Chapter 8

But why was she scared? Why was his Susan afraid of him? He had never even raised his voice or his hand at her before, so why was she so suddenly fearful of him now as if he was going to hurt her? "I am glad that you are okay..." He said then assured her. "...just relax, I won't hurt you, I promise." He smiled to show her that he was not mad about what she did. She still meant the world to him. Then he bent down, picked the box of chocolates and handed it to her.

She hesitantly took it from him then seemed to muster whatever courage she had left as she stepped away from the shelf. "I'm not scared..." She said with an anxious frown, not really looking him in the eyes. "I'm just surprised, that's all..." She tucked part of her artificial hair behind one of her ears as she placed the box of chocolate in her cart.

"Better... I'll just go straight to the point..." He said in relief. "I know that Major Ali is holding you against your will and even told you not to come for the wedding. He must have threatened you or something, but Susan, I'm here to tell you that we can actually work this out because I have already forgiven you for what you did... I'm here to let you know that I'm ready to fight for us, for our happiness, even if it means quitting the military for your sake."

She gaped at him in surprise for some seconds and when she finally found her voice, she told him:  "Stephen... Major Ali did not force me to do anything...I was the one who just decided not to come. I guess I should have told you a long time ago...but I knew that I wouldn't be able to stand the heartbreaking look on your face...so that's why I decided not to show up on the wedding day." She sheepishly said, half-remorseful.

"What do you mean?" Stephen asked, puzzled, then he scoffed, thinking she was still just speaking from fear of the Major. "You don't have to be scared anymore, I'm here now, Susan." Then he tried to assure her by taking her hands in his as he stared into her eyes. "Listen to me Susan, you don't have to pretend anymore, I know everything now. I know that you are probably under duress, but I assure you that I'm willing to help you go through this in every way that I can. I'm ready to do everything within my power to help you pull through this. We can even relocate together after our wedding if that's what you want."

She gently wrung her hands from his and said bluntly now in irritation that he was still trying to fix their relationship. "Stephen, it's like you don't just get it. I don't love you anymore!"

Stephen gaped down at her in disbelief now and she continued despite the look on his face.  

"I only dated you because I thought we had a future together. And besides, when we first met, I already told you that I have a thing for men in uniform and I'm a sucker for power. Stephen, you are really a nice guy and any girl will be lucky to have you, but that girl is just not me. You are always away on one assignment or the other! 

We never really had the chance to spend enough time together and I got awfully lonely. You'll return for just a week or month and then you are gone for one year again, do you know how lonely I felt? Especially when my friends go out to parties and dates with their boyfriends but mine is thousands of miles away from me on some stupid duty! 

I had to even go through the painful process of celibacy because you were not around to satisfy my sexual needs; do you have any idea how torturous that was?!" As she said her next words, she averted her gaze to the side and held her other elbow by putting her arm across her belly. "...besides, your family never really liked me in the first place; especially your mother who thinks that I'm a runs-girl."