The Life we never Planned

chapter 67

CHAPTER 67

DAMIAN’S POV

I had always been good at planning.

Business deals. Investments. Expansions. Negotiations.

I liked knowing where things were going before they happened.

Angela made that difficult.

We were sitting across from each other at dinner, and she was quietly eating while I watched her.

She wasn't uncomfortable.

She simply had a way of becoming distant without actually leaving.

Her expression remained calm. Her posture was relaxed. If anyone else were sitting across from her, they probably wouldn't notice anything.

I did.

"You're quiet tonight."

She looked up at me.

"I've always been quiet."

"Not like this."

A faint smile touched her lips.

"You've known me long enough to know I don't talk just to fill silence."

"I know."

She took another sip of water.

"Then you shouldn't be surprised."

I smiled.

"Fair enough."

She lowered her eyes to her plate.

There was something about her calmness that fascinated me.

Angela wasn't the type to explain every emotion she felt. She didn't need to raise her voice to make a point. She didn't chase attention.

She simply observed.

Thought.

And decided what she wanted people to know.

Including me.

"So," I said, "how's the plan for your office going?"

Her eyes lifted again.

"You remembered."

"Of course."

"I've been looking at a few locations."

"And?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"What are you looking for?"

She leaned back slightly.

"Something simple."

"Simple?"

"Modern. Professional. Comfortable."

She paused.

"I don't want to start with something unnecessarily large."

"Why?"

"Because I want to grow into it."

I studied her.

"You really want to build this yourself."

"Yes."

There was no hesitation in her answer.

"I want something that belongs to me. Something I can look at years from now and know I built it."

I smiled.

"I like that."

"I know."

My eyebrow lifted.

"You know?"

"You wouldn't have asked if you didn't."

I laughed quietly.

She wasn't being arrogant.

She was simply stating a fact.

That was Angela.

Respectful, composed, but never easily impressed.

"I can help you find a location," I offered.

She shook her head.

"I appreciate that, but I'd like to handle it myself."

I nodded.

"All right."

She looked slightly surprised.

"You aren't going to argue?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's your company."

She studied me for a moment.

"Thank you."

Two simple words.

But I knew what they meant.

She appreciated that I wasn't trying to take control.

I reached across the table and took her hand.

She looked down at our joined hands but didn't pull away.

"I want you to know something."

"I'm listening."

"I don't want to build your life for you."

Her expression softened slightly.

"I know."

"I want to be part of it."

She was silent.

I continued.

"Your office. Your work. Your plans."

I paused.

"And eventually, our home."

Her eyes met mine.

There it was.

That tiny shift.

She understood exactly what I was saying.

"You've been thinking about this for a while," she said.

"Yes."

"About us?"

"About a future with you."

She didn't look away.

That alone told me she wasn't uncomfortable.

"I don't want you to feel pressured," I said. "I'm not asking you to decide anything tonight."

"Good."

I smiled.

"But I want you to imagine it."

She was quiet.

"Imagine what?"

"A normal life."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Normal?"

"As normal as our lives can be."

That earned a small smile.

I continued.

"Your office. Mine. A home somewhere between them."

She shook her head slightly.

"You've already chosen the location?"

"Not yet."

"Good."

"I was waiting for your approval."

She smiled again.

Barely.

But I saw it.

"I'll consider it."

"That's all I ask."

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

I looked at her and tried to imagine it.

Angela walking through our front door after work.

Her complaining about something I had done.

Me annoying her until she smiled.

Quiet mornings.

Dinner together.

Coming home to each other.

It felt strangely natural.

Too natural.

And that was what frightened me.

Because I wanted it.

More than I had expected.

I squeezed her hand gently.

"Do you ever think about it?"

"About what?"

"Us."

She was quiet for a few seconds.

"Sometimes."

That answer should have satisfied me.

It didn't.

Not completely.

Because Angela had become distant lately.

Not enough to make me think she wanted to leave.

But enough to make me wonder if she was slowly preparing herself to.

I didn't know what I had done wrong.

And I didn't know how to ask without making her feel trapped.

So I didn't.

Instead, I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles.

She watched me silently.

"You know," she said, "you don't have to worry so much."

"Who says I'm worried?"

"Your eyes."

I laughed softly.

"You're getting too good at reading me."

"You're not as difficult to read as you think."

"And you're impossible to read."

She gave me a calm look.

"Maybe."

That was all she said.

No explanation.

No reassurance.

Just maybe.

I smiled despite myself.

Then I said the thing I had been holding back.

"Angela."

"Yes?"

"If there's ever a day when you decide you don't want this anymore, tell me."

Her expression changed.

Only slightly.

"I will."

"Don't disappear."

She held my gaze.

"I won't."

I wanted to believe her.

And I did.

At least for tonight.

But as I watched her quietly return to her dinner, I realized something I had never expected to admit.

For the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid of losing a business deal.

I was afraid of losing a woman who had never promised me forever.

And somehow, that frightened me more than anything I had ever faced.