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2024-10-29 19:42:56Walking into the living room where Laura sat, Christopher shook his head, refusing her request.
“No.”The sound of the word alone made Laura raise her he'd up and roll her eyes in anger. In the last three years, Christopher had never uttered a word in the negative to her, and now that the topic of divorce had come up, he was now strongly opinionated.
It had happened before–whenever her parents mentioned to him that they should get divorced, he would become adamant, and tonight was no exception.
Getting up and pushing past him to go into the room, Laura tried to keep the scenes as privately as possible.
“Look, Laura. I love you. I love you so much that I cannot imagine a future without you. You can't tell me that we add going to get divorced, because I disagree. I do not want to get a divorce, and without my input, you are not getting divorced from me.Look, Laura, I know that I have asked you many times to trust me,” he said, careful not to get too close to her for fear of spooking her. “But could you just trust me again this time? I have it under control, I need you to know that this time is different.”
“Trust you again?” grimacing, Laura frowned. This was not the first time that Christopher was asking her to trust her. And chances are that it probably wouldn't be the last. He had let her down so many times in the past that even now she was afraid of trusting him.
She was about to warn him that she did not know if she could trust him when she looked at his face and realized that he was wearing an expression she had never before seen on his face.
The seriousness was right there in front of her, belying his intent, and it could not be denied that he had the look of purpose that he had lacked for the first few years of their marriage. Swallowing down all the words she was going to say before, she nodded.
She was unsure if she was supposed to trust the words he was saying or he was pretending, and his remorse was performative, but the brand new loon on his face made her feel like she could rely on him. Like he actually did have control of the situation.
She thought back to the many times she had held this faith in him, and how she had been disappointed all of those times. Inching closer to her, he pulled her cold palm into his own warm hands.
“I know I have failed you many times and our relationship is not what it could be because of those failings. But this is not going to be anything like the other times- I promise you on my life. Regardless of what happens, I vow not to let you get hurt. I will protect you, even if it means sacrificing myself. Trust me one more time, Laura. Okay? I have a surprise planned for tomorrow. All of this is going to be sorted tomorrow.”
Pulling her hand out of his, her face morphed into an expression of shock. “Whatever you have planned, Christopher, do not try it. Do not do it, do not risk it," she warned. “It is an impossible task designed for you to fail. There is no way that anyone could sell 100 properties. It's quite impossible. I love you, but I am not a fan of empty promises, and if you fail, both of us are going to be ruined. Both of our jobs would be at stake, which would threaten our livelihood. ”
“I have to. What is the alternative? Do you care so little for our relationship?”
“Of course not. I will do what has to be done. Rivera wants to have dinner with me to come up with a plan for the job and keeping you in the company, and I think I'll honor his invitation,” said Laura, frowning. “It's the only way. I'm up for a promotion soon, and you know he holds all of the cards. I don't want to risk not getting the job.”
“You can't! You know that he has ill intentions of you, and he even came by to my desk to threaten me," protested Christopher, remembering the conversation he had with Rivera - not so much a conversation as much as Rivera taking charge of telling him the plans he had of his wife.
It had been the hair trigger that had made him call in the favor he had, and now he had figured out a way to solve the problem they had, and now she was giving up?
“I have faith in your plan, and I have faith in my plan, too.” Getting up, she picked up her handbag and stuffed a pair of stockings into it. Avoiding his gaze, she continued to do so, muttering to herself.
“I can sell 100 properties, why don't you believe me?”
“I do. I do believe you. I have all the faith in the world in you, and now I need you to have that faith in me. Just trust me. I will be careful. I will not agree unless dinner is in a public place,” tried Laura, fixing an unsure smile on her face.“I trust you. if anything, the person I don't trust is him. He has done many things to you. He has harassed you so many times before, and you are not the only woman. So many people in the company have complained about him before. Why would you out yourself at risk this way? It's like walking into a lion's den and trusting it not to bite. It is a savage animal. Just let me do what I have planned?”
“Look Christopher, I am not a cheap woman, and neither am I foolish. Even if you do meet with Rivera and fulfil the quota, he is an animal. I hope whatever you have planned is enough to shut the retorts they will have after up.”
“It will be.”
“Okay,” Laura sighed. “I need to have dinner. I haven't eaten yet, and I had a long day. Don't take too long before joining us at the table. You know how mother gets.”Walking out of the room, Laura left Christopher alone with his thoughts. The plan he had made was foolproof, and there was no way it wouldn't work. That was all he was banking on.
He had suffered a lot of humiliation at this job, from his wife to his fellow salespersons, to his bosses and even the receptionists at the great Davies building. The entire thing made him feel like he had lost a few years of his life, and now it was a threat to his marriage, which hung in the balance based on the results of his surprise the next day.
He hoped with all of his heart that things would work out, and with a sigh, he shut the door and sat down to think before he made his way to the dinner table, all smiles. Even if he was panicking on the inside, there was no reason for anyone else to know that.
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