Chapter 8

It was 5 PM when Liz looked at the clock; she had worked so much she hadn't noticed the time passing. "Everything settled here, I'm going home. Good afternoon, everyone." She said goodbye to her colleagues and left. She picked up her phone and saw many messages and missed calls from Henry. She hadn't even heard the ones from the night before. One caught her attention. It said: "I'm sorry for making you sad... I can't live without you anymore." Liz's eyes filled with tears as she called him back. He answered on the first ring. "Liz, my love, where are you? Have you arrived? I'm leaving here now. I'll be home in an hour. I hope to see you there so we can talk. See you soon." And he hung up.

Liz arrived home, feeling tired. She took a shower and dressed up to wait for Henry. She put on some soft music, poured a glass of wine, and waited. After a few minutes, he arrived and rang the doorbell. She opened the door, and the first thing she saw was the beautiful flowers and chocolate in his hands with a card that simply said: "I'm sorry. I missed you so much." He hugged her and said he had been almost going crazy not being able to talk to her. Liz invited him in and closed the door. "Would you like a drink?" she asked. He replied that he would join her with wine.

"I really want to explain what happened." "I already know everything that happened. You couldn't take a minute to write a little message telling me not to wait for you, that you would be in a meeting. Your assistant, who is crazy about you, took advantage of the opportunity. But I don't want to argue with you. I took this time to think, and I do that when I'm working. If we had talked yesterday, we would have surely argued and maybe even broken up. I hope this doesn't happen again. But from now on, I won't wait for you to prevent this from happening again." "Don't talk like that, Liz. I would never hurt you on purpose. I'll always be with you. Will you forgive me, my love?" "Alright. Let's forget what happened. I missed you too." "I'm glad to hear that." He took her in his arms and kissed her intensely. "Want to dance with me? This song is beautiful (You Needed Me/Anne Murray)." They danced there in the living room, to the sound of that beautiful song, and kissed again. Henry and Liz were in love and happy.

"Let's sit down. I need to tell you something. Tomorrow we have a dinner to attend. I know it's last minute, but we haven't really talked in two days; it's actually the opening of another hotel, which seems like it'll be a big deal. All of us at the company have been invited. I wouldn't want to go alone, as Penne, who was my companion, will now be with someone else. If you can't go with me, let me know, and I'll go with them." "Of course I'll go with you!" Henry replied immediately. "I can't let the most beautiful lady at the party go alone. It's too risky." Henry said as he kissed and hugged her. Liz spoke to him: "I'm glad you think that way. Because if you don't show up here, I'll take off the engagement ring, and I'll definitely be single and free of any commitment. And I'm not joking. You told me about priorities, so figure out what yours are."

"Are you still upset with me, Liz? I can feel it. I'm sorry, my love." "No, forget it, it'll pass soon." Liz replied in a low voice. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone. I'm very tired today. I need to rest. Tomorrow will be a long day. See you tomorrow." "Alright then, have a good night." He kissed her passionately, lovingly, and left. She smiled, turned off the music, and went to her room. She picked up a book to read, and her phone beeped with a message from Henry saying: "I LOVE YOU. HAVE BEAUTIFUL DREAMS, MY LOVE. MY LIFE!!!" She replied with hearts and "good night to you too."

In the morning, Henry showed up early to pick up Liz for breakfast together. Penne opened the door for him and called for Liz, who was already coming down the stairs. "Good morning!" Liz said, giving him a kiss. "Didn't you say you'd be here early?" "Didn't you say you wouldn't wait for me anymore?" "So I have to always arrive ahead of time so you don't lose me," he asked. "Shall we have breakfast together and then I'll take you to work?" "Alright, let's go," she replied, waving to Penne.

They had breakfast together, and then he took her to work as promised. "How's your day going today?" "All scheduled: work, salon, and I want to buy a new dress too. So I'll see you tonight. Have a good day at work." They said goodbye, Liz entered the company, and Henry went to his job too.

The day of the party arrived. Liz and Penne, who had walked a lot to find the perfect outfit, were ready, just waiting for their dates. The doorbell rang; it was Henry, looking very elegant. He looked at Liz, and his eyes sparkled when he saw her in front of him. "You look so beautiful!! Truly, you'll be the most beautiful girl at the party." "Thank you so much. You look very handsome too." "You look beautiful too, Penne. Both of you will surely be admired by everyone." At that moment, Nick arrived and told Penne she looked beautiful. She greeted him with a kiss. "Thank you very much. You look handsome too, very elegant."