Damian Pov
I sat completely alone in my big office. The entire building was empty and silent. Everyone had gone home many hours ago but I stayed behind. I did not want to go back to that empty penthouse. I could not face it tonight.
I poured expensive whiskey into a crystal glass. I did not even like whiskey that much. But it made everything hurt just a little bit less. It made the pain slightly more bearable.
I picked up the silver photo frame sitting on my desk. Bella and me on our wedding day. She looked so incredibly happy in that photo. So beautiful and perfect. I looked happy too standing next to her. We had absolutely no idea what was coming in our future. No idea how badly I would destroy every single thing we built together.
My phone suddenly rang loud in the quiet office. I looked at the screen. Mom calling. I did not want to talk to her right now but I knew she would just keep calling over and over until I finally answered.
"Hello" I said.
"Damian" my mom said. "Finally you answer your phone. I have been trying to reach you for three whole days"
"I have been very busy with work"
"Too busy for your own mother" she said. "I wanted to invite you and Bella over to my house for dinner this coming weekend"
I closed my eyes tight. I had not told her yet. I had not told anyone in my family.
"Mom...Bella and I are not together anymore"
Long silence on the other end. Then she spoke again. Her voice was completely different now. Worried and sad.
"What do you mean you are not together"
"We are getting divorced" I said. The words felt like broken glass in my mouth.
"Divorced" my mom practically shouted. "Damian what on earth happened between you two. You seemed so happy together"
"I messed up mom" I said. "I messed up really badly"
"What exactly did you do"
I could not tell her. I could not say those words out loud to my own mother. I could not admit what I did.
"I...I was not a good husband to her"
"Damian Robert tell me right now what you did" she said in that firm voice she used when I was a child.
"I cannot talk about this right now" I said. "I really have to go"
"Damian wait do not hang up"
I hung up anyway and immediately turned off my phone. I could not handle this conversation right now. I could not explain what I did to ruin my marriage. I could not hear the crushing disappointment that would be in her voice when I told her the truth.
I picked up my heavy glass and threw it as hard as I could against the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces. Glass and whiskey sprayed everywhere. I did not care at all. Nothing mattered anymore.
I stood up fast and grabbed my coat off the back of my chair. I needed to see Bella right now. I needed to talk to her face to face. No more notes or texts or emails. I needed to actually see her with my own eyes and speak to her in person.
I drove across the empty city streets. It was very late. Almost midnight. There were barely any other cars on the road. I parked directly across from her building and looked up at her window. The light behind her curtain was off. She was probably already asleep.
I got out of my car into the cold night air. I walked quickly to her building. The red rose was gone from the front steps. She had found it. But what did she do with it. Did she throw it straight in the trash. Did she even bother reading my note.
I reached out and knocked hard on the front door of the building. Three times. Loud enough that she would definitely hear it even three floors up.
I waited but got no answer. I knocked again even harder. Still nothing. Complete silence.
I tried turning the door handle. Locked tight. I could not get inside the building.
I looked up at her dark window. I could shout up to her right now. But she would probably just call the police on me.
I sat down on the hard concrete front steps. It was freezing cold but I did not care. I was not leaving this spot. Not tonight.
If she would not talk to me then I would wait right here on these steps. I would wait until the morning came. Until she had to come outside. Until she had to see me whether she wanted to or not.
Long hours passed so slowly. My back hurt from sitting on the hard steps. My legs got stiff and sore. But I did not move even an inch.
I thought carefully about what I would say when I finally saw her face to face. I am so sorry Bella. I love you more than life itself. Please give me just one more chance. Please do not give up on us completely.
But would any words be enough. Would anything I said actually matter to her. Probably not. Words were cheap and easy. Actions were what counted now.
The dark sky slowly started getting lighter. Dawn was finally coming. I had been sitting on these freezing steps the entire night without moving.
Around seven in the morning I heard footsteps inside the building. Someone was walking down the stairs. My heart started racing fast in my chest. Was it her. Was it finally Bella.
The front door opened. But it was not Bella who came out. It was an older woman walking a very small dog on a leash. She looked at me sitting there like I was completely insane.
"Can I help you with something" she asked suspiciously.
"No thank you" I said. "I am just waiting here for someone"
She shook her head at me and walked past. The little dog sniffed my leg before following her down the sidewalk.
I was not giving up on her. Not now. Not ever. Even if it took months or years. I would keep trying. I would keep fighting for her. I would keep proving to her that I was different now. That I was sorry. That I loved her.