"Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out."

●●●●●●

"Ethen, I'm sorry," she started, her eyes aimlessly searching for mine.

I nodded, biting in my lower lip and turning my head to face the window on the side.

"I'm really sorry," she started again."This shouldn't have happened."

I nodded, "Good thing you know."

"Why didn't you let me explain?"

"Because what you did changed everything."

"Why did you leave?"

"Why do you care?" I asked, her eyes widened a fraction but then she was back to her calm, resting demeanor.

"I care, of course I do."

"And why is that?"

"Because you'll be my husband."

"Oh," I said sarcastically. "I see you remember who I am to you now."

"I never forgot," she breathed. "Ethen, it was a mistake and I was in the spur of the moment—"

"So you accept the fact that he was inches away from kissing you?!" I snapped.

"Ethen, calm down—"

"You don't tell me to calm down, woman!" I yelled back. "What you did is called betrayal. It's called betrayal, Rose, and betrayal is something that stings, it stabs in your back!"

"Ethen, please."

I rubbed my face in my palms then looked over to her again, she was running her fingers through her hair over and over.

"It was so hard on me," she started, facing her shoes. "I had so much going on and beer was the only solution."

"The only solution to what?"I asked, irritation filling my voice.

"To my problems."

Silence. 

She hid her face behind her hands and her shoulders started shaking slowly. With one hand, she held the chair and fixed herself...rubbing her red shot eyes roughly.

Tension was building slowly in the atmosphere, it was almost as if oxygen was sucked outside the room...leaving us breathing empty air, carefully making us numb to the core.

"Did drinking beer end them?"

"W-What?" she asked, her hands dropped to her lap.

"Did what you do fix anything you had in your life?" I asked her, a small, tiny part of me wanted to soothe her, but the other, more prodigious part wanted me to stay...frozen.

She shook her head.

"Expected," I muttered loud enough for her to hear.

"Ethen, I swear I didn't for all that to happen," a tear escaped her puffy eyes. "I didn't want him to do that, but the feeling the beer gave me was...different."

I breathed, "Was being numb and senseless something you enjoyed? Don't you realize how deep your blunder was? Can't you at least care for your health, Rose?!"

"I just had so much going on and being able to forget everything was..." she trailed off.

"Was what?!" I yelled."Nice?!"

She nodded.

My breathing raged, my hands curled into fists on my sides and every muscle in my body tensed.

She let out a shaky breath when her eyes caught me, "He told me that beer makes you forget and I believed him. I never got the chance to meet people and I never thought that things would drift in the wrong direction."

"Not everyone you see can be trusted," I said, hardly controlling my temper. "You shouldn't have known that."

"How?" her voice raised a couple of decibels then she hushed herself. "How was I supposed to know that, Ethen?"

"You're a grown up lady that—"

"Never had the chance to have real friends," she cut me off, a tired expression painted on her face. "You can't banish me from your life from the first mistake."

"It was not only a mistake."

"I was drunk, Ethen, I didn't sense what was going on."

"That's part of what you call a mistake."

"Ethen, I—"

"Why didn't you come and tell me?" I cut her off, her eyes bore into mine intently. "I was there, I said you can tell me whatever you wanted, Rose. I told you I'll be there when you need me, but what you did? You ran straight into something that kills you, Rose, and you sure know that it kills you."

"I wanted to tell you but—"

"There is no but's," I said, shaking my head and running my fingers through my hair. "You knew what was right, yet you threw yourself in hell. All by yourself."

"I swear I won't be going to do that again," she pleaded, her fingers intertwined anxiously. "You'll be the only one I have."

I stood up and she copied my gesture, "This is not changing anything."

"I am sorry," she said, taking a step closer to me.

I nodded, clearing my thoughts, "Apology accepted, trust denied."

I swung the door open and walked out to meet Grace and Leo eavesdropping from the other side. I rolled my eyes and walked away from them, away from my problems, and away from the girl that shattered everything because of a desire.

"You ruined your chance," Grace called from behind me.

"Life didn't stop," I said back, running down the stairs as quickly as possible.

"It did—" she said, standing on the first step, and motioning to the room I was in."—when you left her alone, crying."

An urticate feeling corrupted inside of my chest. It expanded and expanded until it reached my airway, shutting down the oxygen I was inhaling. I tried taking a breath but it felt like I was left in vacuum.

Should I go back? Was the only question that made me look back to Grace.

It was the only question that let me say something from deep in my heart.

The words I muttered were vague, but full of an emotion that I wasn't feeling. The words I muttered brought a smile to Grace's face.

And soon to my heart.

"Take care of her."

●●●

"Ethen, your trip to Korea is scheduled this night," Zed reminded me.

I nodded.

"Four days and three nights."

"Yes, I know."

"I suggest you leave early today and get everything ready two hours in advance since you're not taking the private plane."

"I will, just let me finish this first," I said, focusing back on my computer screen and signing papers from the Korean company we were dealing with.

"Have a safe flight," he smiled and went back to his office silently.

I finished my work and rushed towards my mansion—well, I ordered the driver to speed. I packed my suit case, took a shower, changed, ate, and went directly towards the airport.

My phone buzzed as I reached the lounge area.

It was Grace.

"Hey," I started, setting my suitcase aside and resting.

"Hello," she greeted happily. "Are you free tomorrow morning? I know you have your company to run, but you need to free yourself for at least two hours."

"I'm not free tomorrow, I'm on a business trip."

"To where?" her voice changed.

"Korea."

"What the—" she muttered something so low for me to hear. "When are you coming back?"

"On Wednesday."

"Oh my God, Ethen, why didn't you tell me?"

"I never knew you had plans."

"It's for the wedding gown."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"I won't be able to come, plus, I'm not sure about the marriage thing."

"You'll have to work it out, I don't want to hear you complain. Now give me the final decision, are you going to come?"

"No."

"Shit."

●●●

A/N

A huuuuuge shout out to Joanna for being such a wonderful and caring person here. *high fives her* Thank you for the endless support,love ;)

And thank you to all of you wonderful people who read and enjoy my story.

All the love,

Raghad.