His to Consume

The Proposal

Lena's POV

I stood there, staring at Damien, who was now kneeling down in front of me full of hope. My heart raced. There were several onlookers and most of them had their phones out with their lenses trained on me, ready to capture what they thought would be a great moment. But all I felt was chaos and guilt in my heart.

"Lena," Damien started and, for the first time, he almost pleaded, "I know things have been rough. But, I love you and do not want to lose you. Will you marry me? Let us pack up everything and start over."

As he said this, I could feel the heat rising from my neck to my cheeks as everyone held their breath. The scene of Damien proposing was something straight out of a fairy-tale, the kind of fairy-tale every little girl dreams about. And yet, here I was, so bitterly disappointed, because deep down I already knew the truth. I knew what happened last night and Damien would never know. He didn't know my mistakes, the structure of the agreement I had signed, the trust I had broken. And he also didn't know the time he'd spent with Grant.

I parted my lips to say something, but I couldn't find the words. Damien's eyes landed on mine, searching for my thoughts, and I noticed a glint of concern on his face.

"Damien, I..." I began, unable to find the right words, trying to figure out how to express my abandonment of my vow. How could I utter those words knowing fully well the acts that I had already done? But how could I actually refuse the only man who has selflessly cared for and supported me all this time?

He clenched the ring box in his hand and, for a moment, turned his face away, his jaw set. "Lena, you can take your time and think about it before you answer. Just.... Please, give it thought. I am being honest here. I want to build a life with you."

I shook my head and sat there wondering what else I could possibly say. "Can we... talk somewhere away from here?" I asked, looking again at the kids and the teenagers that swarmed all around us. Damien nodded and without uttering another word he stood up, placing the ring box back in his pocket.

We managed to escape the crowd and walked down a corridor in silence. My heart was throbbing, I could sense moisture in my palms. I knew it was impossible for me to pretend to be ignorant of the facts, but I was also afraid of the consequences that would follow.

Finally, we manage to get to a vacant conference room and Damien shut the door behind him. He shifted in my direction and folded his arms across his chest, waiting for me to speak.

I took a deep breath, as I was attempting to calm my nerves. "Damien, I have something to tell you... something that I should have told you way back."

He slowly leaned his head in acknowledgment and the seriousness on his face deepened. "Please do."

"Erm... I did sign a contract for a partnership with Grant Wells," I admitted almost inaudibly. "Upon my family's requirement, I had no self-control and did so. They decreed it was the only way to rectify all the mess I had caused."

Damien's face changed to an even more ominous expression, and he compressed his hands into fists on his torso. "So it is true. You have gone into business with him after all?"

"Well, yes, but that's not the only thing," I forced myself to hold his gaze. "Last night... I was with him. Things... they escalated."

Damien's expression became blank and for a second, he just looked at me in disbelief. Then, he stepped back, running a hand through his hair in frustration as he comprehended my words.

"You were with him?" he inquired, his tone deep and even, but the hurt was evident in his gaze. "In which capacity?"

I gulped and felt embarrassed heat creeping into my face. "Um... we... We've been intimate, Damien. I swear, I don't even know what came over me. It was a blunder. I was disturbed and perplexed, and it just went on too much."

He shut his eyelids and lowered his head heavenly as if to consider my statement. For a very long time, he was quiet, and I could sense the burden of my transgressions weighing down on me. I yearned to reach out to him, to express how regrettable I felt, but I understood it wouldn't ameliorate my wrongs.

Finally, when he lifted his eyelids and looked at me, his eyes were cold and angry. I had never seen him so hurt before. "Lena, you were someone I trusted. I was under the impression you felt the same for me; that what we had was something real."

"We do, Damien," I interjected, my voice shaking. "You mean so much to me. Last night was... it was an error. It's something I wish I could change."

"But you can't," he seethed, raising his tone as he suppressed his emotions. "You cannot just wish away what has occurred. You decided to be with Lena. And now you are asking me to pretend that what you did doesn't even exist?"

I declined, as tears began to well up in my eyes. "I am not asking you to do so, Damien. It's just that... I want you to get it. My family are all I care about, and they look up to me to mend things. I felt like I was backed into a corner."

"There is always a choice, Lena," he replied, his tone gentler now but full of hurt nonetheless. "You didn't have to go to him. You could have come to me. I would have done anything for you. You decided to deal with it and now look at the consequences we both have."

I could feel a teardrop rolling down my cheek as I swiftly turned my head to blast the emotion off with the back of my palm. "I am so sorry, Damien. I just don't know what else to say."