If Your Heart Doesn’t Lean Towards Me I Don’t Want It Chapter 25
“Okay.”
“Then find your own job. And pay me back for the rent and medical bills, just like you wanted.”
“But there’s one thing I’m insisting on.”
I looked at him warily.
“What?”
“Text me when each interview is over.”
“I won’t interfere. I just want to know you’re safe.”
He was serious, with no trace of anger or disappointment in his eyes.
The tension in my shoulders, which I hadn’t even realized was there, slowly eased.
“Okay.”
When we got home, I created a detailed spreadsheet of every expense and sent it to him.
Lucian replied with one word.
Okay.
There was no “We don’t need to keep score,” no “Why are you being so stubborn?”
He respected the boundaries I needed.
The next day, I took off the ring and put it back in its box.
When Lucian saw, his eyes dimmed for a moment.
“Regretting it?”
I didn’t look away.
“I had just lost the baby. I had just ended things with Ellis for good.”
“I said yes too quickly. It was partly out of gratitude, and partly because I wanted Ellis to finally give up.”
“That wasn’t fair to you.”
Lucian was silent for a long time.
I thought he would be angry.
But all he did was push the ring box back toward me.
“Keep it for now.”
“When you decide to put it back on—that should be your choice.”
“Coralie, I’m not waiting for a ‘yes’ spoken at your lowest point.”
He looked at me, his voice soft.
“I want you to still choose me when you’re thinking clearly.”
My eyes burned.
Ellis had always accused me of making trouble.
Lucian was giving me time.
A week later, I got an offer from a new company.
The title and salary were things I had earned entirely on my own.
When I showed the email to Lucian, he smiled and held out his hand.
“Coralie Ricci, congratulations.”
I took it.
This time, no one was pulling me from the mud.
I had found my own footing first, and then, by choice, I took a step forward.