~Nichole's POV~

I had relocated to New York for a year and a half on a business opportunity that was too good to pass up, but now I was finally going back home to Florida. I was especially excited to see Roman again. He was my on and off again boyfriend for the past four years. Usually when we broke up, it was my own doing, but we'd always eventually find our way back way to one another. I loved him, but I didn't always know how to show him. This past year and a half I found myself thinking about him often. That was another reason why I was so anxious to get back home. I was finally ready to commit to him; 100 percent. Now here I was on this plane anxiously awaiting the landing so that I could finally confess to him my true feelings. He was the one picking me up from the airport.

~30 Minutes Later~

I found my luggage and began walking towards the exit. I searched the area he said he'd be in before my eyes finally landed on him. I smiled a dimpled smile at the sight of him. He was still just as gorgeous as the last time I saw him. He was wearing a black buttoned down shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, grey jeans, and black Timbs. His long, wavy, black hair was up in a high man bun. As I made my way over to him, he flashed that gorgeous smile that always made me weak in the knees.

"Hey," I spoke as I stood in front of him, returning the smile.

"Hey," he replied back as he embraced me in a quick hug. He smelled so good. When we let go, he kissed my forehead just as I was about to go for a kiss on the lips. It was quite awkward to be honest. I had a slight blush on my face from the embarrassment, but I shrugged it off.

"You ready to go?" he questioned while taking my bags from me.

"Yeah, I guess so," I stated in response as we headed out the doors to his car. He opened my door for me and closed it once I was all the way in. Always the gentleman. He walked to the driver side and got in. Once he was strapped into his own seat, he drove off. There was an uncomfortable silence as we rode for some reason. I could sense something was off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"You're awfully quiet. Is something wrong?" I questioned, no longer being able to take the silence. He glanced over at me, and I could see in his eyes there was something he wanted to say to me. After a few more minutes of silence, he spoke.

"I do have something to tell you Nichole, but I'm not quite sure how to," he started.

"Just say it," I urged.

"Things have changed, you know. They're not the same," were the words he spoke to me. I felt as though my heart was about to explode. Was he really saying what I thought he was saying?

"Recently, I found someone that I decided to dedicate my whole life to, so whatever we had has got to be through," he confessed as I felt my heart break into a million and one tiny pieces.

My eyes immediately began to water. He noticed and turned away from me so that he couldn't see them fall. That's exactly what they did once his head was turned. I looked over at his hands on the steering wheel, and that's when I saw the wedding band on his left hand. The tears fell even faster at my discovery. I quickly wiped them away, refusing to keep crying in front of him.

"I'm sorry Nichole. I should have told you before now, but I wasn't sure how to do that. I never wanted to hurt you, but it's just something that happened. I met her about 2 months after you left town. We went on a few dates before becoming an item. Before long, I found myself falling in love with her. I popped the question, and she said yes. We didn't want to plan a wedding, so we decided just to elope. That was two months ago," he confessed. I sniffled back more tears.

"Congratulations," I finally spoke when I was able to find my voice again; albeit a shaky one.

"Are you going to be ok?" he questioned.

"Of course. I'm happy for you. You always wanted to get married," I stated as he sighed. Right before I moved to New York, he had proposed to me. I turned him down because I wasn't ready and because of my job offer. Silly of me, I thought I'd always have his heart. I just knew he'd wait for me. Boy was I wrong.

~FLASHBACK TO A YEAR AND A HALF AGO~

Roman paced back and forth with the ring box enveloped in his hand. He was nervous about what he was about to do. He loved Nichole even though they were in the most tumultuous relationship he'd ever been in. He never knew what to expect from her. Deep down, he knew she loved him, but he also knew that it was hard for her to profess her true feelings. She had a wall built up around her heart for protection. She never let her guard down enough for him to get through it, but he hoped popping the question would be the start. She finally came through the door. She saw him pacing and smiled.

"What's wrong? Why all the back and forth?" she questioned. He hadn't even realized that he was still pacing. He laughed a nervous laugh.

"I need to talk to you about something really important," he started as he sighed.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in concern.

"No, no. Nothing like that. I actually need to ask you something very important," he replied as he knelt down in front of her. She just looked on in shock.

"Nikki, I love you and I'm sure you know that. At least I hope you do," he laughed nervously. "I know we've had our fair share of ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade them, or you, for anything in this world. I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as I can. I can be down and out in a dark space, but one look at your beautiful face and that darkness goes away. Will you be that light in my life for the rest of our lives?" he asked, praying she'd say yes.

When she didn't answer right away, he got worried. She started crying and put her head down.

"I can't. I love you, but I can't marry you. I took the job offer," she confessed as his heart broke.

"The one you said we would discuss together before you made any decisions? How could you make a decision like that without talking to me? I thought we were supposed to be a couple. A couple talks things over when it affects them both!" he shouted in anger.

He couldn't believe she went ahead with taking the job offer without talking with him. She had brought it up, but they agreed to talk about it in further details at a later date. Or so he thought.

"They only gave me so much time before they would withdraw the offer. Can't you understand why I had to act fast Ro? A job offer like this only happens once in a lifetime. Can't you just be happy for me?" she cried.

Roman thought about it. Her happiness is all he ever wanted. If that meant her going all the way to New York, then so be it. He hated to see her cry, so he'd sacrifice his own happiness for her to have her own. If he continued to fight her on it until he got his way, she would only resent him for it. It wasn't worth it.

"Go," he said as he stood up, hurt apparent on his face. "All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I thought I alone could do that, but I also know you've worked hard for this for the past few years. I don't want to stand in your way. Maybe what we need is to take a break for a little while," he added. She was shocked.

"Roman, I love you. That won't change. I don't want to end anything between us. I just want to be able to take this job offer," she replied.

"I've never been one for a long distance relationship. You know that," Roman replied, finally closing the ring box. She thought abut it. Roman was stubborn, so she knew there would be no changing his mind. Therefore, it wasn't even worth trying for the time being. Once he calmed down, he'd see things in a different light.

"Well, they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe it's a good idea for a break. This may actually be good for our relationship," she admitted as he just nodded in agreement, not saying anything anymore.

~END FLASHBACK~

And now, I'm here brokenhearted. There's no one to blame but me. My foolishness allowed someone else to come in and take the man that I loved. At least he's finally happy, right?

"Nikki, I really am sorry to just spring this on you out of nowhere, but you deserved to know the truth. I didn't want you coming back thinking we'd be able to just pick up where we left off and go back to that same unhealthy cycle of love we had. She's a great girl that changed my life. There were no break ups to make ups between us. Just straight love and happiness. I really hope you understand. I didn't up and get married to hurt you," he spoke as I found myself getting lost in my own thoughts. Just then, a song by Monica called "Hurts the Most" (off of her "After the Storm" album. Check it out) came on the Rythym and Blues Sirius station he was listening to.

I knew the song, and I couldn't believe it described our situation to a tee. It made it all that much more real.

"Do you want me to change it?" he questioned as I shook my head no. I guess he was listening to the words as well. There was silence.

"If you want to do something, do like the song says, and don't touch or love her like you used to do me. Love and touch her in her own way. Treat her better than I ever treated you. I'll always love you, and it's going to take me some time to accept that you've moved on, but I know that I have to," I finally spoke.

I could see him turn to face me out the corner of my eye, but I wouldn't dare turn to face him back. I couldn't. It was truly hitting me that the man I finally realized I was ready to give my love to, the right way, had moved on. And rightfully so. I had played too many games. Lesson learned. We rode in complete silence the rest of the way while memories of better times filled my head. The tears, no matter hard I tried to stop them, slowly and silently began to fall down my cheeks onto the red silk blouse I was wearing.

We finally arrived at my house. He turned the engine off and completely turned to face me just as I was about to reach for the door handle. He reached for my wrist to stop me. I looked down at his hand on me. "Please, don't touch me," I requested as he quickly removed his hand, obeying my request.

"I'm sorry," came his response. "I just don't want any hard feelings between us. I'd like for whatever we had to end on a friendly note," he pleaded as I finally looked him in the eyes.

"It can, only if you give me some time to process everything," I sighed. I was upset that he moved on right under my nose, but I didn't want to lose him in my life all together. Like I said, I would just have to accept everything and move on.

"I completely understand, and I'll give you all the time you need," he smiled back. I gave a small dimpled one back.

"Just don't expect me to become best friends with your new wife and everything any time soon, " I warned.

"Of course not," he replied. I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. I used my thumb to wipe away the lipstick mark I left behind on it. I gave him the best smile I could muster before getting out of the car.

"Let me help you with your bags," he started before I cut him off. He was almost out the car.

"No, I can handle it," I assured him as I got the two bags out of his trunk. I closed it before heading towards the house my parents owned. They were out of town, which was why Roman had to be the one to pick me up. Once I made it to the door, I turned around and waved. He waved back, and I went inside.

I placed my bags to the right of the front door as I stood with my back against it for a few minutes. I looked out the window, and Roman was just sitting there in his car. Then he finally drove off. I kicked off my heels and headed upstairs to take a long, hot bubble bath to clear my mind. I went to my childhood room with my bags in tow from downstairs. I decided to put everything away later as I crawled into the queen sized bed that now sat in my room. I cried myself to sleep that night, but I had no one to blame but myself. I truly learned to cherish what I have while I still have it.

It was the middle of the night when I heard the rain hitting my bedroom window. That's when I heard the doorbell ring. I looked at the time on my cell phone, and it read 3 in the morning. I cautiously got up and headed towards the door. I looked through the peephole. I looked down confused when I saw who it was. I opened the door to a soaking wet Roman. I wondered what he was doing here so late, but I opened the door to let him in...