Marriage For One

“You won’t ever find someone who’ll try as hard as I will to make you happy. Every time you need to get an MRI, I’ll always come in with you. I will always make sure you know I’m there. I will watch every movie you want me to watch, no matter how cheesy or how horrible—”

I

“You are the love of my goddamn life,” I whispered back, my voice raw and hoarse. “Somewhere in between all the pretending, I completely fell for you, and I can’t even think of my life without you in it.”

“I said, don’t interrupt. You never compliment me. It’s always, You look tired, you look this, you look that.”

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. You’re usually tired, but beautiful despite that.”

“I don’t have a home to go back to anymore, Rose.”

I stopped, but didn’t look at him.

“You’re my home,” he finished.

Try to win your heart. I’m not lying when I say all I wanted to do was help you when I offered to get married

At the end of two years, we were going to get a divorce and you’d never see me again. That was the plan, but somewhere along the way, I fell for you, and because of that, I’m not sorry. I’d do it again. I wouldn’t take back a single moment I had with you.”

But…I was head over heels in love with this woman, more than I could’ve ever thought possible when I’d first come up with the most ridiculous ‘business deal’ I could ever conceive of.

“You’re the only woman I want to go to sleep holding on to and wake up next to, Rose Hawthorne. I will never leave you. I will never forget you.”

She didn’t realize she wouldn’t have had to ask me every day. Once would’ve been enough. I didn’t intend to spend my nights in a different bed than she was in.

“Please tell me this is real,” I whispered. “What I’m starting to feel for you…what I think we have. Please tell me it’s real and I’m not just imagining it.”