Committed

Committed
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2016
Guilherme
Ask for the property evaluation before closing the purchase.
I will send the initial expense values by email.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2016
Vasques ~ Real Estate Agent
The seller did not accept the proposal. I pointed out the renovations that will be necessary and they lowered the initial value by 5,000.
~~
Paulina got out of the taxi, her eyes scanning the iron and glass facade. She never wanted to return to Simon's apartment, but she had no choice.
She had been doing a lot of calculations since the day before when Guilherme and the real estate agent had sent her spreadsheets and lists of the expenses she would have to pay to start her business. It was essential to think about future expenses. To set aside an amount for advertising when everything was ready, to pay for internet, phone, and employees.
The numbers gave her a strong headache and tension in her shoulders. Her savings wouldn't be enough. She needed a reserve for possible problems, and that was why she was there.
She adjusted the strap of her purse and walked confidently toward the building.
~~
Simon had been working twice as hard for the past three days, spending hours in his office analyzing projects and contracts until late at night, being the last one to leave. He needed to forget the hell that had descended upon his life and hit him every time he arrived at his apartment and didn't find Paulina to warmly welcome him.
In those moments, he held back the urge to call or message Paulina, forcing himself to work until sleep demanded his time. He was at his limit, his mood terrible, at a level that everyone at SaaTore, including his partner, avoided crossing his path.
That day, not only was fatigue taking its toll, but his head was also hurting, making him almost growl when Cherry called his office - probably fearing his reaction if she appeared in person - to transfer Mirela's call.
"It's about Paulina," the secretary informed him, making him immediately accept the call.
~~
It was in the same place where she had left it weeks before, inside the box of her mother's beautiful simple wedding dress, protected by the scarf she had wrapped it in. The stone was as brilliant as she remembered and, she hoped, as valuable as she imagined.
The ring, which would take her from heaven to hell in a few months, now renewed Paulina's hopes of turning her new dream into reality and still having something left over for extra expenses. She twirled the ring between her thumbs and index fingers, admiring the brilliance for a few seconds before raising the ring finger of her right hand where the ring Simon had given her remained.
Even in the midst of anger, she never wanted to remove the mark of a nonexistent commitment, nor did she ever consider selling it. Not because she thought it was worth less, she simply didn't want to. It was a beautiful ring, and it suited her. Those were the reasons, she repeated mentally to convince herself, although she knew the real reason was different.
She wrapped the ring back up, stored it in her bag, and took the box lid to close it and return the dress to the wardrobe, glancing one last adoring look at the intricate bodice. It was inevitable to remember that just a few months ago, she was peaceful, engaged to Nathaniel, just taking care of Simon, who sighed for the love of a committed woman.
Her mind decided to delve a little deeper into memories, into the day she had received the dress, how radiant she had been trying it on, and the surprise arrival of Simon. The strange way he had looked at her that day, which she only recently understood the meaning of.
"This reminds me of when I saw you standing right in front of this mirror in a wedding dress," he said, slowly sliding his fingers over her bare skin. Paulina sighed, her heart pounding and heat expanding from the man's hand. It was good to feel his touch again. "I never desired a woman as much as I did that day. I wanted to touch her, kiss her until she begged me to make her mine." He kissed the junction of her shoulder and neck, and Paulina let out a small moan of delight. "That desire never leaves me."
She furrowed her brow. When Simon had said how he felt about seeing her in the wedding dress, she had been so bewitched by his touch that she hadn't noticed... When she had tried on the dress and when she had heard his confession of love for a committed woman, she had been committed too.
She pushed aside the insane thought, caused by too many people declaring that Simon missed her and wanted her not out of lust, but out of love.
If he loved her, he would have said...
"I love everything about you."
He had only said that about her body... But what if it wasn't? And what if, while she feared Simon would leave her, his concern was that she would leave him?
She had disbelieved the truth of those words out of fear, distrust, and insecurity, just as she had disregarded every word he said about a future together.
"I have no interest in other women, and there is no possibility of sharing you with anyone. If you give up Nathaniel, I think we have a chance."
"We will have a good marriage. Accept it, and I promise to do my best to make everything work out. I will be faithful and take care of you."
Now she realized that for Simon, the only obstacle between them was Nathaniel.
Gabriel's voice echoed in her mind again:
"He wants to marry you, and that says a lot more than words."
Does it?
Her mind went back further in time, to the words that haunted her over the years.
"In an intimate relationship, love cannot survive without desire. The comfort zone only works when there is no passion, Lina. - He finished, moving away. - But why am I wasting time saying this? You have never felt it and never will while you continue to hide behind that imbecile." She stared at him in shock at Salvatore's angry gaze. Where did so much hatred for her come from?
That look... Simon had held it when she offered to help him with the woman he loved.
She had always imagined it as contempt for her, but now, recalling all the times he had been present, she realized that many of them had been in the last few months, when it was clear that he didn't hate her. That look of disgust had been there every time she talked or was with Nathaniel, since the day they announced their relationship.