Orson sighed as his beautiful redheaded wife walked out of the room. His eyes were on her retreating back as she left and once she was gone, he buried his head in his hands. Now that she was gone, he had nothing to be happy about. Nothing made him happy at all any more… except for Bree. Seeing her lovely face or hearing her voice was the only thing that could lift Orson's perpetually dark, depressed mood just a little bit.
As much as she had hurt him, as much as Orson tried to make himself stop loving her, it was impossible. After how she had betrayed him he thought he could never forgive her, but she would always hold that special place in his heart, fill his empty void… not that he would ever let her know that. She doesn't love me, Orson thought. She wants nothing to do with me, after how I treated her. And even if she did, I could never forgive her.
Before all this had happened, Orson had loved her so much. He had loved her with all his heart. And he had never stopped loving her, not one bit… but he would never let her know that. He thought it was hopeless, unrequited love.
Orson had come to terms with the fact that he and Bree were never going to be together again. And that hurt more than anything… even her betrayal.
Still moping, Orson wheeled his wheelchair over to the computer. He didn't like to talk to any of his friends any more, and had completely lost interest in everything. He felt dull, lifeless and devoid of any emotion. Halfheartedly, he opened the internet looking for something to do, and an advertisement for a site called The Lonely Heart caught his eye.
Somehow, something told him to click on it… and he did. The banner on the site said something about fate, love and making miracles come true. Is this some kind of dating site? Orson wondered. Because no one can replace Bree in my heart… Something told him that this site was something completely different though. He had no idea why, but he made an account. He had nothing else to do except talk to random strangers and he felt like he was drawn to this mystic site. He decided to make his username KingOfTheOven and after he signed up, he clicked the "randomized chat" button. Out of the thousands of people on the site, the server would randomly choose a person to send a chat invite to.
The site sent someone a chat invite, and she accepted it. Orson did a double take when he saw her name.
KingOfTheOven: Oh my God.
QueenOfTheCakes: Our names match!
KingOfTheOven: What a coincidence!
QueenOfTheCakes: Haha!
Something about this reminded him of Bree. Well, everything reminded him of Bree these days, but still. Bree and Orson were two of a kind, and it would be just like them to coincidentally have matching names. They were always thinking the same thing. Orson felt a pang when he thought of her.
KingOfTheOven: So you love baking too, huh?
Orson talked to her for over an hour. They had all the same interests! They talked about cooking, ballet, opera, and everything in between. Orson couldn't help but smile; talking to her made him so happy. It was the same blissful feeling he had when he was around Bree. Orson had thought he would never feel that way again, but QueenOfTheCakes sure knew how to work his heart…
KingOfTheOven: What's your name? :)
QueenOfTheCakes: Lynette. What's yours?
KingOfTheOven: Dave.
Bree sat in front of her computer, twirling a lock of red hair around her French manicured finger. Earlier that day, a popup had appeared on her computer for some website called The Lonely Heart. It said something about miracles, fate, and finding true love. She had thought it looked all wannabe-mystic, like fortune tellers and tarot readers. Still, she had felt like she was oddly drawn to it, and she made an account.
All afternoon she had been talking to KingOfTheOven. They were so alike… she had just met him that day, but she felt like she had known him her whole life. And she felt so comfortable with him, she felt like she could tell him anything… just like it had been with Orson. Orson… she thought…
Yes, she felt like she could tell him anything. There was something she was dying to say, but knew it would completely change what he would think of her. She took a deep breath, typed it, and quickly pressed send before she could change her mind.
QueenOfTheCakes: I committed adultery.
QueenOfTheCakes: Are you there?
KingOfTheOven: I have to go.
QueenOfTheCakes: So abruptly?
KingOfTheOven: I'm sorry, that just came as a huge shock… adultery is a really touchy subject for me. My wife had an affair.
QueenOfTheCakes: I'm so sorry to hear that…
KingOfTheOven: No, you're not.
QueenOfTheCakes: Excuse me?
KingOfTheOven: You're not sorry. If you thought cheating was so bad, you wouldn't have done it.
QueenOfTheCakes: You have no idea how awful I feel… I thought I didn't love him, but now I know the truth, I love him so much! After he found out about my affair, I had this dream… in my dream I finally got the divorce I wanted, and ten years later, he died of a broken heart… he had loved me all those years! When I woke up, I realized how much he truly means to me. But it's too late now… he's never going to forgive me for how much I hurt him! He won't even talk to me, so I can't tell him that I still love him… and I feel so, so, so, so guilty! I wish I could go back and change the past because cheating on him was the biggest mistake of my life! All I want is for him to forgive me…
KingOfTheOven: Well, you might as well give up. Adultery is unforgivable…
QueenOfTheCakes: You can't judge me like this! You have no idea how awful I feel, how truly awful! Every single day I wake up to my husband and I feel terrible! He's here, trapped by a physical condition that is MY fault, while I'm free to do whatever I please! And I'M the one that committed the sin; I should be punished, not him! For months I thought that we were through; that him and I… that we're just not meant to be… but I know now that that's not true. I don't have a problem staying here with him, taking care of him, because I still love him. But he can't forgive me and see past my adulterous ways, and to be honest… I don't blame him. But if you're going to sit here and judge me for having an affair… know that if I could go back and do it again… I wouldn't have. Like I said, it was the biggest mistake of my life; one I will NEVER make again.
Orson finally understood how she felt, and how Bree must be feeling. He felt a heavy pain when he thought of how QueenOfTheCakes still loved her husband deeply, because he knew that his wife didn't. But even if that lingering love he longed for so desperately from Bree wasn't there, the situation was exactly the same as his otherwise, and he realized that she must have been feeling just as overwhelmed with guilt as poor QueenOfTheCakes. For the first time since his accident, he was thinking about what Bree must be going through, and he felt like his heart was breaking.
QueenOfTheCakes: And haven't you ever made a mistake that you thought no one could ever forgive you for, a mistake you didn't think you deserved forgiveness for, and she forgave you?
Orson thought about it. Years ago when he had attempted to murder her best friend's husband and put him in a coma, something so horrible he thought no one could ever forgive him for, Bree had still seen him in a way that no one else had and taken him back after months of being apart and pining for each other the whole time. Their love was so strong that it could survive anything, even that. He and Bree had been through worse and gotten through it together…
Now Orson understood everything, and all of his anger went away. He felt all of the pain, bitterness and hurt slowly draining out of his heart and being replaced with a feeling of forgiveness.
Weeks went by, and Bree knew Orson had forgiven her. Knowing that the pain she had caused him was going away made her feel so much better. However, nothing much had changed in their relationship, because both of them had fallen in love with someone else…
She talked to KingOfTheOven all the time, and she was falling more and more in love with him. He gave her that warm and fuzzy feeling in her tummy that she had forgotten for so long. She still loved Orson, but KingOfTheOven made her feel so…
It was like they knew each other inside out, even though they had just met. They understood each other so well, and they were like two of a kind… she felt just like she had with Orson, and she had missed that feeling so much. Orson felt the exact same way about QueenOfTheCakes. She put that special sparkle in Orson's chocolate brown eyes that only Bree was able to do.
Bree didn't want to hide the truth from Orson any longer. She still had lingering love for him, but their relationship was broken beyond repair. Wasn't it?
"Orson," Bree said softly from behind him. He was sitting at the computer typing an email to QueenOfTheCakes, and he quickly minimized the page before she could see.
"Orson, I think we should…" she started softly. She swallowed the lump in her throat that was beginning to form. "Go through with the…" she trailed off. it was too painful to say it out loud.
She was unable to look him in the eyes. She felt like her heart was shattering into a million pieces. "And while we're waiting for the… divorce to finalize," she said, "we should… we should…" she said, thinking of her beloved KingOfTheOven. She felt like she was cheating on Orson, even though all she did with him was talk. But how would her husband feel to know that another man was making her feel that indescribable, wonderful feeling of closeness and that deep connection that was so uniquely Orson to her? It was like he always knew exactly how she was thinking, he could finish her sentences for her, and her husband was the only one who could ever do that. Orson felt the guilt with QueenOfTheCakes, and even though they still loved each other they both felt that they had to end this marriage before they ended up hurting the other yet another time.
This was the most painful moment of Orson's life. He was in love with QueenOfTheCakes, but that didn't make this moment any less excruciating…
"We should see…," Orson said softly. "Other people..." Bree started fidgeting with a loose thread on her sweater, trying to keep the tears back. She still couldn't look at him because she knew that if she did, she would burst into tears.
She nodded and started tugging at the loose thread so hard that the bottom of her sweater began to slowly unravel. She got up from her chair slowly like she was trying to steady herself, and started to walk slowly out of the room. Orson felt his shoulders starting to shake. He wished she would never leave, and he could hold her forever.
She was already gone before he could see the tear sliding down her pale cheek.
More weeks passed by, and then months. Orson had quickly recovered and gotten out of his wheelchair, and the divorce was close to being finalized. He still talked to QueenOfTheCakes every day.
What was amazing was that QueenOfTheCakes had told him she lived in Fairview too. Orson wondered where the woman of his dreams had been all his life.
KingOfTheOven: I love you.
QueenOfTheCakes: I love you too…
KingOfTheOven: I want to meet you so much… you're so perfect for me.
QueenOfTheCakes: Want to meet today?
KingOfTheOven: Let's meet at Primrose Park
QueenOfTheCakes: When?
KingOfTheOven: How about now? I can't wait to see you.
QueenOfTheCakes: See you there. I'll miss you till then…
Orson logged off the computer with a smile on his face. It wouldn't be long until he could finally meet his QueenOfTheCakes… only then did he realize that something felt really strange about this, but he quickly brushed off the thought.
He ran downstairs, taking the stairs two at a time, eager to get there as soon as possible. Bree was at the bottom of the stairs, putting on her coat. "I have to go… out, I'll be back soon," he said.
"I'm going out too," she said. They looked into each other's eyes for moment. He got lost in her stunning emerald eyes until she broke the spell, handing him his jacket and walking out of the house.
Bree sat on a white park bench in Primrose Park, surrounded by pretty flowers. Everything was perfect today, from the gorgeous orchids and roses to the cloudless blue sky… but most of all, the man she was waiting for.
Her red hair gently blew in the breeze, catching the light and looking stunningly beautiful, a luminous halo of lustrous scarlet brilliance, as Orson would have put it. He totally would have OD'd on the adjectives, but words couldn't describe her hair in the sunlight, there was really nothing like it. There was no one in the park but her. She wondered when he would come. He should be here any minute now…
And there he was. He was too far away for her to see his face, but she could see him coming closer and closer. My knight in shining armor… her heart gave a little flutter.
She still couldn't see his face. Smoothing her skirt, she stood up from the bench to get a better look.
He had wavy brown hair and warm chocolate brown eyes… in fact, he looked just like…
Oh. My. God.
Suddenly, she felt weak in the knees. Her heart fluttered more than it had ever fluttered in her life. She placed a hand to her heart like a girl in a storybook.
There was no one in their private moment, the whole world seemed to slowly fade away. All Bree and Orson could see was each other. They stood like that, on opposite ends of the park, staring into each other's eyes for a long moment. Gazing into his eyes, Bree felt like her heart was melting. Nothing could be heard except for the sound of their two heartbeats, beating faster and faster.
"Orson…!"
"Bree!"
They started to run towards each other. Her heart sang with happiness, and her red hair streamed behind her as she ran.
Once she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him so tightly he could scarcely breathe. It was you, it was always you… He put his arms around her waist and held her even closer to him, and she closed her eyes, the breeze gently ruffling her hair, and practically melted against him. They stood there like that for the longest time because neither of them wanted to let go.
The moment was magical. It was so magical that Bree thought at any moment she would wake up and it would all be a dream.
She pulled back slightly, so she could look into his eyes. Her arms were still around his neck, and his arms were still around her waist. Their faces were so close together that their noses were almost touching. "It was you all along," she said. "I love you…"
"I love you too Bree," he said, kissing her cheek tenderly. He took her hand in his, stroking her hand with his thumb, and they began to walk to the park bench.
Bree was still in shock over this unbelievable revelation. So Orson was the one she'd been confiding in all this time... it was Orson who had comforted her so amazingly well, understood her better than anyone ever had, made her feel so loved and protected. She realized now that he was the man who had helped her through these dark months, been the only reason to get up in the morning, loved the inside of her so deeply and found every part of her beautiful without ever seeing the outside. He'd left her sweet little comments to make her blush for the first time in years, and best of all, when she was upset and needed something to brighten her day, he'd told her his secret cleaning tips...she should have known. How could Bree not have realized before?
They sat down together on the wrought iron bench, and he wrapped his arms around her. "I just can't believe it," she whispered faintly, resting her head on his shoulder. "Out of the thousands of people on the site, it was you…"
"That's because we were meant to be together," Orson said, leaning toward her. Her eyes fluttered closed and they kissed. It was so tender and loving, and as sweet as candy. When they gently pulled apart, neither of them could keep the dreamy smiles off their faces. He reached out to tenderly touch her cheek and kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her as they kissed with more and more passion, falling into the feeling of being adored completely by another and craving more of it.
She liked the way his words sounded. We belong together…
THE END