CH 34- Happy New Years!
After driving Theresa and Paloma home, Fox miserably returned to the mansion and took a long cool shower. After what seemed like hours, he finally got out and slipped into his room, trying his best to make as little noise as possible. The last thing he wanted was for Ivy to wake up and inquire about Ethan's whereabouts.
He sat at the edge of his bed and rested his head in his hands, feeling the excess water trickle down his back.
"Damn it Fox!" He said out loud. "Why are you letting this bother you?"
He intensely rubbed his temples until they ached.
"She's just moving on with her life!" He rose from the bed and began to pace. "That IS what we agreed to do!"
He frustratingly pounded his fists together as he felt the tears swell in his eyes.
"So then why do I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my body?" He sadly whispered. "Why do I always let her do this to me?"
Suddenly he noticed that his wallet had fallen out of his pants pocket, and all its contents laid scattered on the floor. As he bent down to pick it up, a picture of him and Theresa stuck out from one of the flaps. Holding the photograph in his hand, he let out a deep sigh.
"How did you do it?" He whispered to her angelic face. "How did you move on so fast? Didn't you love me at all?"
He closed his eyes as he already knew the answer to his question.
Of course Theresa loved him. It was just because of the situation that they were in. If only things had worked out differently. She'd probably be in his arms right now. But she wasn't. She was with Ethan.
Instant rage filled his insides as he violently stuffed the picture back into his wallet and threw it aside.
"I have to get you out of my system!" He said through clenched teeth. "I can't go on like this! If you found it so easy to move on, then so should I!"
As he hastily looked around the room for something to keep his mind occupied, a picture of Paloma by his bedside caught his eye.
He walked over to his bed and sat down, holding the picture in his hands.
"I don't even deserve you." He whispered, tracing the outline of her face with his thumb. "You've been so wonderful to me and this whole time, my heart has belonged to someone else."
He slowly hung his head in shame, as the words 'I'm Sorry' escaped from his lips.
"Here I have this beautiful and caring girl who's absolutely in love with me and I can't seem to get her sister out of my head. What kind of person am I?" He murmured, laying his head down on the pillow.
He closed his eyes as he thought about Paloma, a small tear trickling down his face. As he turned his head to the side, something shiny in his dresser drawer caught his eye. He immediately sat up and went over to it, pulling the drawer all the way open. When he saw what laid inside, his heart began to beat rapidly.
As he held the small ring in his hand, an instant memory flashed in his mind. He could still feel the intense pain in his chest as he remembered hearing Theresa say that she was pregnant by Ethan. That was probably the worst day of his life, and he would never forget it.
Still twirling the ring between his fingers, the events of that night still played back in his memory.
"I never did get to use this that night." He said to himself, admiring the tiny exquisite diamonds. "It's so beautiful; it would almost be a shame for it to go to waste."
As he glanced back at the picture of Paloma, a smile crept into the corners of his mouth.
"Even though there's a good chance that I will never be able to place this on Theresa's finger again, there is still one more Lopez-Fitzgerald woman who could very well wear this ring." He whispered to his reflection in the mirror.
"Fox, I think it's time for you to move on." He slowly smiled. "And I think I have a pretty good idea who you should move on with."
The sound of piano chimes rang from downstairs as Fox continued to get dressed in his bedroom. It was the night after and everyone in Harmony had gathered at the Crane Mansion for the annual New Year's celebration.
As he pulled on his jacket, Fox looked at his reflection in the mirror and let out a deep breath.
"Well, tonight's the night buddy." He murmured. "Tonight you're going to propose to a very special young lady."
Just then, he heard a small knock on the door and Ivy poked her head into the room.
"Fox, are you in here?" She called, smiling when she saw him. "Oh darling, you look so handsome."
"You look quite enchanting yourself, mother." He replied, admiring her attire.
Ivy wore a long elegant blue-silver gown that flowed in beautiful waves to the ground. The thin strapped dress showed off Ivy's slender back, while gracefully drawing attention to the 10-carat silver necklace around her neck. Her hair was pinned up altogether in a stylish bun, giving her a very sophisticated and pleasant look.
"Why thank you sweetheart." She graciously smiled. "But I just came up here to tell you that most of the guests have started to arrive. Paloma looks absolutely radiant tonight. I'm so happy that you two are together. You make a much better couple than when you were with that gold digger Theresa."
"Mother," Fox warningly looked at her.
"I'm sorry honey, but I don't like that girl. All she does is cause trouble." Ivy continued. "I just thank God that Ethan is well now, even though Theresa was fully to blame for his initial condition."
"Mother, I mean it." Fox interrupted her.
"Alright I'll stop." She gave in. "But it doesn't mean that my feelings towards her have changed. Anyways, let's just go downstairs and welcome everyone. I have a feeling that tonight's going to be one of those nights."
"I couldn't agree with you more." Fox smiled at her. "I'll be down in a second."
As she made her way downstairs, he quickly reached into the drawer and pulled out the small black box.
"This is it Fox." He said to himself, placing it into his pocket. "It's Showtime!"
He closed the door behind him and followed Ivy down the stairs. As he made his appearance, he smiled as he admired all the beautiful people crowded in the room.
Chad and Whitney danced sweetly together with Theresa and Ethan close by. Both ladies looked absolutely gorgeous. Whitney wore a strapless salmon colored gown that flowed elegantly down to her toes. The top half of the dress was made of complete lace, while the bottom half closely wrapped around her slender hips in a beautiful satin material. With the combination of her mesmerizing curls she looked completely stunning. Theresa wore a soft ivory colored strapless maternity dress that complimented her beautiful tanned skin. The gown was draped in feather-like trimming around the bottom and top and cascaded beautifully against her slender calves. Fox thought she looked absolutely breath-taking. He always loved when she wore her hair in loose curls. The softness of her complete attire gave her an altogether angelic appearance.
Sheridan and Gwen looked completely stunning in their gowns as they mingled with Luis and Hank at their side. Sheridan wore a beautiful mermaid-like dress that exposed her slender shoulders. The gown was bathed in hues of blue, green and sea shell-pink, and fit her closely along her mid thighs, finishing in a light flowing satin material down to the ground. Her hair tucked neatly just below her ears, giving her whole attire a very fresh and spring-like look. Gwen sported a more Latin-themed look. Her hair was neatly pinned to the side in an elegant bun, decorated with a beautiful Spanish rose barrette. Her strapless gown was made of a sexy black satin material that was trimmed with lush pink flowers, creeping up her leg baring slit. The dress looked absolutely magnificent on her.
Fox made his way through the crowd and stopped when he saw Pilar approaching him.
Her long white strapless gown cascaded in beautiful waves down to her toes, complimenting her sexy curves in an elegant and dazzling altogether look. Although she was a mother of five, her entire look gave her a most youthful and glowing appearance.
"Good evening Pilar," Fox smiled kissing her hand. "May I just say that you look absolutely ravishing tonight?"
"Oh Fox," Pilar bashfully grinned. "How are you doing?"
"Good, but I'm dying to see my beautiful girlfriend." He admitted. "Have you seen Paloma anywhere?"
"Yes, I believe she's around here somewhere." Pilar said, looking around the enormous room.
"It's alright, I'll find her." He smiled, kissing her one last time.
As he eased his way through the crowd, he caught Theresa glancing at him. She looked so beautiful tonight, he longed to kiss her delicate lips and tell her how much he loved her. But he knew he couldn't. So even though it pained him to see her in Ethan's arms, he gave her his best smile and proceeded to look for Paloma. Just as he was about to give up, he saw her coming down the stairs.
Fox couldn't believe his eyes as he looked up at her. She looked absolutely stunning. Paloma wore an incredibly sexy fuchsia-pink gown that created a mesmerizing eye-catching look. The close fitting dress hugged her mid torso and proceeded to flow elegantly down to the ground, showing off her entire left leg. Her hair bounced lightly off her bare shoulders as she approached him.
"Wow!" Fox managed to say as she made her way towards him. "You look amazing."
"Thank you." Paloma sweetly smiled, as he kissed her. "So do you."
For the next few hours, everyone had a great time mingling and enjoying the night. When the clock was closely approaching midnight, Fox picked up a glass and lightly chimed it to get everyone's attention.
"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen!" He called over the crowd. "I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying themselves but it's once again time for that enchanting part of the night. So would you please join me in counting down the minutes to midnight?"
Fox watched as everyone excitedly gathered, and proceeded to start the countdown.
"Alright here we go..." He smiled. "10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year!!"
Thousands of balloons fell from the ceiling as the sounds of laughter and clapping filled the air. Fox cupped Paloma's face in his hands and mouthed the words 'I love you', before giving her the most passionate kiss. Just as their lips parted, he looked deep into her eyes and smiled.
"There's something I want to ask you." He whispered in her ear.
"What is it?" She looked up at him bewildered.
Fox looked around the room, and noticed that Theresa was staring at them intensely. It was then that he grabbed Paloma's hand and proceeded to once again get everyone's attention.
"May I have your attention please?" He yelled, as every pair of eyes turned in their direction. "As we all celebrate a new and glorious year, I would like to ask my beautiful girlfriend a question."
As complete silence filled the room, Fox turned to Paloma and looked deep into her eyes.
"I know that we only met a couple of months ago but I feel like I've known you for an eternity. You've always been so supportive of everything I do and I just want to let you know how grateful I am for that. You're not only my girlfriend but you're also my best friend. You always know how to make me happy, when I'm feeling my worst and how to turn my darkest skies clear again. That's why I can't wait to spend my life with you."
As the tears swelled in her eyes, he pulled out the tiny box from his pocket and got down on one knee.
"Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald, will you make me the happiest man on earth and be my wife?" He took a deep breath. "Will you marry me?"
A sudden hush grew over the crowd as Paloma proceeded to answer his question.
"Yes!" She excitedly cried. "Yes, Fox I will marry you!"
As they happily embraced a scattered sound of claps developed throughout the crowd as a distraught Theresa looked on in sheer confusion.
"Married?" She softly whispered.
Suddenly she began to feel the twins kicking strangely. She quickly placed a hand to her stomach as the intense kicking increased.
"Why are they kicking so much?" She said out loud, holding her stomach in discomfort.
Noticing that she had crouched over, Ethan quickly tended to Theresa.
"Theresa? What's wrong?" He repeatedly asked her. "Is it the babies? Theresa?
But she couldn't hear a thing. It was as if all sound ceased to exist.
All she could hear was the rapid beating of her own heart and Paloma's joyous laughter from across the room.
(A/N: Hey guys! We just want to thank everyone for all the amazing reviews! You guys have us cracking up here with how much you're into the story. We know right now things aren't going so well with THEROX, but it's all part of our plan...(evil hands together). So we are begging you to plz continue reading and keep the reviews coming. We promise it will be ALL worth it in the end! -Alicia and Amanda-)