2 Years Later

You awkwardly sat under the burning lights in the room while coordinators ran frantically about making sure everyone was in place for the show to begin. You smiled at the junior actress making small talk with you; it helped keep your mind—and eyes off of a certain man sitting three chairs from you.

Mentally, you cursed yourself for agreeing to go on the variety show. Somehow you imagined this was an evil ploy that involved your manager and possibly his. He seemed like the devious type. You quickly dismissed the fact of your ex-husband being the ringleader since he seemed just as frazzled being so near you as well.

Your thoughts were quickly tucked away as the lighting fixtures dimmed. Everyone in the room plastered smiles on their faces as the countdown approached its end.

“Welcome to another edition of this wonderful program! We have some very interesting guests appearing on tonight. They vary from top idol stars to elite actors!”

‘You can do this. It won’t be long now. As soon as this is over you can run away and avoid him.’ Your heart slowly went back to its calm rate as the show progressed. The sound of laughter radiated off the walls as some artists were teased while others made fools of themselves, attempting to join in in comical acts.

“Now moving on to our next guest,” your ears perked up at the mention of your name. You sent the MC a warm smile as he continued on with your introduction, “You were away from the stage for a long time. Why did you hide away for so long? I remember reading various articles of your promising talent. Too much to take in?” He teased.

Ouch. You smiled despite your ego being slightly bruised. “Well sometimes plans change…one thing led to another and I got busy with other tasks.” You wanted to avoid mentioning the marriage in any way possible. 2 years wasn’t enough time to heal wounds you still harbored over the divorce.

“Might that have to do with anyone in this room?” Your heart stopped. The chances of this happening were great. You knew very well that the MC would poke at you and him if he got the chance, and boy did he get the chance. You attempted to answer as civilly as possible, “No…maybe. That wasn’t the only reason though. Family duties often come into play in these circumstances…especially for a woman.” He nodded and turned to your ex-husband.

“Is she telling the truth? You were both married for a while! I’m sure you can tell if she’s lying!” The MC’s laughter was joined along with the rest of the guests and audience.

His heart sank when he looked over to you. 2 years and he still had to stop himself from getting on his knees to plead you to go back to him. What a stupid idea to go on the show. He wrote a mental note to get back at his manager after this was done. 

A genuine smile spread through his featues at the memories of him catching you lie. You were always a terrible liar…most of the time. “Nope, she’s not lying. If I tell you how to know when she actually is she might hurt me,” he teased.

What was he doing? Did he know the effect he still had on you? Acting like you two were the best of friends made something inside you go weak.

The MC teasingly ‘ooo-ed’ at his response, “we had no idea that you were so feisty!” he laughed.

You put up your hands in joking defense, “I promise I’m not!” “She really isn’t. She’s the type of person to feel bad for killing a fly!” You turned to your ex-husband and stuck your tongue out. “I only had to kill them because you were always too scared to!” The laughter grew bigger much to his embarrassment.

“I’m sure I’m not the only one who can still feel the chemistry between the two of you! Have you ever thought of giving it another shot?” The room grew silent upon the question. The MC managed to voice the one thing everyone in that room was too scared to ask—that you and he were too scared to ask yourselves.

Your ex-husband opened his mouth to speak but was cut short by your quick reply, “No! Uhm…ha-ha. Despite everything we’ve managed to stay good friends. This is why we can still speak and joke around so warmly around each other.” What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, right?

Pain flashed momentarily in his eyes before returning your pleading gaze. “That’s right. We stay in touch to see how each of us is doing.”

“That’s very admirable! I don’t many divorcees or any for that matter, who still talk to their ex-spouses!” The room laughed along with the MC’s joke once more.

He looked at the MC, mentally battling himself as to whether or not he should glare at the man before him. ‘I don’t know any either…’ he sarcastically stated in his mind.

The MC spoke your name once more. “There are rumors circulating that you’re seeing someone. Can you tell us if this is true or not?” You must have caused some sort of battle in your previous life—this man was definitely out to get you. Your face flushed as you smiled at the thought of your new beau. “It’s sort of true.” You could feel your ex’s eyes burning holes into you.

Despite being on television he scoffed to himself. He had no idea that you were so intent of moving on. “I’m seeing someone new…but it’s quite casual, really. We both don’t want anything serious in our lives right now.” His eye twitched at your response, his nails digging into his palms.

“I see. Casual is always good. Where did you two meet?”

‘Would you like me to give you a detailed timeline of my life while I’m at it?’ “We met on the set of our latest production.”

A devilish grin flashed on the MC’s features. An opportunity arose, and although some part were scripted it was always nice to know he could mess around with everyone. Playing god was indeed a lovely task to do. “Mind telling us who this mystery man is?” Your ex-husband’s ears perked up at the MC’s question. ‘Yes…please tell m—us so that I could break his nose.’

“Ahh…well out of respect for my current and previous relationships I’ll have to keep him a mystery,” A diplomatic answer. If it weren’t for the cameras you would have given yourself a pat on the back.

--

Your shaky hands desperately attempted to gather up your things in the personal waiting room that was provided. You needed to get out of that place as soon as possible. This façade of a woman who has moved on would not be able to convince anyone for much longer—being in the same building as him made your whole body turn to mush.

Frantic movements stopped at a series of knocks on your door. You let out a relieved sigh, assuming it was your manager. Upon opening the door your smile faded as your heart accelerated. He breathed your name. Without waiting, he let himself in and pulled you into a desperate embrace after closing the door behind him. Your body tensed up at the feel of his chest against yours.

This wasn’t right. You had moved on.

No.

You were still in the process of moving on. Now that he was here hugging you, though, all those months of hard work were tossed out the window.

He whispered your name desperately into your hair once more, his arms wrapped tighter against your body. Your arms stayed limply at your side as your eyes grew wide to avoid any sort of tears from falling.

“I’ve missed you so much. I couldn’t give up the chance to see you before we pa—parted ways again.” Saying it out loud felt like needles on his tongue. His heart clenched at his current reality. Why did it have to be so difficult? Why had he given up? Why had you given up?

Having you so close to him made it hard for him to breathe. “Stop,” despite the energy you used up to make sure it sounded stern your voice still managed to crack. His eyes shut in an attempt to keep his jealousy at bay. “Do you love him?”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Wh—what?”

“I asked you if you love him. Who is he?” He coldly asked. You attempted to push him away from you. The audacity of this man was unbelievable. “How dare you? Where the hell do you come off?”

“Me? You’re the one who’s apparently parading around the place with someone new on your sleeve.” He kept his strong hold on you despite the feel of you hitting his chest repeatedly in an effort to distance yourself from him.

“Last time I checked I was a single woman. You and I aren’t married or dating, therefore, you have no right to be jealous.” You yelled out his name to let you go.  His eyes went down to look at you. Your movements and shouts were paused when you saw the rage and fire in his eyes.

“I have every right to be jealous if it involves the woman I love. He has no right to take you away from me. No right whatsoever.” Your eyes closed as a bitter laugh played on your lips.

“Don’t you think it’s a little too late for you to actually give a damn?” Your words carved themselves against his skull, his aching heart clenching once more.  He pulled you away from his chest slightly to get a better look at your glaring face. “Excuse me?”

You scoffed, your hands running over the invisible wrinkles on your dress. “You didn’t hesitate to give me the divorce when I asked for it. If you love me so much as you claim, why go ahead and divorce me?”

He sighed. His hands held his head as he mumbled your name over and over religiously. “How could I? After I knew what you were feeling? After hearing the sadness drip from your voice when you recalled all those times I forgot your birthday? I wasn’t selfish enough to stop you from leaving. I wasn’t cold-hearted enough to have you wither away next to me when you needed so desperately to be free…no matter how much I needed you.” You were confused at his words. There wasn’t a moment in your married life that you could recall any actual venting to him.

“I’d be lying if I said that I don’t need you now. I’ve needed you from the first moment I met you. I’ve never stopped needing you.”

He met your confused look and sadly smiled before explaining, “Do you remember when I was on that variety show? The one I recorded on your birthday?” You nodded, not entirely sure where this was going. “I had called that day. I’m assuming that you ignored the call…but being the clumsy person you’ve always been, you hit the answer button.” You felt your stomach flip as your throat tightened around the lump that had formed.

“…I heard everything you said…still…after hearing all of that I didn’t have to courage to run to you and beg for your forgiveness. I had taken everything from you. I had left you empty. So I decided not to do anything about it. I knew sooner or later you would have enough courage to set out and live your life again. Letting you walk away from me, I could forgive. I couldn’t forgive myself if I made you stay by my side and continue the sad routine we called our marriage.”

Your hand reached out for him, but you quickly retreated. You softly spoke his name, sending electric shocks throughout his body. “I didn’t mean for our love to turn out that way. I didn’t mean for you to become a reminder of what I’ll never be able to have again,” He softly whispered, as his tired eyes cast themselves down to the floor, away from your unsure expression.  

Indeed you were unsure. Your heart knew it wanted you to run to him and wrap your arms around his waist. He looked so tired, so fragile standing there in the mist of his confession. Yet, your brain commanded your body to stay in place.

“Why tell me now? Two years and a new man in my life later…why tell me now?” You challenged.

A spark ignited in his body. It was as if something had suddenly his predatory instincts. His face sent glares at your direction as he began to move towards you. His stern look never adverted as you took steps away from him until your back met a cold wall. “Because I’ll be damned if I let you fall into another man’s arms,” He whispered darkly in your ear.

You closed your eyes in a sad attempt to keep your composure. It didn’t last very long before you felt a pair of lips graze over yours. He held your head in place as your soft flesh moved in sync with his. He breathed out your name against your lips. Your hands made their way to limply lie on his chest. Both your hearts quickened at the proximity of your bodies.

“Don’t move on. Even if you won’t come back to me…I’m begging you. Don’t love another man. I chased after you for a year until you became mine. I’ll chase away any other contenders for more—I would  do it a thousand times over.” A slight pout formed on his lips, causing you to slightly chuckle at the childish antics this man was currently having. “You’re such a baby.”

“Am not, I just don’t like other unworthy men touching what’s mine,” he scoffed. You turned red at his words. He lifted your head in order to keep your gaze on him a playful smirk playing on his lips. “You can’t stand there and tell me you don’t still feel the same way I do.”

“Your possessiveness should be a turn off. A sane woman would run away at what you said.” An amused laugh radiated off his mouth at your poor excuse for a comeback.  “You’re far from sane. Any sanity you had was thrown out the window when you finally decided to go out with a guy like me.” It was your turn to laugh. He brushed his nose against yours. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

You smiled, “why?”

“I want to take my future wife out on a date,” he confessed.