When she opened the door and put down her belongings, she headed for the bathroom and took a quick shower. She fell into the bed with a loud thud, physically and mentally drained by all the activities of the day.
The pinging of her phone caused her to raise her head. Groaning, she reached across the bed and swiped it from the bedside table where she’d placed it.
“How was your appointment with the wedding planner?”
It was a message from Derek. Her lips screwed tight, and her brows puckered in annoyance. He missed the session. The least he could do was call rather than text to ask about it.
“It was good. Nara and I decided on lime green and orange for the decorations and a bouquet of red and blue daisies.”
“That’s great. Looks like the ball’s finally rolling.”
Diane rolled her eyes.
“We’ll have a mariachi band for the reception and serve our guests fondue.”
“That sounds lovely.”
Diane’s annoyance shot through the roof at his blatant nonchalance.
“You do realize I’m joking, right?”
Derek typed the laughing emoji before replying.
“I know. I just wanted to see where you were going with this. I’m sorry I missed it.”
“You should have been there then.”She typed back. “Why didn’t you just call me?”
“I can’t. I’m at a very important business function.”
“Obviously, it’s more important than talking to your fiancée. I’ll talk to you when you can make time for me.”
She returned the phone to the bedside table and buried her face in her pillow, ignoring the rapid pings and streams of messages coming in. She wanted so badly to scream at him for being so insensitive to her needs. He acted like his job was the most important thing in the world, and it hurt her that it seemed it also came before her. Was this what she had to look forward to when they got married?
Her head shot up once more at the sound of her ringtone. Releasing another heavy sigh, she reached across the table and picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Why are you being so selfish right now?” her fiancé’s annoyed voice said through the speaker.
“Why am I selfish, Derek?” she breathed out as she turned onto her back. “Is it because I asked you to clear your schedule so that we could meet with Nara, or is it the fact that you’d rather text me than call? You’re always busy, and I feel like a third wheel in this relationship because obviously, your job comes first.” She went off on him.
Derek sighed. “Everything I’m doing is to secure our future, Diane. We talked about this, and I thought you understood.”
“I do understand, but I also want you to act like you want to be in this relationship. I want to feel like you’re marrying me because you can’t wait to spend the rest of your life with me,” she returned.
“I’m doing my best. What more do you want from me, huh?”
“Apparently too much,”rang out in her thoughts.
“Look, it’s late. Can we not argue tonight?” he asked. When she didn’t answer, he continued. “I love you, and I’m going to marry you. Why can’t that be enough?”
A lone tear ran down her cheeks as sadness shot through her. “You’re right. It’s late. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Diane, wai—”
But she disconnected the call before he could finish. This time, she powered down the small device and placed it back on the table. Her tears flowed even more as she thought about how much her relationship with Derek had changed ever since they got engaged.
They had been an easygoing couple, teaching each other, going on dates, and being more in tune with each other’s feelings. However, she reminded herself that whenever she spoke to him about taking the next step, it had always been a stalemate in their relationship. If she hadn’t put her foot down and demanded it, they probably would not have been engaged. Only, she didn’t know that those four simple words would have bumped them out of the honeymoon phase as soon as she gave her yes.
