She was here. After everything. After the flat refusal. After the silence that followed. After he had convinced himself that hope was a luxury he couldn't afford.
She was here. He didn't understand. He couldn't make sense of it. But before he could gather his thoughts, her gaze found him across the distance, and she began walking in his direction. She moved through this garden with purpose, her heels clicking softly against the stone pathway.
And Nathan realized that he was still standing there like a statue, his mouth slightly open, his hands hanging uselessly at his sides. Victoria stopped a few feet away from him, her expression unreadable in the dim light. And for a long moment, neither of them spoke. The sounds of the reception drifted through the night air. Music, laughter, the distant clink of glasses.
But here in the garden, surrounded by jasmine and shadows, there was only silence. You came. Nathan's voice sounded strange to his own ears, rough and uncertain, like a man who had forgotten how to speak. Victoria tilted her head slightly, studying him with those cool, assessing eyes. I said no to pretending to be your girlfriend, she said, her tone as measured as ever.
I never said no to showing up. Nathan shook his head slowly, still struggling to process what was happening. I don't understand. Why would you Because you asked. Victoria cut him off, her voice quiet but firm.
In 4 years, you've never asked me for anything. Not a raise, not a day off, not even a longer lunch break. And then you walked into my office and asked me to do something that clearly cost you everything just to say out loud. She took a step closer, and Nathan could see something in her eyes that he had never seen before. Not warmth, exactly, but something close to it.
I don't do things like this, but I also don't ignore people who deserve to have someone standing next to them. She extended her hand toward him, palm up, waiting. Let's go inside. Nathan looked at her hand, then at her face, then back at her hand. A part of him wanted to refuse, to tell her that he didn't need saving, that he had already made peace with being the man everyone expected him to be.