THE VALENTINE PROPOSAL

Liora

I looked in the mirror, smiling at myself because I knew that my boyfriend wouldn't be able to take his eyes off me, once he sees me. The roses on my left hand were from his favourite fancy florist, red marigold because those were his favourite. In my right hand, a very expensive bottle of champagne, his favourite as well, which, I chuckled to myself, left me a little broke.

I walked down the hallway of Montague tech, and then pressed the elevator button that would take me to the floor of my boyfriend's office. Today was Valentine's Day and I was going to propose to my boyfriend of three years. I know he was the one that was traditionally meant to propose to me, but he was pretty indecisive, and we had soulmate energy. Why wait any longer when we could tie the knot now?

And knowing him, he'd be appreciative that I actually put my foot first, he'd say yes. We were too good together. I could feel it in my bones.

Even at that, my heart was racing. I'd been planning this for two months. Flynn told me it was romantic when women proposed so I'd saved up, bought the ring, booked the ticket to Maldives and planned the whole surprise.

"You're really doing this." I whispered to my reflection as the elevator took me to the fifteenth floor. Flynn worked as an execution assistant in Montague tech, and I was the one who got him the job. I had a friend that worked in HR and I put in a good word. Flynn has been entirely grateful to me ever since, promising he'll make it up to me. I've been with him through difficult times, and now he is financially stable and making good money. It was time for the next step.

Marriage.

The elevator doors opened on the fifteenth floor. I walked down the hallway toward Flynn's office. The door was closed but I didn't knock. I wanted it to be a surprise. I turned the handle, smiling from ear to ear, and pushed the door open. 

"Flynn, I'm here--"

I choked on the rest of my words. 

Flynn was behind his desk, and Sage, whom I knew to be his assistant, was bent over him, her skirt hiked up, his hands fumbling by the side of her panties, his mouth on her neck, ear, hair. 

When she moaned, that did it for me. I flung the champagne bottle at both of them. I missed. It crashed into the walls, shattering on impact, spraying foam and tiny shards of glass directly on them. The sound reverberated round the room.

Flynn and Sage jumped apart, staring at the wall in confusion, then at the door. When they saw me, they pushed each other away, and she yanked her skirt down, her face beetroot red. Flynn's eyes went wide.

"Liora," he stuttered. "This isn't what it looks like."

I stared at him like I was a corpse. "How long?"

When they exchanged glances, I knew then that it was for a very long time. My heart crashed. 

"Baby please," Flynn said, stepping over the glass. "Let me explain."

"There's no need." My voice was final." What I saw here was self explanatory." I threw the flowers on the ground, clenching my fists. I made to turn. 

"Baby please--" he shouted, grabbing my arm. 

"Don't touch me!" I yelled, and the tears I was trying so hard to blink away came pouring down. All these years I've been sacrificing for him, and he was screwing her behind my back?

"Babe please, I didn't mean to hurt you. It just happened. It didn't mean anything. I love you."

"Don't." I took a step forward, my eyes burning from the pain of the betrayal, my index pointed at his chin. "Ever you say that to me. You don't love me. You never did."

Sage grabbed her shoes from under the desk. "I should go."

"Yeah," I said, my eyes snapping to her. "You should." 

She ran past me without making eye contact. The door slammed behind her. 

I eyed Flynn from the head to his toes. All the love I had for him was replaced by burning hatred. 

"Liora please," he begged as I grabbed the door handle again. " We can talk about this. It was a mistake and a stupid one. It won't happen again. You're the one I want to be with."

Three years of my life wasted on somebody that didn't even respect me enough to be faithful.

I ignored him. "We're done." 

"You know what?" His voice suddenly turned cold. "I take that back."

I turned back, surprised. The way he switched from begging mode to evil villain had me surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Who do you even think you are?" He glared down at me, the malevolence in his eyes making me shrink back. 

"What? Because you got me a job doesn't mean you have exclusive rights to me? I don't belong to you Liora. Or anyone."

Tears itched at the back of my retina but I shoved it down. My voice was like steel. " I do not even want someone like you to belong to me. Go, be free. I'm not holding you back no more." 

"We're done." I said, turning and walking out. I made it to the elevator before the tears started. My hands shook so badly I could barely press the button. The ring box was still in my purse. The Maldive tickets were still on my phone.

When the elevator doors opened, I stumbled inside. There were people in, maybe going for their lunch break. I leaned against the elevator walls and cried. I made sure to cry all the tears out, because when I leave this building, I plan to dump all the memories of him back here and move on with my life, no matter how hard it was. 

Finally we reached down floor, and all the people in the elevator were giving me concerned looks. I know I looked like a mess. Opposite this elevator was the second one, and my heart fell as I saw Flynn step out of me. Worse still, he was marching towards me, his face contorted in anger. What more did he want?

I broke into a sprint for the front doors, desperate to be out of this building. I looked over my shoulders and he was speed walking towards me. I flipped my head to the doors and that's when I crashed into this...handsome stranger. 

He held me from falling and I scrambled back up. He was over six feet tall, dark hair, sculpted face, a dazzling work of art by the Creator himself. He had the aura of old money, someone important. 

When I turned back again, I saw that Flynn was in the midst of a crowd, looking everywhere for me. 

The next ten seconds was done without thinking. I snapped the man's wrist in front of me, reached into my purse and grabbed the ring box. He arched his brow but he didn't retrieve his hand either. 

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice so smooth, the husky drawl alone making my breath hitch. 

I dropped to one knee right there in the middle of the lobby. People around us stopped and stared. I didn't care. I opened the ring box. 

"Will you marry me?" I asked. 

His face dissolved in an amused chuckle, and a sting of embarrassment tainted my cheeks. Sense then slammed into me and I wondered what the hell I was doing. Worse, the entire hallway was dead silent. I started to slowly get up, when his deep voice shook through the hall. "I will. I'll marry you."

My head snapped up in surprise and behind me, I heard footsteps running. "Liora, what the heck are you doing?" 

He came forward and tried to pull me away, he grabbed the stranger's hand to snap the ring off, but then bodyguards came over to stop him, their looks menacing. 

That was when he looked up at the stranger. I saw the fear that rippled through his face. 

"Mr. Montague?"

Ice water filled my veins and right there was when I recognized the face on so many TV shows and billboards. "Oh god," I whispered. 

Mr Montague. The CEO. The man who owned this company, and the conglomerate and sub-chains. The man who was technically Flynn's boss's boss's boss's boss. 

I'd just proposed to the Montague. 

Everett Montague looked down on me, a smile on his face. "Hello Fiancee," he said.