Suddenly, more and more tears begin to run down her face until she is sobbing. Seeing Andre on his knees, wanting to marry her, breaks her heart. After everything she has done, she does not deserve a man as good as him. How can she accept his proposal after having had this secret relationship with Beck? What kind of marriage would they have if she has to carry this secret for the rest of her life?
Now concerned, Andre gets off his knee and embraces her. "Shh baby, it's okay. Just breathe" he says while running his hand up and down her back trying to soothe her.
The more he tries to comfort her, the harder she cries. Andre looks around the room and notices everyone is looking at them. He quickly leads her into their bedroom so they can speak privately. As the couple goes into the next room, everyone is standing around in confusion. "That's not a good sign" a few of them murmur. After a few minutes, Jade walks over to the radio and turns the volume up, trying to silence everyone and help bring the mood back up. Cat smiles at her appreciatively and both women make their way around the room, engaging others in small talk, trying to divert their focus elsewhere.
In the bedroom, Andre leads Tori to the edge of the bed and sits next to her. He continues rubbing her back and waits for her to calm down.
"Baby, what's wrong?" he asks.
Tori shakes her head from side to side. "I-I-I" she starts but can't control her sobs.
"Shhh, Tor breathe baby, it's alright."
After a few more minutes she has finally controlled her breathing a bit. She turns her body to look at him and sees that he is smiling at her. Leave it to Andre to stay strong for her while she is on the verge of a complete breakdown.
"Take your time" he says once he sees her opening her mouth to speak.
She nods. "I...I a-am so sorry Andre" she says.
He looks into her tear stained eyes and decides not to interrupt her. She starts shaking her head once more. "I just...I can't...oh God this is hard" she says and takes a deep breath. "I can't marry you" she finishes and looks away from him, ashamed.
Andre's hand falls from her back and he frowns. "Oh" is all he manages to say.
"I am really sorry. I know this isn't the answer you wanted" she quickly adds, wanting desperately to explain, but not knowing how.
"No, it wasn't" he answers. He gets up from the bed and walks so that he is standing in front of her.
"Why can't you marry me Tori?"
Back in the living room, the guests have started carrying on different conversations, temporarily having forgotten about Tori and Andre. Beck, however, can't stop himself from glancing towards the closed bedroom door. What the hell is going on in there? He asks himself.
It seems to him that Tori might not accept Andre's proposal after all and while he should be happy about this, he can't bring himself to be. Even though he wants Tori, Andre is still his best friend and this will surely break his heart. Also, given Tori's reaction, he is nervous that she may tell Andre the truth about them. The thought alone frightens him and he fears what might happen once they reemerge from the room.
He walks over to Jade who is talking to Cat trying to figure out what is going on. He remains silent as the two ladies continue to speculate. He notices, after a few minutes, Cat shooting curious looks at him and he wonders if it's possible that she knows his secret just by looking at him.
Cat has always had a weird ability to figure things out before the others. Even though they all think she is quite ditzy, even after all these years, she somehow manages to be one of the most perceptive among them. Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, he avoids eye contact. He looks around the room and sees Robbie over by the refreshments. He excuses himself from the conversation between Jade and Cat and walks over to Robbie.
"Hey Beck" says Robbie.
"What's up man?" Beck responds.
"Did you catch the game last night?" asks Robbie and Beck sighs in relief that Robbie doesn't want to talk about what's going on between Andre and Tori.
Back in the bedroom Andre is still standing in front of Tori. Her breathing has now slowed down and the sobs and tears have subsided.
"Tori, why is it that you can't marry me?" he asks again. As patient as he is trying to be with her, he desperately wants her to answer him. This night has not gone how he expected it to and he would be lying if he says he's not hurt. He takes her hands in his and looks down at her.
Tori looks into his eyes and knows that she can't keep lying to him anymore. She knows that has to be honest with him, it is only fair.
Author's Note: I apologize for not updating sooner, and that this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. Do you think that Tori will actually tell Andre about her and Beck? Let me know what you think and look forward to an update Wednesday!
