Page 53 of Claiming His Wife
“With full crew working 12- to 16-hour shifts, six months at the very least,” was his verdict.
“Can’t it be done sooner?” He wanted the work done as soon as possible; six months seemed like a long time suddenly.
“I’m being very optimistic here, sir.”
“Fine, how soon can you start renovations?”
The contractor turned another slow circle and Finn felt himself lose some more of his precious calm.
“As soon as we get the necessary municipal permits,” he had not missed the impatience the man beside him radiated.
"Good, I’ve already applied for them and we should receive them soon.” The rest of his words drowned out in the sound of the door being opened.
***
As if sensing her presence, a sudden shift in the air that only came when he was near her or when she was around him, Finn turned around with a rather gratifying smile on his face. She walked further into the room, transfixed with the picture in front of her. Finn, with another man beside him in her building, but she had eyes for him alone.
Finn turned to shake the man’s hand and said, “Thanks a lot, I’ll make sure the keys and permits are forwarded to your office by the end of the week.”
“Of course. I look forward to working with you,” the stranger replied before walking past her and nodded his greeting at her before he continued out the door. Finn stopped in front of her looking concerned. She saw the uncertainty.
“Hey, fancy meeting you here.” Kalilah said.
“Broken down houses are the current rage.”
“What are you doing here Finn?” Her brows furrowed at his flippant air.
“Just having a contractor work on your building,” he replied easily as if it was the only obvious answer.
“Contractor?”
“There’s quite a few renovations to be done before you can put it to use,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I got the annulment papers. Why are you doing this?” There lay the crux of the matter.
“To answer your question, I'm doing this because I want to make things easier for you,” he replied as if it was logical at all.
“After spending the past few days with you, you think signing the annulment papers would be easy for me?” Kalilah stuffed her fist into her mouth to stop her sobs but he caught her hands and tilted her face to catch the tears streaming down her face.
“Don't cry, babe."
She only cried harder.
"I'm sorry, I’ve been a fool. I thought I could do it. I thought I could force myself to give you what you want. I realize now that I can’t. I don’t know what that makes me, but I just want you to know I can’t. Life without you isn’t worth living but being with you knowing that you were forced into marrying me doesn’t make me feel good. I love you too much to not give you the choice. I love you too much to keep you in a marriage that you’re not sure you want to be in."
Kalilah cried louder at his admission, heart wrenching sobs that drove him to close the gap between them. His hands stroked her as he did that first night over five years ago when they shared their first kiss.
“Finn, I..." The words evaporated her tears as she tried to cut in, but he stopped her.
"No, allow me to get this off my chest. I need to say this now. I fell in love with you five years ago, the somber daughter of Richard Anderson." She was surprised at his admission. "I know we dated, but it was for more than just companionship on my part. I knew you were younger than me, less experienced in life than me, but I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you from the moment I comforted you in that gazebo. And believe me when I say this, I would never have married you if I didn't love you with all my heart. Your father's company is not enough compensation for something like that. I don’t regret falling in love with you," he explained.
“I should have listened to you back then.”
“Both of us could have done things differently. Your father’s machinations and our own fears cost us five years." Finn chuckled bitterly at that junction.
“I love you too, Finn.”
“Kalilah, don’t..."
