious! Stop playing with my emotions if you're planning on pursuing someone else!!" 

"I'm not." He took her (bagel-free) hand, "I'm not trying to play with your emotions, nor am I going to pursue someone else."

He looked at her lovingly and smiled. "I moved here for you. I want to be with you. "

"How did you know where I live? And why?"

"Frank tracked me down, the day after we met at the stadium. He told me that he wanted to beat me initially, but after talking to me, he offered to help me instead."

"Frank helped you?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I must admit, I felt like beating him as well, when I saw you with him in the stadium. You were burying your face in his chest and I thought it could've been me. It should've been me shielding you from the teasing crowd. It should've been us labelled as couple of the night."

"You know he is my cousin, right?" her annoyance was suddenly replaced by amusement.

"Not at first." He chuckled. "And you can't blame me for feeling that way. No man is allowed to touch my woman."

"Your woman?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I know there's still a lot of stuff I have to prove before you allow me to call you mine, again. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. And I don't care how long you'd make me wait, because I deserve it, and because I don't want to be far away from you anymore. I'm willing to accept whatever you decide even if it's going to hurt because I don't want to keep asking myself what could've been and spend the rest of my life living in regret for not going after you."

Tears were slowly falling from Quinn's eyes. "You're a jerk!" she gently pushed his chest and wiped her face, afraid to catch other people's attention. 

"I know, babe, and I'm sorry." he grabbed her hand again and kissed her palm. "I'll spend my whole life showing you how sorry I was for how I treated you, and showing you how much you mean to me."

She tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You deserve to be treated well, little mouse." 

And they walked towards her apartment holding hands.