Rey was lying on her stomach on the couch, propped up on her elbows, her feet dangling off the arm of the couch with a book beneath her when she heard a key turn in the lock in the front door of her apartment. The door flung open and she heard footsteps coming up .
The footsteps drew in closer and Rey saw someone leaning over her, she felt warm lips brush the top of her forehead at her hairline.
Rey smiled up at the man standing before her, his smile as wide as hers.
"Hello, darling. How has your night been so far. I apologize for staying late at work. My colleague, Poe and I just had to stay late to finish up a big project with a deadline of tomorrow. ", he said.
Finn had been staying later at work for the past three months, so Rey was starting to get used to it. At first, she would panic and send frantic texts about his dinner getting cold or that she was missing him. Now that it had begun to be a regular occurrence, Rey didn't worry so much. She would put his dinner into a container in the microwave and get ready for bed. She knew he wouldn't ever be later then an hour or two past 6:30, when he clocked out.
"Oh Finn, it's completely fine. I completely understand. I have to go in early tomorrow morning though around 8 am instead of 8:30 as my CEO informed my project team that we have an important potential client that the company is trying to woo. It could be a million dollar contract", Rey explained.
Rey yawned and glanced at the clock. It showed that it was 8:30. He was exactly two hours late. Rey just hoped that he wouldn't start staying later. She always looked forward to leaving after her workday finished at the advertising firm.
She left her work in the office. Once her eight hours were completed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Leaving work meant she could go home and relax. She could cook, she could paint and she could write. All of her passions that had developed shortly after she graduated college. She hadn't had time before that for hobbies but now, she enjoyed her solitary hobbies. They brought her joy and calmed her nerves. She especially loved sitting by the
This is why she didn't understand why Finn insisted on working overtime every day. He didn't have time for hobbies because he was always working. He would come home completely exhausted. He would heat up the meal that Rey made for him and they would go to bed.
In the eight years since she had left the Solo home a lot had changed. She had left Maz's bar and went to Osseriton University, where Finn was studying. She studied business management with a minor in marketing. Her dream was to earn her master's degree, move to Manhattan and work at one of the top Advertising Firms in New York City.
After she finished her bachelor's degree, Finn had asked her to move in with him. He had already taken a position as a broker in the city. The brokerage firm he worked at, Skywalker Industries was powerful and well known.
While she finished her graduate degree, Finn supported her. He worked his way up the corporate ladder from junior associate to senior associate. He and his business partner, Poe Dameron dominating the firm as the top earners.
Rey started at Brookline Advertising firm shortly after graduating from college. She was the executive assistant to the Corporate Chief, Gwen Phasma. She enrolled in graduate school and took all of her classes online. Back then, she had little time for hobbies.
Finn was always supportive of her professional endeavors. She had recently been promoted to marketing executive and she loved the position. She would be sent as the face of the corporation to woo potential clients. She'd take them to business lunches or out to coffee. Sometimes she'd even host parties where she'd schmooze with various top CEO's of companies, aiming to succeed in reeling them in so that her company could serve as their marketing campaign leads.
Getting to eat at fancy restaurants all around Manhattan fueled her desire to become a better cook and baker. Every time she'd eat a meal that she enjoyed, she tried to recreate it. She didn't follow recipes, just went upon her memories of the tastes from the dishes. Finn seemed to be pleased to benefit from her newly found interest in cooking. He would tease her and call her , "Chef Rey".
Over the years her relationship with Finn had developed from a close friendship to something more. She felt comfortable around Finn. She was grateful to have someone that supported her at all times, who always was her number one cheerleader.
He was always encouraging of her to pursue her passions and to pursue a career pathway that she wanted to. She was ambitious at work. She wanted to be a senior level executive and she knew that would require a lot more schmoozing to get to that level.
The only thing that she felt was lacking from their relationship was passion. Finn was sweet and when he found out that Rey was a virgin when they first started dating , he gave her space. He let her set the pace of their intimacy. He planned out every step of how far they went until they finally went all the way.
Rey's first time with Finn was awkward. He asked her several times if she was comfortable with what they were doing before they proceeded. He touched her slowly and gently. She didn't regret losing her virginity to Finn, she just expected that the more times that they made love the more spontaneous and passionate their love making would become.
Only that never happened.
Finn still planned out everything. He scheduled when they would have sex, which was typically reseverd for the weekends. He even tried to plan for how long each of them would take to orgasm. It was very methodical.
Rey thought that she could live without the spontaneity and the passion though.
Rey thought that she could live without the burning desire to be wanted and needed.
Rey thought that she could live without the feeling that when someone looked at her, she felt like she was the only person that they desired.
There had only been one man that had made her feel like that before and he was gone from her life. She wasn't ever going to see him again.
Ben Solo married another woman.
The biggest betrayal to Rey was that Ben had married a woman that had emotionally tortured Rey for years in school. A woman who looked at Rey like she was just dirt on the soles of her shoes. Bazine had made her feel like she was nothing and a nobody.
He could have been with anyone else but he chose to be with someone who made Rey feel like the lowest of the had told Rey once that she was trash and Rey felt like a piece of trash the moment the Ben told her he wanted to be with Bazine for the rest of his life. He had chosen to propose to someone who was the complete opposite to Rey. Someone who stood for everything that Rey hated. She was spoiled, selfish and downright mean..
He chose Bazine and didn't choose Rey. He didn't even give Rey a chance to finish her declaration of love to him. That still stung.
Ben Solo had broken her heart and she just had to accept that he wasn't a part of her life anymore. She had to accept that the feelings of butterflies in her stomach when she thought about him would eventually go away.
When Finn had taken her to a fancy French restaurant in upper Manhattan that she had begged him for months to take her to a year ago that something was going to change in their relationship.
When he got down on one knee and pulled out a red velvet box with a beautiful half carat diamond ring, surrounded by diamond chips on the band, she gasped. When Finn asked her to marry him and complete his life, she was ecstatic.
It should have been the happiest moment in her life.
She shouldn't have felt regret when she gushed and told him, "Yes" enthusiastically.
There shouldn't have been any regret in saying yes. Yet Rey still felt regret.
Rey still regretted that the man that was holding the ring up to her gaze, down on his knee, smiling at her wasn't the man that made her stomach flip flop. That he wasn't the man that just with one touch seared her skin.
Rey knew that she shouldn't have regret so she buried those feelings inside her and went along planning for their wedding.
Finn let her make more of the decisions. She had planned the date. They were to be married in Paris in six months.
It was her dream wedding location. Paris was the city of love after all. It was somewhere that she had only imagined herself being. The food, the fashion, the ambiance. It was everything that that Rey had ever wanted.
Or at least almost everything that Rey ever wanted.
The main issue was that even with just the two of them going, Paris was expensive so they had spent the last year scrimping and saving for the event.
Rey had picked out a beautiful, old grey stone restaurant that was next to a cathedral as the location.
They had bought the plane tickets. She had her dress picked out. She had planned the menu and reserved a priest.
Rey just loved the idea of getting married in the most romantic city on earth. Rey thought that nothing was going to stop her dream wedding from occurring no matter what.
When Rey walked into work on a Tuesday she was greeted by Gwen Phasma standing by her desk with a giant smile on her face.
"I have very good news. We have secured a timeslot at Chateau LaBlanc's this afternoon for you to meet with the head of the Solo Advertising Firm. ", she said, handing Rey a business card from the restraint that had the time of 12:30 pm and the date scribbled on the back.
Rey's brow knitted in confusion and she bit her bottom lip in concern.
"Solo? That's who the big client that you are trying to persuade to use our firm. Please tell me that the person I am meeting with is not Ben Solo?", Rey's squeaked out. Her voice was raised a few octaves.
Gwen tapped her fingers on Rey's desk. "Darling how did you know that? Are you familiar with Mr. Solo's company?" she asked.
Rey emphatically shook her head. "I'm sorry Gwen. You'll need to find someone else to do that. I just can't", she said gulping and looking down at the floor.
"What is wrong Rey? You are the best one for the job. I am confident in your ability to charm Mr. Solo enough to consider signing with us.I don't have a doubt in my mind that he'll immediately fall for your charm at wit", Gwen gushed as the swung her hands out dramatically. "His firm will be out biggest client that we've had in years"
Rey closed her eyes and let her mind swirl back to the past. The last image that she had of Ben flashed over her. An image of him being dragged back into the chapel by his mother after he had shouted after her as she ran from the chapel. Ran to escape the image of him marrying that bitch Bazine. She couldn't get the look of panic on his face out of her mind.
Then a thought hit her. Something that had not previously occurred to her.
"Did Mr. Solo ask to meet with me directly? ", she questioned.
Gwen raised her eyebrows at Rey as she leaned into the side of her desk. "Come to think of it although he didn't specifically reference you by name he requested "The new marketing executive be the one who joins him for lunch.".
Rey thought about lying to Gwen for a moment and not revealing her past with Ben Solo. Then she decided that omitting some details was the best way to go. Gwen didn't need to hear all of the painful details.
"I knew Mr. Solo because he was my best friend's brother growing up. He always treated me like a sister. We had a falling out eight years ago and I haven't spoken to him since then", Rey explained.
Rey left out the part where she had made a complete fool of herself and tried to tell him that she was in love with him, only to have him tell her that he had just proposed to someone else. She didn't think Gwen needed to know that information.
Gwen cocked her head to the side and looked at her with questioning eyes. Rey imagined that she had many questions.
"A falling out? Well hopefully it was not all that serious because you need to hurry along if you expect to take the F train. Its going to take you at least an hour to get there and that's not accounting for the lunchtime crowding of the subway system." Gwen.
Rey took a deep stuttering breath. She couldn't refuse to go, her job could be on the line. She had no choice but to face her past. To face Ben Solo once again.