The Contract of heart

chapter 2

Gerald

"I’d been looking forward to finally seeing my fiancée, hoping her presence would remind me how much I had to live for, that I had a future worth holding onto. The weight of the past few months felt unbearable, but I clung to the hope that she could make everything feel right again."

But I’d been wrong.

Right now, I’d do just about anything to get rid of her.

“I think you owe me the diamond after everything you put me through,” she mused.

“Other than getting injured, what in the hell did I ever do to you? I bought you everything you wanted, exactly when you wanted it. I’ve sent you on expensive vacations with all of your friends. What else did you want?”

I didn’t mention that I’d spent a small fortune on her jewelry collection, or the expensive sports car I’d purchased for her. With Francisca, it was always about material things. I thought that by giving her everything she desired, I was showing my love, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe it had never been enough, or maybe she just didn’t care. For her, the value of our relationship seemed to lie in what I could buy. And I, too blind to see it earlier, thought I could keep her happiness intact with my wallet.”

“I wanted you to stay one of the hottest, richest, most wanted bachelors in the world so that everybody envied me,” she said with a pout.

“I’m so f*****g sorry that I disappointed you,” I answered with cold sarcasm.

All I wanted was for her to get the f**k out of my room.

“Good-bye, Gerald “she said dramatically as she sailed out the door.

“Happy trails, b***h,” I said aloud after she’d gone.

I looked at the clock and noticed I had another hour before I could get something for pain. It seemed like my whole damn life revolved around my medication schedule.

I tried to relax, but my entire body was tense with pain and irritation.

And maybe there was some hurt in there somewhere, too.

The woman I’d thought I loved and was going to spend the rest of my life with had just walked out on me because I was going to be covered with scars and quite honestly, my dancing days were over. But I hadn’t even contemplated any of those things since I’d just been trying to get through another day staring at the four walls that were beginning to make me feel closed in. But Francisca’s harsh comments were beginning to make me think about my future, and it didn’t look quite as good as it had before the car crash.

Nothing will ever be the same. I might walk again, but my day-to-day life was going to be different.

I knew that if the positions were reversed, I never would have walked away from Francisca. I might be kind of a d**k in some ways, but that took a meanness that I didn’t know existed inside her.

“What really happened to me?” I grumbled.

When had I ever been okay with somebody like Francesca, much less been engaged to her?

I’d grown up wealthier than most people in the world, but my deceased parents had raised every one of their kids to be decent individuals. My mom and dad had never put money and success before morals and values.

I wondered what else I’d been ignoring while I’d been wrapped up in growing one of the biggest tech companies in the world with my brothers.

How many moments had passed by unnoticed, and how many warning signs had I missed because I was too focused on the next big deal or milestone?

Somehow, if I ever got out of this damn hospital and escaped the relentless pain tearing my wounded body apart, I was going to pay attention to everything.

I’d look at the world around me, really look, for the first time in what felt like years. And I was never f*****g letting myself get sucked in by a woman with no substance just because I was too busy to notice what really mattered.

The engagement had been Francisca’s idea, and I’d felt like I owed her the respect of giving her a ring since we’d been dating for over a year. It just seemed like a natural progression, and I wasn’t averse to being married. And since I’d never seen her nasty side, I thought we’d be happy together.

Now, I was doubting the decisions I’d made while my best friend and I were trying to send our company into the stratosphere. I had to wonder where the hell my brain and my heart had been while I was working twelve hour days in my office. We’d achieved our goal, but at what price? I’d almost married a woman with no heart.

I’ll find somebody someday who doesn’t care that my body has a considerable number of scars, and that I can’t dance.

The prognosis on my leg wasn’t good. I’d need more surgeries, and even after they were done, I’d never have the same mobility I’d had before the accident.

In my world, finding a woman who’d accept my appearance and limitations was highly unlikely. If they did, they’d be in it for the money.