Wooing The Ex-Wife
Chapter 34: The One Who Almost Got Away (2)

Liza shifted her eyes from the printed sheet in her hand to the man standing in front of her, her heart pounding, her brain trying to comprehend the situation. "Why?" she asked, it was the only word she could speak without punching Jonathan and wrapping her hands around him at the same time. "What do you mean by why? You are getting promoted Liz. You have worked your ass off, you deserve it." Jonathan said, his smile stretching wide, nearly splitting his face. However there was a brittleness to his smile, as if it would fall any second, breaking the façade he had woven so intricately. "Don't turn this Jonathan. Why are you going back?" Liza asked glaring at him. She didn't want promotion, she loved her job and was content doing what she did. She didn't want to be the managing director, especially if it meant Jonathan leaving for New York.

"Its high time I go back to New York. West industries is a large corporation Liz. I can't manage it from here. This company is now stable. Besides it is still a part of west Industries and I am still the chairman of this company. Think of it as filling in for me when I am not available." he said gently. He could see that Liza was upset and he hated it but he had no choice except to leave. He couldn't just stay that close to her and not fall for her. He needed to put some distance between them. He had managed to put his feelings for Liza on the back burner for a long time and now they were bursting to come forward, they were bubbling threatening to overflow from the carefully constructed dam in which he held them. Last time he had managed to live through her rejection because he had understood her reasons but this time it would be fatal for him. He couldn't allow it to happen again, it would only hurt them both, so the only choice was to create a ridge, to move away from her.

Liza could see a million emotions passing through Jonathan's eyes as he stared at her. She thought that they were going well, she thought that they were moving towards something more, however it turned ou that she was wrong. Had she misinterpreted his playfulness as flirting? Were they really just friends now and even if they were was it so easy for him to go away? Liza shook her head, she was being too selfish. She couldn't expect Jonathan to stay in California forever, she had forgotten that he had his headquarters at New York, that he had a mega industry to manage. It was no longer like old days, he had responsibilities to fulfill and duties to uphold, she couldn't expect him to put everything on hold for her especially when she had been the one to reject him, the one who had inhibition about going further than friendship. But could she survive it, could she handle letting him go again? She had left him because he had betrayed her, turned her into someone she was not but he was also the one who had changed himself, learnt from his faults, stood by her as she dated another man and supported her after her break up with him. He was the same man who cared for her more than he cared for himself, while Alice and Alex had been in honeymoon phase of their relationship, he had shown up at her house on Sunday mornings insisting on visiting one place or another, keeping her from holing herself in the house.

Liza placed the paper down on the desk and pushed herself up in a standing position, the dark mahogany table between them. "Do you really have to go?" she asked. "Yes" he replied looking into her eyes, there was nothing but sincerity. Jonathan's minty smell was surrounding her, the corner of the table was pressing into her, causing slight irritation. She ignored it. She was focused on his eyes, searching through his soul. She hoped that what she was going to do was right, hoped against all odds that it wasn't a mistake, that it was the right thing to do. She wondered if she would regret what she was going to do later in her life, if she would look back at her life and curse herself for doing it again. She steeled herself, it wasn't the time for hesitation, it was time to make a decision and then in one swift motion she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to Jonathan's.☐☐☐☐☐☐