Chapter Fourteen
Candice
Who knew that my college life would be as much of a rollercoaster as it had been so far. I’d arrived as a timid girl, unsure of what people would think about me, but excited nonetheless for the new adventure. I should’ve known that coming to the same college as my boyfriend was a bad idea, especially when that boyfriend and I were not happy. I should’ve broken up with Derek a long time ago. But, as with so many other things in my life, I’d stayed with him in order to placate my father. I had just told myself, over and over again, that Derek wasn’t as bad as I was making him out to be. I told myself that I was happy and that I would one day fall in love with him. But I had always known that he was not the right person to me.
I wished I hadn’t met Dominic so quickly, so suddenly. Although, it if wasn’t for him, I probably would never have had the guts to end things with Derek. So, in a way, everything was working out the way that they should. But that didn’t make it any easier.
I had finally told my father about Derek. I had called him because seeing him face to face would’ve been too difficult. I didn’t want to see how disappointed he was in me. I thought back to the conversation.
“What? You broke up with him? But why, darling? I thought the two of you were happy?”
I was glad that he had called me darling. Surely that meant that he was going to be okay once I explained everything to him? He couldn’t be too upset with me if he was still calling me darling, surely?
“Daddy, I wasn’t happy with him at all. Things haven’t been good for a long time. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself.”
“But why are you doing this now? Now that you’re in the same college together. I sent you there because I knew he would take care of you. I didn’t want you there on your own.”
“I’m fine on my own, Daddy. And I should’ve done this a long time ago.”
“Did you meet someone else? Is that it?”
“No. this has nothing to do with anyone else. This has to do with me and Derek not being suited to each other.” I had already decided not to tell my father about Dominic. It was still too early, and I wanted to see how things were going to progress with us. I didn’t need my father getting in the way.
For a while, my father didn’t say anything, but I knew he was still there because I could hear him breathing heavily into the phone.
“Dad, are you okay?” I said, although I became vaguely aware of the fact that he should be the one asking me that. After all, I was the one that had just broken up with my boyfriend.
“How could you break up with him?” he said.
I was taken aback. I knew he wouldn’t be happy but I figured he would at least understand.
“Dad, what do you mean? I told you I wasn’t happy with him.”
“Couldn’t you have tried harder? You saw how hard he always tried with you. Look how nicely he dressed up the last time he came for dinner. The boy clearly cared a lot about you.”
I laughed. “Dad, I think he dressed up more for you than he did for me.”
“And what exactly is wrong with that?”
“You’re not the one that was going out with him. I was. Dad, he didn’t make me happy. You can’t be upset with me for not wanting to stay with someone that didn’t make me happy, can you?”
“He was perfect for you. He came from the right family. His political aspirations are in line with mine. I envisioned a great future with him in mind.”
“But I didn’t, Daddy. I’m so sorry that things didn’t work out, but I’m not going to stay with someone just because they have the right political views.”
“I had it all figured out.”
“But it’s my life. Not yours,” I dared to say.
“Oh darling, after everything that I have done for you. This is like a slap in the face.”
I felt tears streaming down my face. This was not at all how I expected the conversation to go. I hated nothing more than disappointing my father, but I wasn’t going to ask Derek back into my life just to please him. I had to start thinking of myself. We said our goodbyes, but I could hear the anger and dissatisfaction in every word he spoke. I asked if I should come for dinner that night, but he said that he was too busy. I thought of calling my mom, but I was scared she would have the same reaction.
I wiped away my tears and saw that it was almost time to meet up with Dominic in the library. The thought made me feel better. He was the only person I really wanted to be around. I washed my face and put a little bit of makeup on to hide my puffy eyes, then I made my way to find him.
“What’s wrong?” he said the moment he saw me.
I sighed. “Damn, I thought I put enough makeup on to hide that I was crying,” I said.
His eyes widened. “You’ve been crying? What happened? Was it Derek?”
I shook my head and told him all about the conversation I had just had with my father.
“I didn’t tell him about us, though. I figured he’d find out soon enough. Anyway, I just wanted to get off the phone. It was making me too angry.”
“Candice, I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this. You should be able to do whatever you want to do in life. Surely they should be happy if you’re happy?”
Someone glared at us, and I sighed. “Okay, let’s do our project. I don’t really want everyone listening in on us. Anyway, I need to keep my mind off it all.”
We worked on the project for the next hour. We were already so far ahead compared to everyone else, and when the hour was up, I was pleased to see that we were done. I’d sat close to Dominic throughout the whole hour, and every now and again his hand had brushed over mine, and he’d looked at me and smiled. I felt better knowing that he was on my side.
“Got some spare time?” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah. Why? Did you have something in mind?”
“Bike ride?”
I grinned. “Yes please.”
We made our way to the bike, and as I hopped on, I wrapped my arms around him. It was nice to think that I knew what it felt like to run my hands over his naked body. I liked that I could now hold onto him without feeling guilty. We rode through the town, and I had no idea where we were going. I assumed we were just going back to the park, so I was surprised when we pulled up in front of a small café. I hadn’t seen this place before, probably because it was so tucked away, hidden down a small side street.
“Cute place,” I said. “It looks like a secret haven.”
“Yeah, I found it by accident once,” he said. “I have been meaning to come back. They make the most amazing cappuccinos in the world. And the owners are wonderful.”
I smiled as he took my hand and led me inside. A small plump woman came up to us and welcomed us in. She gestured to her husband behind the counter and told us that he was going to make us coffee. As we sat down, I saw her walk up to him, and watched as her husband stooped down to kiss her. I looked at Dominic and grinned.
“They’re amazing.”
“Yeah,” he said. “They're the kind of people that make you realize that love really can exist in this world. They’re just so nice to each other. So respectful of one another. I wish more people could be like that.”
“And it makes me even happier that I broke up with Derek. I would never have had a life like them if I stayed with him.”
“I’m glad you broke up with him too. He’s not a nice guy, Candice. You deserve more than that.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so too.”
“But you don’t seem happy. Is it because of your father? You don’t think he’ll come around?”
“Yeah. I just hate him being so upset with me. I want to make him proud. But I’m not staying with Derek just because of my father.”
“He’s going to freak when he finds out that you’re seeing me,” he said.
“Yeah. I’m worried about,” I confessed. “If he was that mad at me for breaking up with Derek, can you imagine what he’s going to say if he finds out I’m back together with the guy he forbade me from seeing when I was younger?”
“Yeah, he won’t be happy. But, Candice, we’re adults now. We should be able to do whatever we want. I love my parents, but I’m also mad that they just moved away and took me away from you. I’m sad that they didn’t stand up and fight for what they believed in. It’s not fair that you and I never got a say in any of it when really it was us that was getting affected by their decisions. It’s not fair. But we’re adults now. We should have the right to choose our own lives.”
I nodded. Dominic was right. But he also had no idea what my dad was like. All those years ago my father had forced his parents to move away just to stop me from seeing him. And since then he had only grown more powerful in the political world, and his actions were more severe. There was a big chance that we were in for a world of trouble because of what we had done. I wondered if I should break it off, just for Dominic’s sake. But then, just as I was about to say something, the owners of the café walked towards us, each of them carrying a cup.
“Delicious coffee for the beautiful couple. I remember,” the woman said to Dominic. “You looked sad the last time you came here. I saw it in your eyes. But now, you are shinning bright, and I think I know why,” she said and then winked at me.
I smiled at them as they walked off, and smiled at Dominic. I picked up my cup and took a sip of the coffee. It was like magic in a cup. I closed my eyes as I savored the flavor. This is what I wanted in life. I wanted to feel this sort of joy all the time. I opened my eyes and looked at Dominic. He was grinning at me, and I knew that I never wanted to be away from him. I would have to stand up for what I believed in, no matter how difficult things were going to get.
“Amazing, huh?” he said as he took a sip of his own coffee.
“Perfect,” I said. Of course, in my mind, it wasn’t just the coffee I was talking about.
After the coffee, we rode around some more, and then Dominic took me back to my dorm. I hopped off the bike and kissed him goodbye, wishing he didn’t have to go. As I walked back to my room, I could swear I saw movement from across the quad. I looked out and thought I saw Derek, but when I looked again, there was nobody. I knew I could be imagining it, but the gnawing sensation in my stomach told me that I probably wasn’t. Trouble was on its way. I could feel it.