My Saving Grace

Chapter 42

"Well, that was touching," Antonio said in a detached tone.

I was wiping my eyes with the back of my hand as I struggled to compose myself. The new presenters on the TV screen looked like blurry shapes to me.

"I'm gonna go to bed now. The Oscars were never really my thing, anyway," he announced, barely sparing me a glance as he rose from the couch.

I watched his retreating back and could swear I heard him mutter, "just friends, my ass."

To my dismay, it didn't seem like he and Chase would become best buds any time soon. No matter what I said or did, he'd always harbor jealousy, even though Chase had made it clear tonight that he loved Gwen, which came at no surprise to me.

What wasn't there to love about Gwen? She was drop-dead gorgeous, had an amazing career, and was extremely kind.

If I were being honest though, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of melancholy during Chase's speech to her. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely happy for them.

But what if he had never left that morning after he'd been discharged from the hospital? I remembered feeling hurt and abandoned those first days after his departure. I'd wanted so badly for us to be together—his past and current situation hadn't deterred that.

Who knew, maybe I could have been the recipient of his declaration of love tonight...

I sighed, mentally shaking my head. It was too late now to dwell on the past. Everything happened for a reason—if Chase had stayed in Minnesota, he wouldn't have the amazing career he did now.

And besides, my heart belonged to Antonio. We'd definitely had our fair share of quarrels these past few months, mainly when he lost his temper, but at least now, he acknowledged it.

Listening to Chase's dedication for me just now had undoubtedly ruffled him, judging from his aloof demeanor before he'd gone upstairs. Hopefully, he wouldn't think too much of it in the morning.

My phone started ringing, and one look at the screen revealed that it was Alexa.

"Hey, Lex, what's up?", I answered.

"What's up?!", she practically shrieked, making my eardrums rattle. "What's up is that I'm watching the Oscars with David, and Chase just dedicated his award to you! You're gonna be, like, famous!"

"I'm watching it, too. And yeah, that was so sweet of him."

"I literally cried, Soph. His speech was amazing, but the part about you absolutely wrecked me. Ugh, why did he have to leave you back then? It's obvious he cares about you so much. The look in his eyes when he talked about you...He looks so handsome, too. His girlfriend is one lucky woman."

"Exactly. He has a girlfriend. And I have a husband."

"I know, I know. But still, tell me that speech didn't give you the feels."

I smiled sadly.

"Believe me, Lex, it did."

"Was Antonio watching with you?", she inquired.

"Yup."

"What'd he think?"

I sighed.

"He said it was touching, but his tone was distant. He thinks the idea of me and Chase being just friends is otherworldly, I swear."

"Does he know you two slept together?"

I blanched.

"No. He'd go nuts if he found out."