FLORIAN'S P.O.V
I could taste her tears on her lips, but she wasn't stopping, and sure as hell, I wasn't going to. The next forty-five minutes that it took to get to the mansion was an absolute pain, and I hated that I had to drive. I wanted to give her all of the attention she wanted, all the things she was looking for by pushing herself on me like this, touch her in all of the places she never showed anyone else so she is never tempted to feel anyone else. We finally got home, and I pulled her into me, her body fitting right in my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist. I opened the door, then turned to the wall, her back softly hitting the wall. She adjusted her legs around me, and I chuckled to myself, my fingers holding on to her. She was breathing heavily, her eyes closed, her fingers holding on to my shirt. I let my hand slowly tuck her hair back in, my eyes looking down at her. I wanted to take it slow. Understand her grief. Maybe. "Do you still want this?" She swallowed, then looked up to me, those beautiful blue eyes, big and filled with tears. She bit down on her full, red lips, and it had been absolute torture seeing her do that in the rare times I got to see her after that day and knowing exactly how perfect they tasted. How did she even think a man like Damien was good for her? A weak coward who couldn't love her at her worst? How did she think he deserved her at her best? "Yes," she whispered, her fingers slowly moving to rest on my shoulders. "Yes, I still want to do this. I am sorry, Florian." I didn't need to listen to the rest of it as I covered the distance, my hands holding her tight, kissing her as softly as I could convince my mind to go. At some point, I lost control, but I had driven her wild too, with eyes closed and heightening need for her, I led us to my room upstairs. I loved how seamlessly her clothes came off and how she never called his name, not even once. I pulled away, watching her naked in my bed, my lips parted. I slowly leaned, kissing her lips. Her fingers dug into my back as my kisses stretched to her face, then to her neck, and then slowly, lower. Her skin slightly reddened with every kiss, and when I pulled away again, I had an artwork that I had carved only with my lips, naked, and in my bed. "I want a few photos," I said, kissing her earlobe. She nodded, her eyes closed. I grabbed the camera I always kept next to my bed, like I knew I would have this masterpiece tonight. I took a few photos before I kept it back, then returned to the warmth of her skin, shaping every bit of her to accommodate me. I wasn't surprised to find that I was her first, and I sure as hell will be the last. My eyes closed as the hot water pelted down on me, flattening my hair. I chuckled to myself as I felt the sting from the places where Roxanne had dug her nails last night, the places in my neck where she had bitten. I opened my eyes to the mirror, and sure enough, I had her marks all over me. My smile darkened as I let my fingers caress her cute little teeth marks, knowing I had left more than enough on her for her deadbeat ex fiance to know a real man had graced her. I grabbed a robe and wrapped it around me, then stepped out to the room. Sure enough, Roxanne had woken up and was picking up her clothes from the floor. I was pretty sure they were ripped, but sure. "What are you doing?" She gasped and turned to me, her eyes wide as she brought the clothes to her chest. "I... I was..." "Were you planning on leaving?" She blinked rapidly, then swallowed. "I need to go home." "I will take you." "No," she said, taking a step away. "I... I don't know what came over me last night, Florian." I met her eyes, and my hands went behind me. "You regret it?" "No, but... I am sorry. This... this isn't going anywhere. It was just for last night, and I was out of it and..." "You used me?" I asked, making sure my voice carried that tinge of hurt to make it more believable. "Yes. Yes, I am sorry." I bit down on my lips, then nodded. "Still. I will take you home." She seemed to feel bad, and I turned away to go to the closet. My smile returned once I was out of sight, and my eyes thinned. So she thought she was using me. A small laugh ripped through me, and I grabbed a shirt. Oh, baby girl...FLORIAN'S P.O.V I took a deep breath and looked down at the suit I was wearing. It was the same one that dad had kept to attend my wedding in. It was Roxanne who had suggested it, and now that I am, I felt it all the way to my bones.I looked around. It was just me and the officiating priest, waiting for Roxanne.I have dreamed of this day my entire life. Watching her walk down the aisle to me. Her dress. Her smile.The door cracked open, and I straightened even more, my heart pounding hard as I watched the door. It opened wide, bathing the church in sunlight. I kept my eyes on it till I finally saw her. She was standing there, like she had materialised out of my most ambitious dreams. My heart pounded in my chest, and I found myself reciting the vows I had memorised ever since we started wedding planning. It's not like there was a lot to plan.She looked up to me, and even through the veil, I could see her smile. It reminded me of the reason I had never even looked at another wom
ROXANNE'S P.O.V I woke up with a start, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I immediately turned to the left side of the bed, already preparing my heart for the ultimate fuckery that it had all been a dream. The hugs, the kisses, the tears... that it was all nothing but me yearning.To my surprise, Florian was already awake, his body half covered by the sheets, his hand holding up his chin as he watched me, a soft tender look I his eyes.I let out a sigh of relief, my eyes slowly blinking as I savoured his presence.He gave me a smile, then reached his other hand out to me. "Did you wake up to check if I was real?" I nodded truthfully, then adjusted, so I was lying next to him, my eyes taking his. "I think I would really die if you weren't."He smiled, his hand reaching up to gently caress my face. "You are just as beautiful as you were a year ago."His voice was a small whisper, and I drew even closer."You are going to have to promise me something."He laughed, then brought my ha
I sat on the edge of the same hotel suite we had stayed in the we came here together a year ago for my birthday, my heart feeling rather heavy. I could hear the sound of the bath, and even though I had promised myself to be calm amd stay in here, it was hard to not want to barge in there just to make sure he really was back. To make sure my Florian really was alive.I took in the hotel room. It looked like he had been here for a while. Probably not the entire year, but still a bit of time. I walked to the dresser, and my heart felt even heavier. My pictures were sitting in glass frames all over, adorning the dresser.I swallowed, tears stinging the back of my eyes. There were lots of books to the side. Mostly about healing. Forgiveness. I wondered just how much he believed he needed to work on himself just so he could love me.I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, just as the sound of the shower stopped. I held my breath, then slowly turned to him, my lips parting. He was by t
The kiss was slow, and I felt all of the parts of me that had broken over the last year slowly come together again. My mind fought the possibility that this man was really Florian, but my stupid, stupid heart was already fluid for him. Like he wasn't gone for a whole year. Like he didn't disappear for a whole year.When he broke the kiss, I found myself leaning towards him, needing more, begging for more with everything in my body except my voice.His thumb ran across my face, wiping the tears away. He then leaned close, kissing those tears away, like I always imagined he would during those late nights when I lay in bed, missing him."I am sorry," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. "I am sorry I put you through that. I am sorry, Rox."I opened my eyes, my chest heaving. "You... Are you really Florian?"He nodded slowly, a single tear falling off his cheek. "I am sorry."I swallowed, reaching for his hand. Like I needed to make sure. Like I needed to know. "You... you died.
I have asked the question several times. How would it feel for time to stop? How would it feel if... for a second, for a minute, time stops, and we breathe?I just realized that I was wrong about being able to breathe. Time froze in place for me, and so did everything as I know it. My tears, my trembling fingers, my beating heart, my breath.My fingers dangled off the door knob, and I just stood there, unable to think. Unable to do a thing. I swallowed hard, then blinked, a long tear running down from my left eye. Is it that I had been bestowed a minute from the heavens? To hear that voice before I go back to the emptiness that I am still learning to embrace?I bit down on my lips. That voice, that name... it belonged to a part of my heart that will probably forever carry pain. Probably forever, carry regret.I closed my eyes and took a step forward. My imaginations now have voices. Very beautiful voices, but I knew I wad going insane.I turned the door knob just as a small snicker
EXACTLY 364 DAYS LATER"You became an international violin sensation in such a short time. Of course, we know you have been playing ever since you were a child, but how are you coping with being a celebrity and also the CEO of a multitrillion dollar company like the Hunt group?"I nodded slowly to the last question of the interviewer. My eyes focused on her. The question reeled in my mind, and I blinked fast and hard in order to make sure the tears wouldn't come falling. I played around with the ring on my finger, then broke into a small laugh. "Trust," I said finally. "There is someone who trusts me, and even though I have let them down once, I am determined to never do it again."She smiled. "There has been gossip around the...""You said that was your last question."She smiled a little shyly. "How about one more?"I bit down on my lips. I knew what she was going to ask. Everyone knew Florian had died a year ago. Everyone knew I was here because he handed everything to me. And the