Thank you for all the reviews! it made me extremly happy.
Sorry it took long and I'm sorry for the short chapter.
This story is like my baby and I couldn't post something I wasn't happy with.
I promise to update soon.
English is not my language, so… sorry for that too :)
"An Engagement ring" she said with a trembling voice, she couldn't lift her eyes away from the box in her hand
He walked slowly and sat beside her on the floor. His knee brushed up against hers and that's what caused her to look at him. Her eyes were shining with tears
"Ah, yes ... it belonged to my mother," he replied softly, though his felt his heart race
She gasped at the sound of those words; tears began to fall down her cheeks. He watched her looking back on the ring, which was shining even more as the sun filled the room.
"Zoe" He called her name softly.
She wiped her tears and tried to steady herself. She closed the box and put it in his hands. She stood up quickly. He watched her moving from side to side, she put on her shoes and was about to leave the room when she felt a hand stopping her, "Zoe, where are you going?" He asked almost in despair, seeing the emotions in her eyes.
"I don't know. I'm ... I'm not angry or anything, I'm fine. I just need to be alone now" she pleaded, releasing her arm from his grasp, "I ...I'm sorry," she stuttered out of the door.
Wade was standing there with a box in his hand trying to understand her reaction, but he couldn't. He wondered to himself if she thought he was going to propose to her and it scared her. But if so, what caused this behavior? He stood there for a long time and was looking for an answer that never came.
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After trying to call her several times and getting no answer, he asked Lavon and Lemon to meet him in the kitchen.
"What did you do?" Lavon asked when he saw Wade's face as he entered the kitchen
"Why do you assume I did something?" Wade sighed
"Well, you called us to meet you, you look like somebody ran over your dog and Zoe is not with you. What happened?" Lemon was curious
He sat on a stool in front of them, and buried his face in his hands
"Honestly, I'm not sure," he raised his head, "Zoe found a ring in one of my drawers" he sighed deeply "my mom's engagement Ring" he added quietly
"No way, were you planning to propose?" Lavon shouted while Lemon just stood there, expressionless, trying to listen to the rest of the conversation.
"No, my dad gave it to me a while ago. I totally forgot it was there "
"And she thought you were asking her to marry you. Oh my God, what did you say?" Lavon continued to probe
"Oh my God," Lemon said under her breath, they heard it but ignored her
"That's the thing, I didn't say anything. She was in shock and she had tears, and suddenly she got up and ran away. She said she needed to be alone. I don't get it"
"Because you didn't say anything!" Lavon scolded him
"Oh my God" Lemon persisted, but they were immersed in their conversation
"What did you want me to say? We're not ready for marriage. I love her more than anything, but we never talked about it, we got back with each other just now and ..." He sighed deeply
"God, you two are complete idiots!" Lemon burst on them suddenly, they frowned
"Thanks Lemon, that really helps now," Wade said in despair
"No, you don't understand. She never thought you are going to propose to her. She must have thought that the ring was for Vivian"
"What?" He was confused. "Why would she think that?"
"Because you were with Vivian up until recently. That is the only logical explanation. Otherwise, why would you have a ring in your drawer when you just got back together only 3 days ago?" She explained. He let her words seep in slowly
"Oh God, she thought I wanted to propose to Vivian. I'm so stupid," he put his head in his hands
Lemon felt sorry for him, she approached and put her hand on his shoulder, "Yeah, you are" she scolded, "but luckily, you can fix it," she said softly
"How? She won't talk to me. I called her a few times"
"Prepare yourself man. You have a lot of groveling to do" Lavon patted his shoulder
"No, he did nothing wrong. You just go there now and talk to her like a grown up and explain everything"
Wade took a deep breath "thanks guys. I'll go find her now"
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He went to the carriage house and knocked on the door lightly. He heard her footsteps dragging on the floor and held his breath until she opened the door. She looked vulnerable and he could see the dried tears on her cheeks. He didn't think through and just pulled her in a hug, her head was buried in his chest and he felt her tightening her grip on him. They stood there for several minutes until she broke away first.
"Doc-" he started but was cut off by her
"Wade... I just want to be alone now" she said as she walked to her bed. She leaned her back on the headboard and snuggled with the blanket. He saw a box of tissues next to her and a suitcase on the other side of the bed. She saw his look "for our trip" she whispered. She knew he would think she'd run away and she wanted to reassure him. He nodded and came closer.
"Zoe, I'm not going anywhere before we talk. Or I talk, you can just listen"
"Please" she almost begged "I'm not mad at you. I swear. It was just a surprise. It's a lot to take in. I have to find a way to deal with it" she looked him in the eyes
"Deal with what?"
"The ring, Wade. you... you felt enough for Vivian to want to spend the rest of your life with her. That's not something I can just easily forget" she said in a strangled voice, lowering her gaze
He shook his head and allowed himself to sit next to her on the bed
"I never intended to propose to her" he paused for a moment before he continued "the ring... it wasn't for her." he reached into his pocket and pulled out the little box. He opened it and took the ring out "this ring...it's for you"
"What?" she looked up quickly and could barely speak
He saw the storm in her eyes and it brought a slight smile on his lips
"I'm not proposing, okay? Well, at least not now. It's not the time, yet"
"I don't understand"
"Look, I have had this ring for some time now. My dad gave it to me, after he left the hospital"
"Okay ..." She pursed her eyebrows
"You know the old man, he always wanted us to be together ..." He took her hand. There was a hint of a smile on her face.
"This Ring is yours. If you want it... When you're ready," he put the ring back in the box and put it in her hands. He watched quietly as she stared at her hand. "I don't care about rings, I care about you. It doesn't even have to be an engagement ring. It can be whatever you want it to be"
"What if I want it to be an engagement ring?"
She caught him off guard. "Then-"
"Relax, I was kidding," she interrupted
They remained silent for a few minutes. Her eyes glued to the ring. She finally looked up and he forced himself not to panic.
"Are you sure?" She asked
"Doc, this ring practically has your name on it. It was always meant to be yours"
"You're sure your dad is fine with it?"
"Seeing as my dad was the one to give it to me, I'll say I'm pretty sure. And I'm sure my mom would approve too if she was here" she smiled at that statement.
"People will ask questions"
"The answers are none of their business"
"Everyone will talk about it"
"You know it doesn't matter to me"
"You can't give it to me without it meaning something. It's ... it means something"
"Obviously, it means I love you and that one day, when we decide we are ready we'll move to the next step" he said calmly
He took the ring out of the box and slipped it slowly on her finger. Her eyes followed the path of the ring and she took a deep breath when it got to the right spot. She looked at him with eyes shining
"It's mine"