Even you can’t have both

Chapter 7

Richard exhaled, running a frustrated hand through his hair as he sat down on his executive chair.

He had just finished another round of stressful meetings, and it wasn’t even close to the end.

Whoever says running a successful company was easy needed to be arrested.

Turning on his computer screen, his gaze landed on the charts, making a smile creep up his lips.

The company’s stocks were through the roof. Everybody who was anybody wanted to get their hands on Williams Enterprise stocks, making his company one of the top leading industries in the world.

He smiled as he texted his personal assistant a few details that would be discussed at the next board meeting.

They needed to prepare well for their rivals, as he was sure that they would not be happy with his improvement. It had taken him a whole lot of thinking, calculation, and strategizing to be able to secure that major deal for the company,leading to them making all the news headlines.

And he’d be damned if he let anybody get in the way of achieving the big dreams he had planned for his company.

Ever since he had decided to stop trying to take control of his love life, if he even had any.

After he was forced into the arranged marriage with Vanessa, making him miss out on the love of his life. He couldn’t even say her name for fear of stirring up emotions that he had buried deep down for five years.

He had decided to put all his attention and energy towards the growth of the company,which was now finally paying off.

Now, Williams Enterprise was one of the biggest and most successful industries worldwide. And with the completion of this project on ground, the growth would have surpassed all his expectations.

But then he felt a dread, pulling his seat backwards as he walked toward his floor-to-ceiling windows in his office.

His eyes scanned the busy city, the dread he had felt now clouding his mind.

After he was done with this project, what next?

The growth of the company was the only thing that had kept him going. The strive for success was his fuel,it was the only thing in his life that he could control. And now that it was going so well that it didn’t need all his focus, then what next?

He couldn’t go back to thinking and pondering about the life he had once had with her,not after what he did.

He could still remember that day as vividly as though it was yesterday. The day he had chosen the company over her.

********

“It’s a choice, Richard,” Emily’s voice said, shaking with emotion. “You have to choose. You can’t have both.”

“But I want both,” Richard said, with both his hands on his head as his mind was clouded with thoughts.

Emily had just learned about the engagement to Vanessa, and she had came to him to confirm what she had heard.

Immediately she had asked him, he told her the truth. I including the fact that his father was threatening to take the company from him if he did not get married to Vanessa.

And she had broken down into tears, crying and pleading with him to choose. But how could he choose between the woman he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with and the company he had wanted right from when he was born?

“But you can’t have both, Richard,” she said, sniffing.

“You can’t ask me to do this, Emily,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

She stared at him, her green eyes bright with tears.

“That company is my birthright. I cannot lose it,” he said, as he saw the flash of hurt in her eyes.

“So you’re okay with losing this?” she said, a tear dropping from her cheek. “You’re throwing all this away because you cannot fight for the love we share?”

“I’m not saying that,” he said, reaching over to her, taking her hands in his. “I’m just asking for more time. That’s all. I need to figure this out, to think this through.”

“No!” Emily said, snatching her hands away. “Vanessa is my best friend. I will not betray her like this,” she said, moving away from him.

“I’m not asking you to betray her. I’m just pleading with you to stay with me till I find a way around this,” Richard said, his heart aching with each tear that she shed.

“I can’t do it, Richard. I will not do it,” Emily said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand as she reached for her bag.

“Emily, please. Just give me some time. I still want this. I still want you,” he said, moving closer to her, lifting her chin so her eyes could meet his.

“But you want your company more,” she said, as fresh tears gathered in her eyes.

She exhaled, sniffing her nose as she tried to blink back the tears from falling.

“But I can—”

“No,” Emily said, putting her finger over his lips, cutting him off. “Richard Williams, even you can’t have it all,” she said, pulling away from him and swinging her bag over her shoulder.

He just stared at her, his tongue tied in his mouth with nothing further to say, as he felt his chest tighten.

“Your family would never accept me, and you know that,” Emily said with a sigh. “And we both know that Vanessa is the perfect match for you.”

“But I want —”

“You have made your decision, Richard,” Emily said, no longer interested in whatever he had to say. “So now it’s time for me to make mine. I wish you a happy marriage. Goodbye, Richard,” she said, backing away from him as she headed toward the door.

Richard stared at her retreating figure as the ache inside his chest intensified. It felt as though someone was reaching into his chest and pulling apart his heart piece by piece.

*********

That was the day he lost her,the love of his life. Her absence had left a hole in his heart that he had tried to fill for years.

Richard inhaled deeply as his chest tightened. He could feel his ribcage pressing hard against his heart as realization dawned on him.

That day, he had lost the one person who brought joy to his life. And even the company he had chosen over her would never be big enough to fill the hole she left behind.

The beep on his phone pulled him back from his thoughts. He wiped his watery eyes and fished the device out of his pocket.

His eyes scanned the message on it. It was a message from none other than his wife, sending him the venue for a dinner he had almost forgotten about.

He clenched his jaw as his eyes read the last line:

“Don’t be late, darling. I have a surprise for you.”

His grip around the device tightened as his head filled with questions.

What surprise could Vanessa possibly have for him? Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn’t good.