My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Aidan

:

65 voucher

I’ve closed huge multi-million dollar contracts before without even breaking a sweat, yet here I am standing in front of this jewelry display case and my hands are sweating like crazy.

93

“You are stalling.” Marcus says next to me with a decaf cup of coffee because his wife is on this health kick and he is supporting her through this phase. “You have looked at the same ring three times.”

“I am not stalling, I am being thorough”

“You are terrified.”

And he is right.

I look at the ring again, a beautiful platinum band with a three centimetre emerald cut diamond on top that is very classic, elegant and the type of ring that I imagined Lila wanting….

Except I am not sure what type of ring Lila would want.

Then I stop.

“What’s wrong?,” Marcus asked as he reads my face.

“I don’t know her ring size”

“Who cares, it can always be resized.”

“How do I know if she even likes diamonds? What if she prefers sapphires? Or emeralds? Or what if Lila thinks that diamonds are overpriced or something.”

“Aidan, your freaking out”

“I am not freaking out.”

“Okay, you might not be freaking out but your hand is trembling.”

I look down and sure enough my hand is shaking.

So I stick it in my pocket.

“This is different than any other deal I have made or will make in the future, this is not a contract negotiation or a board presentation”

“You’re really going to ask her to marry you?”

“Yes.”

It took him a moment to answer back. “That is kind of surprising. You’ve only been dating for 8 months.

10:24 Wed, May 13 N

Chapter 73

officially, after Mark was sentenced.”

‘S months.12 days exactly.” I said. “The amount of time doesn’t matter at all. What matters is I know.”

Marcus raised his brow. “You know what?”

32

“I know she is my forever person. I don’t want to spend one more moment of my life without being able to call her mine forever. Legally. And all those other important things.”

Marcus considered me. “So you love her?”

That wasn’t a question but I answered him anyway. “Yes, more than I thought I could ever love anyone.”

“Have you told her that?”

“Yes, several times.”

“Did she tell you she loves you, too?”

“Yes.” I answer.

“Okay. What’s the problem here?”

“The problem is it’s too early. The board of directors, the press, and the public will think it’s too soon.BEveryone’s going to think I’m rushing her, or she’s just rebounding, or…”

“You care what they think?”

“No. But she might. She’s been through enough scrutiny. Enough judgment. I don’t want to add to that.”

“Ask her anyway. Let her decide if it’s too soon. Let her decide if she’s ready.” Marcus lifts his coffee. “You know what your problem is?”

“Nope. Enlighten me.”

“You’ve always had control over everything, all of the variables, and all of the outcomes. This part of your life. you can’t control. She’ll either say yes or no. You can’t control how she’ll respond to you when you propose It’s scary for you.”

He was right. Life always has constants and variables that will affect the outcome of your decisions. In this case, I can’t control the decision my girlfriend is going to make about getting married to me.

“She won’t say no,” I say, but it sounds less confident than I intended.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know her. I know how she feels about me. I know…”

“You know she loves you. That’s not the same as being ready for marriage. Especially after what Mark put her through.”

10:24 Wed, May 13 N

Chapter 75

That stops me.

93

58 vouchers

What if Marcus is right? What if proposing now while she’s still processing everything with Mark, still rebuilding herself, still finding her footing is too much pressure?

What if she says yes because she feels obligated? Because she thinks I expect it? Because she’s afraid of losing me if she says no?

What if I’m repeating Mark’s patterns without realizing it? Controlling. Deciding what she needs. Pushing for what I want without considering what she wants.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

“What?”

“What if I’m being like him? Like Mark. Making decisions for her. Deciding the timeline. Assuming I know what’s best.”

Marcus raises an eyebrow. “Are you seriously comparing yourself to that psychopath right now?”

“I’m very serious about not pressuring her, I don’t want to make her feel like she has to say yes.”

“Then don’t propose with an ultimatum. Don’t propose with expectations. Propose because you want her to know you’re committed. And let her answer honestly. Trust her to tell you the truth.”

I look at the ring again. The diamond catches the light, throws rainbow prisms across the glass case.

“What happens if she says no?” I ask softly.

“Then you wait. Keep loving her. Keep showing up. And ask her again when she’s ready,” Marcus pats me on

the back.

“But Aidan? I have seen how she looks at you. I’ve seen how she lights up when she sees you walk through a door. I’ve seen her fight for you, defend you, and stand by you through ugly times; this woman won’t say no to you.”

“That’s very confident, I must say,”

“Because I’m confident. Unlike you, I’m not overthinking everything,” he grinned. “Now pick a ring before the jeweler dies of exhaustion from you hovering over him.”

I looked at the box once more; this time, I noticed a different ring, this one was a lot smaller than all of the others; it was a plain silver band with only a single, round diamond set in it, probably about two carats in weight, very thin, and very classy.

Something my future wife will love.

“That one,” I said, pointing to the box.

The jeweler appeared, “Mr. Storm, I must say that is an excellent choice; this is the Grace style setting. Very traditional, and very classic; it never goes out of style.”

10:24 Wed, May 13 N

Chapter 75

He took the ring out of the box.He places the ring on a black velvet tray and declares it “perfect.”

1 reply. “I’ll take it.”

The jeweler responds, “Excellent. Now, what size are we looking for?”

23

55 vouchers

I realize I don’t know her ring size, so I say, “Can you just give me an idea on what size the average woman

wears?”

The jeweler continues, “We can size it after the proposal if you’d like. Most customers prefer that way.”

I respond, “Yes. Let’s do that.”

The jeweler packages the ring up and goes through the timeline for changes, which is 2 weeks, and can be rushed if I need it sooner. As he talks, I nod along, but I’m really only half paying attention to him.

I’m getting married. Well, at least I’m going to ask someone to marry me.

The difference is significant to me.

Marcus and I leave the shop and begin our walk to the office which is easier than fighting the traffic at noon.

“So, how do you plan to propose?” asks Marcus.

“I have no clue.”

“Are you serious?”

“I made the decision to propose 3 days ago, so I haven’t had time to weigh out my options for a creative proposal.”

“Wait a minute, you made an important decision about marrying Lila backed just three days ago?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify