Chapter Two
Zayden
It had been two whole days since I had contacted my lawyer’s office about the finalization of the divorce and they had yet to get back to me. I was fucking annoyed. How hard could the process possibly be? Gina and I were both amicable on the terms of the divorce. All the drama had subsided. It was an open and shut case.
My impatience to get Aria to say yes was taking over me, and the stupid divorce proceedings were currently the bane of my existence. Even though I had been in my office all morning, I had been completely incapable of getting any work done whatsoever. The thought of how I was going to propose was occupying my mind.
I thought back to my original proposal in her mother’s bathroom and grinned to myself. What an idiotic thing to do. I had no idea what had gotten into me, but something about her mom hearing us fuck egged me on to do it on the spot. I had been planning to ask her to marry me ever since my conversation with Molly about how I loved her daughter. So when she heard us, I felt like I had to prove that we weren’t just screwing around, and I proposed hastily. In hindsight, that was not the best idea in the world, and I should hardly be surprised that Aria didn’t jump to say yes.
Any other girl in the world would have, I realized with an odd sort of a pride geared towards Aria. It was true. I was, by any definition of the word, quite a catch. I had no reason to be coy about the fact that my money and my good looks made me the ideal husband for any woman in the world. But somehow, I guess that neither of those things were good enough for Aria – at least not good enough to accept a shabby proposal on a bathroom floor – and that she loved me for reasons that had very little to do with my money. She was not going to settle for anything less than an extraordinary proposal, and she deserved one. I was willing to do anything in the world to make her happy. I sighed deeply and covered my face in both my hands.
How had I come so far?
I had sworn off love a long time ago, after all. It was for lesser folk, for people who did not understand that feelings were at best, a show of weakness, at worst, a weapon of manipulation. With Aria, it was neither. Loving her did not make me feel weak, it made me feel stronger. The idea that I could feel this intensely about another human being and still keep my sanity and self intact made me feel oddly powerful. And perhaps this whole ordeal was a weapon of manipulation at first, while I played games and she responded with perfectly crafted plays herself. But no, neither of us was looking for anything from the other anymore. There was only one explanation for what was going on between Aria and I.
We were madly and unconditionally in love with each other.
And why wouldn’t I be?
I saw her walking through the front door and towards her desk and felt a kind of awe. My God, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. In a pretty blue blouse, black trousers and a cream-colored blazer, she looked like she popped straight out of a career woman magazine. No other 20-year-old I knew dressed as maturely and professionally as she did, and she pulled it off like nobody’s business. Her face was radiant, and even with very little makeup she outshone everybody else in the room. She outshone most people in most rooms. Usually, looks like hers were enough to get by in life. I had met many, many, women over the years who used their looks to get by. Not Aria, though.
More so than anything else about her, it was her brilliance and ambition that drew me towards her. A part of me realized that when we eventually got married, she would gladly handle half my business operations for me. Maybe I would make her the head of Credit Lending Analysts and eventually, if she was interested, the CFO. Knowing her though, if I tried to make her the CFO right away, she would protest, claiming she hadn’t earned the title yet. I grinned again picturing that argument and then made a split-second decision to go buy her the best ring I could find.
On my way out, I stopped by Aria’s desk as she was busy typing something on her computer and said, “Too busy to notice your boss now? Boyfriend. I meant boyfriend.” I smiled and noticed Mrs. Brian beside her try unsuccessfully to hide her gasp.
“Hi.” Aria looked up and smiled. I wanted to kiss her, but I would have to resist. I couldn’t quite do some things in the workplace just yet. “Sorry, my tyrannical boss gave me a lot of work, so I am a little busy.”
“What a douche,” I said with a straight face. “Warn him that if he overworks you, your boyfriend will make him pay for it.”
She giggled and said, “What do you need, Zayden?”
“I need you, Aria, to say yes to my proposition.” I smirked, and before she could open her mouth again, I added, “I know, I know. You made your points and they are completely valid, which is why I am off on a little mission right now that will hopefully satisfy you. But I just have one question. What do you prefer? Squares or circles?”
She looked at me like I had just asked her something insane, like whether two plus two equals seven.
“What now?” she asked.
“You heard me. Squares or circles?”
“Uhmm…” She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “Squares, I suppose. I have never really thought about it, to be honest. I mean, who even thinks about it? And how is this at all relevant to anything?”
“You’ll see.” I winked. “For now, I have got to go.”
After turning around to head to the door and taking a few steps, I stopped and turned to look at her again. “I love you.” Ignoring the gasps from all over the place, I walked out casually as though I didn’t notice.
---
Just as I walked out of the building, a FedEx guy stopped me with some mail. It looked like it was paperwork. Ignoring the excitement bubbling up inside of me, I ripped the envelope open. The divorce was finalized! I couldn’t have chosen a better moment to go out to get the ring. I told Ned to take me to Dazzling Jewelers and Co., an exclusive jewelry store that only a few people within a 30-mile radius could afford.
Ned tried hard to contain his excitement, as I could tell from the etches around his cheeks while he attempted to keep a straight face. “And why are we going to a jewelry store? I don’t remember you ever having the desire to purchase any bling before.”
“Shut up, Ned. You know why I want to go there,” I said, trying to sound stern, but it came out almost comical since I had been completely incapable of wiping the grin from my face.
“No, sir. I have a guess, but you know what they say, when you assume, you make an ass out of—”
“Fine, I want to buy an engagement ring for Aria,” I said. “Now can we hurry?”
“Of course!” Ned exclaimed with joy. “I am so happy for you, Zayden. She is exactly what you need in your life.”
“I’m glad to have your approval, Ned.” I smiled. “No, seriously, I meant that. It probably sounded like I was being sarcastic, but it was genuine. Your approval actually means a lot to me and if you don’t know that by now—”
“I know,” Ned said cheerfully. “Of course I know. Now, before we drive off to get that engagement ring, might I suggest a pit stop?”
“Where?” I raised my eyebrows.
“To Aria’s apartment.”
“Huh? What will that accomplish? Aria is at the office.”
“Exactly.” Ned looked back at me and winked.
Within the next hour, we had managed to pick up Aria’s best friend Stacey from her apartment and made it to the jewelry store, while she squealed and made amusing sounds throughout the way there.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” She had been muttering those words as though it was a spiritual incantation for a while.
“You already said that.” I looked at her with a fake frown.
“But you don’t understand!” Stacey exclaimed, almost jumping. “You don’t understand! You’re…you’re going to…ask Aria to marry you!”
“I understand what I am about to do, since I am the one doing it. Makes some kind of sense, doesn’t it?”
She laughed hysterically, to my surprise. It was kind of endearing just how excited Stacey was for Aria. It made me realize how close they were and how much her friends cared about her. It also made me feel a little bit of an irrational jealousy. No one was allowed to love Aria more than I did.
“Zayden, this jewelry store! Everything is shining to the point of freaking blinding me. It’s going to cost you a fortune.”
“Well, your best friend and roommate is worth two whole fortunes and more.”
Her face lit up and I could see tears forming in her eyes. “Thank you so much. Thank you for loving Aria like you do. God knows she deserves it.”
“Hey! She’s mine, so thank you for taking care of her for as long as you have. I am quite grateful. But don’t forget, she’s mine.”
“Ha!” she scoffed. “Since you’re about to, you know, marry her, I hope you know her well enough to realize she will not take well to be told who she belongs to.”
“I know.” I shook my head and sighed. “I will have to own her completely behind her back. Anyways, I am thinking of princess cuts, but I brought you here so you can help me decide what she would like. When I asked her if she prefers circles or squares, she said squares, which is why I think a princess cut would be the most—”
“You asked her what?” Stacey burst into another set of hysterical laughter.
“She reacted rather oddly to my question, too. But really, how was I to ask it without raising any suspicion?”
“Men are hilarious sometimes.” Stacey sighed and looked at the shopkeeper. “Lucky for you, she always did kind of envision a princess cut for her engagement ring. Can we look at a few?”
“Of course, madam. I take it you’re not the bride?” An old, balding man with a silver moustache looked curiously at Stacey.
“No, of course I am! What bride doesn’t come to select her own surprise engagement ring with her fiancé?”
“You made your point,” said the man with a frown, pulling out a couple of boxes. “How about this one? 8 carat, on pure platinum.”
“No. I don’t want to look at anything that is less than 15 carat.”
Stacey looked at me with her mouth hanging open, as though the idea of a 15-carat engagement ring was preposterous. “Are you sure?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Absolutely positive.”
“Hmm, I think I know exactly what you are looking for, sir,” the man said with a sudden glint in his eyes that hadn’t been present until then. “Just give me a moment.”
When he disappeared to look for the rings, Stacey looked at me and asked, “Exactly how much are you planning to pay for this ring?”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. A lot? I haven’t really thought about it. It’s not really about the money or how much it costs; it’s about finding the perfect ring.”
Looking impressed, Stacey said, “It must feel awesome to have so much money lying around.”
“It’s alright.” I grinned at her. “It will ensure your best friend spends the rest of her life comfortably, though.”
“That makes me so hap—” she cut herself mid-sentence with a loud gasp.
The shopkeeper had returned with an enormous and beautiful princess cut diamond engagement ring in his hand. I had to open my eyes and close them again a few times before taking the image in. It was, to honor the name of the store, and Aria herself, dazzling. I chuckled to myself.
“That’s,” Stacey said, looking like she was trying to find the right words to describe it. “I have never seen anything like it.”
“I will take it,” I said in a single breath. “That’s the one.”
“You don’t want to know how much it costs?” The shopkeeper eyed me quizzically. “I get a lot of people with a lot of money here, but never has anyone agreed to make such a purchase without even asking about the price.”
“It doesn’t matter how much it costs. That’s the ring, that’s it,” I said, not removing my eyes from the jewel in his hand. I pictured what it would look like on Aria’s pretty, dainty little fingers.
It would be perfect.
“All right then. 18 carats on platinum, and I can engrave anything you want on the band for a total of five million.”
Stacey’s gasps upon hearing the cost could be heard in the entire neighborhood, I had no doubt. It didn’t matter. It was Aria’s ring and I would have reacted the same way if he had said it was for a hundred million dollars. She deserved the best of everything.
“Like I said, I’ll take it,” I said and looked at Stacey, who I was afraid would faint any moment.
“Are…you…sure?” she asked, looking from me to the ring and back to me.
“Would Aria like it?” I asked earnestly.
“Are you kidding? She will adore it, as long as you don’t let her find out how much you paid for it.”
“I won’t tell her if you won’t. I will be right back, I forgot my credit card in the car.”
I walked out with a grin as an idea hit me. I hadn’t really forgotten my credit card. I just needed to get away from Stacey and into another part of the jewelry store across the hall. The rings were all in one room, while the rest of the jewelry items had their own separate areas.
After making the necessary purchase, Stacey and I returned to the car, and as she continued to look utterly stunned, I presented her with two boxes. “Congratulations on your engagement!” I smiled at her.
“What now?” She looked confused. “You didn’t—”
“I hadn’t given you and Mr. Nick anything for your engagement. I thought you would like—”
“It’s just Nick, I’ve never heard him called Mr. anything,” she tried to joke, but there were tears tingling around her eyes again. “You didn’t have to get us anything.”
I shrugged. “You are Aria’s best friends! This is the least I could do for all that you have done for her over the years.”
No longer attempting to hide her tears, Stacey opened the boxes sniffing, to find two matching platinum His and Hers bracelets that read “Together Forever.”
“This,” she sniffed back tears. “This…is….perfect. You really shouldn’t…I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You already have. Aria is very lucky to have friends like you,” I said, starting to feel uncomfortable since I didn’t know how to make her stop crying and wasn’t expecting this reaction at all.
“No, Zayden.” She looked up and wiped her face with her sleeves. “Aria is very lucky to have you.”