The Life we never Planned

Chapter 39

CHAPTER 39

ANGELA

A month passed.

Not the kind of month that changed everything overnight.

It happened quietly.

One day became a week, then two, and before I realized it, four weeks had slipped by.

Somewhere along the way, Damian stopped feeling like someone I had met through work.

He became part of my routine.

Not an overwhelming part.

Just… there.

A message in the morning asking if I had arrived at work.

A short conversation during lunch.

An occasional dinner after a long day.

Sometimes we went out on weekends. Nothing extravagant every time. Sometimes it was simply dinner somewhere quiet. Other times we walked around, talked, watched a movie, or found somewhere neither of us had been before.

There was no pressure.

That was probably why I became comfortable with him.

Damian never demanded more from me than I was ready to give.

If I was busy, he understood.

If I didn't feel like going out, he didn't argue.

If I wanted to talk, he listened.

And when I wanted silence, he seemed perfectly capable of sitting beside me without trying to fill it.

We had become close.

Closer than I had expected.

Even at work, things had changed.

We still maintained our professionalism when other people were around, but there was an ease between us now that hadn't existed before.

I knew when he was irritated without him saying anything.

He knew when I had been working too long without me telling him.

We had developed little habits without discussing them.

And Benedicta noticed everything.

"You like him."

I looked up from my phone.

We were having lunch together when she said it.

"I never said I didn't."

She smiled.

"That's not what I meant."

I gave her a look.

She laughed.

"You know what? Never mind."

"Good."

"But you do."

I sighed.

"I enjoy being around him."

"That's a start."

"It's more than a start."

Her eyebrows rose.

I immediately regretted saying it.

"Don't."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

She grinned.

"I was just going to say that I'm happy for you."

I shook my head and returned to my food.

I wasn't ready to define what Damian and I were becoming.

Maybe I didn't need to.

For now, I was happy with it.

That was enough.

By the fourth week, something else had begun to change.

The contract.

It had been months since the project started, and the final stages were finally approaching.

Reports were being completed.

Documents were being reviewed.

The remaining meetings were already being scheduled.

The work that had once seemed endless was suddenly beginning to look like something with an ending.

One afternoon, I sat at my desk reviewing the final set of documents when my secretary's message appeared on my screen.

Final review meeting scheduled for next week.

I stared at it for a moment.

Next week.

That meant we were almost done.

I leaned back in my chair.

For some reason, the thought didn't make me as happy as it should have.

I should have been relieved.

The project had taken a lot of my time.

But instead, I found myself thinking about everything that had happened because of it.

Especially Damian.

If the contract ended, what happened after that?

Would we still talk every day?

Would we still have dinner?

Would he still find reasons to ask me to go somewhere with him?

I didn't know.

And strangely, I didn't like not knowing.

My phone vibrated.

Damian: Are you free tonight?

I smiled before I could stop myself.

Me: Why?

His reply came almost immediately.

Damian: Because I want to see you.

I stared at the message.

Then I typed.

Me: I'll let you know when I'm done here.

His response was simple.

Damian: All right.

I put my phone down.

But the smile stayed.

I didn't know when exactly it had happened.

Somewhere between the dinners, the conversations, the quiet moments, and the countless ordinary days, Damian had become someone I looked forward to seeing.

And perhaps that was why the thought of the contract ending bothered me.

Because maybe the contract wasn't the only thing coming to an end.

---

DAMIAN

The contract was almost finished.

I had known for weeks.

The final review was scheduled.

The remaining work was straightforward.

Everything was falling into place exactly as it should.

Everything except one thing.

Angela.

For the past month, I had watched our relationship change.

She trusted me more now.

She called sometimes without a reason.

She laughed more around me.

She had stopped looking surprised whenever I asked her to spend time with me.

And somewhere during that month, I had stopped pretending that friendship was enough.

I wanted more.

I wanted her to be mine.

The problem was that I had never been nervous about asking for anything in my life.

Business deals.

Contracts.

Government decisions.

Things that could affect millions of dollars.

None of them had ever made me hesitate.

Angela did.

I had thought about asking her several times.

Tonight.

Last weekend.

The week before.

Every time, I decided I would do it.

Then I changed my mind.

Not because I was afraid she would say no.

I could handle rejection.

What bothered me was the possibility of changing what we already had.

She was comfortable with me.

She trusted me.

She enjoyed being around me.

I didn't want to rush that.

But I also couldn't keep pretending I didn't want more.

I looked at the message on my phone.

She was coming to dinner tonight.

I could ask her then.

But I knew I wouldn't.

Not tonight.

I would wait.

There would be another evening.

Another dinner.

Another opportunity.

And when that opportunity came, I would finally ask her.

I just didn't know that the next time I saw Angela, everything would feel different.

Because the contract was ending.

And so was the excuse that had brought us into each other's lives in the first place.