Contract War

Chapter 3

I shut the heavy front door behind me with a sigh and made my way to the kitchen, there I found Derek seated at the kitchen island typing on his laptop with a stack of folders and papers next to him and a little packet of jelly babies and a bottle of water on his other side. Something about him seemed different and I realised it was the glasses sitting on his perfectly sculpted face, nerds to be precise...I smirked. He looked like a hot, adorable nerd from one of those good boy gone bad movies...if there are any.

"Stop giving me that look, " he said with a sigh.

"What look?" I asked with a huge grin plastered on my face.

"The weird look you're giving me right now...makes me feel like I'm a big mac on your plate."

"A big mac?" I scoffed at his words, "You wish."

I ruffled his slightly curly jet black hair and he swatted my hand away making me pout.

"You hungry? Agnes left some dinner for you in the oven,"

"Nah, I already ate," I told him as I grabbed the packet of jelly babies and popped one into my mouth.

"Yet here you are...stealing my jelly babies." He grumbled and I gave him a sheepish smile.

"So how's lover boy?" He asked.

"I-"

"Don't bother denying, I know you went to see him,"

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Who said I was going to deny seeing him?"

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow and look at me from the corner of his eye. I raised my hands in exasperation and sighed.

"Fine, maybe I was going to deny it,"

He raised both his eyebrows in a 'you serious right now?' kind of way.

I crossed my arms on my chest with a roll of my eyes.

"Okay I was going to deny it."

"See? That wasn't so hard to admit," he said in an enthusiastic tone, "So how is he?"

"He's great," my voice unintentionally sounded sad and Derek picked up on it.

"Everything okay? You know I give great relatio-"

"No I don't take relationship advice from people like you Derek. Anyone who takes relationship advice from you is on a highway to getting dumped."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine, at least I tried," he said as he went back to typing whatever work stuff it was that he was typing.

I sighed again, "Whatever, I'm going upstairs."

I popped one last jelly baby into my mouth and gave him back the packet as I headed towards the kitchen entrance, ruffling his hair again in the process which made him groan in frustration. I suddenly turned on my heel and looked at him in confusion.

"Hey, how did you know that I went to see Philip?"

"You took off your engagement ring." He replied without looking at me.

"Oh," I took a look at my ring finger on my left hand and yeah I really had forgotten to put it back on when I arrived.

I chose not say anything else and I turned and continued with my journey towards the stairs. Every time I went to see Philip I would take off my engagement ring so that he wouldn't have to see it or feel its cold metal whenever we held hands...that would only break his heart further.

I had planned on going to my bedroom to lie down but apparently my feet had their own plans and I found myself sitting on a window seat in the library, staring at the stars. I brought my knees up and settled my folded arms on top of them. I laid my head back against the wall, I wanted to sigh for the umpteenth time in less than 24 hours but I just didn't have the energy to do so.

The image of Phil's worried face was stuck in my mind, I wish it could have been just us...no stupid contract or anything...just us. We could have gotten engaged and then married six months later, we could have been expecting a baby right now, he would come home every 3 weeks looking handsome as ever in his pilot's uniform, caress and kiss the ever-growing bump, tell our unborn baby stories and even give me foot massage. I smiled at the thought of Phil giving me a foot massage.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out to reveal a text from Phil himself.

Phil
-Sleep tight angel💙

Me
-Goodnight babe😘

I texted him back and switched off my phone, tossing it onto the cushioned window seat. I suddenly felt like the world's most selfish person. Here I was, thinking about how much it stung that Phil wouldn't be coming to the wedding, just because I felt that I would need some sort of emotional support from someone I really loved yet I had forgotten all about Phil's feelings. Phil's heart would break 10 times more than it had already if he had to stand and watch me get married to some other guy.

I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump that had been stuck on my throat for so long as I let the tears flow down my cheeks in 2 endless rivers. I sensed movement in front me and I opened my eyes to see an extremely worried Derek staring at me with sad  eyes.

"Hey," he whispered,

He put a hand on my left cheek to wipe my tears and I leaned into his touch.

"It's all gonna be okay," Derek continued.

I hiccuped and continued to cry silently.

"I'm a bad person Derek," I slowly said when I had calmed down.

"What? No Turquoise, you're an amazing person and to say you're the strongest young woman I've ever met would be an understatement."

"But I keep hurting Philip even though I don't mean to,"

"Turquoise listen to me," he said in a voice filled with determination, "You did what you had to, and you're lucky to have a guy like Philip in your life, if I had to watch the girl I was in love with get engaged to someone else, I would flip. Phil is also lucky to have you, you're beautiful and intelligent and everything else a guy -well at least most guys that I know- could wish for in a girlfriend or fiancee or wife, whatever...my point is, you deserve the world for how amazing you are and I'm sure Philip knows that, because if he doesn't then I will tie him to a missile, target it at his house and launch it." I giggled at Derek's threat.

I had stopped crying and I smiled at him.

"Keep smiling, beautiful, you deserve the world," he said as he softly caressed my cheekbone with his thumb.

I lunged at him and threw my arms around his neck, letting his wrap around my waist.

"I'm glad to have you in my life Derek," I whispered to him.

"Me too, sunshine...me too."

Author's Note

Just a small message to all the ladies out there.

Be a pineapple🍍:
Stand tall,
Wear a crown
And be sweet on the inside.