The Way to Never (The Never Trilogy Book 2), page 26
True, hers was different because technically she wouldn’t be dying, but I didn’t know if I could live with her completely dependent on me.
There was a knock on the door then and it made me frown.
“Yes?”
Gloria my housekeeper came in. “Your mother is here,” she announced.
“Gloria there’s no need, I’m coming in,” Elizabeth said from the hallway just before she entered the studio.
“Please get me some iced tea,” Elizabeth said and made her way over to the long wooden center table to put down her purse. Gloria remained at the doorway looking anxious.
I turned towards Elizabeth. “We don’t have any iced tea.”
“Can I make you tea instead?” Gloria asked.
She sighed.
“Please do,” I told Gloria, and she turned and went on her way.
“What’s happening to you?” Elizabeth asked. “You’re not returning my calls.”
“I’ve been busy,” I said to her as I got to my feet. I put my shirt on and went over to the refrigerator to retrieve a can of beer. The whole room smelt like turpentine.
“Let’s go to the balcony, I need some air,” I told her and she heartily complied. A few minutes later, tea had been served and we were discussing the auction that one of our galleries was scheduled to participate in in the coming week.
“How’s Lenora doing?” she asked out of the blue.
“She seems okay,” I replied. “I don’t understand why.”
“There’s still no improvement in her legs?”
I shook my head and took a sip from my can.
“What do you want to do?”
It took a while before I replied. “I really don’t know. I didn’t sign up for this.”
She was quiet for a while and let me speak.
“I don’t even know how long this is going to go on for.”
“Are you ready to give up everything to take care of her?”
“I can’t. I wish I could but I don’t want to. It means I’ll be giving up everything just to make sure that she’s okay. It means I’ll be sacrificing my life for her. I can’t do that.”
“Don’t you love her?” Elizabeth asked.
“I do. That’s why it’s hurting me so much. Why did this have to fucking happen?”
I got up from my chair and walked over to the cement railing. I didn’t know what to do to myself. I felt so selfish but damn it, it was my life too and I deserved to choose.
“You know what?” Elizabeth said. “You’re not getting married now. Take care of her as much as you can, and watch. If her legs don’t get better then you can leave in the name of love. You did your best, but you’re a human being too. Just like she didn’t choose this, you also shouldn’t have to choose. That’s just the way it is.”
I was considering what she said when my phone started ringing, so I turned around and went back to the table to pick it up.
Lenora was the one calling.
“Hey,” I said. “Is everything alright?”
“It is,” she replied in a quiet voice.
“Okay, do you want me to come over?”
“No, no, I’m fine. Just wanted to see how you were doing. Go back to work.”
I sighed. “Okay, call me if you need anything.”
“I will,” she said, so I hung up the phone.
“What did she want?” Elizabeth asked. I was about to reply when the phone rang again. I was surprised to see that it was Lenora, again.
“Hey, what is it?” I asked, somewhat worried.
“I uh … I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Okay,” I replied, and walked back over to the railing. My heartbeat picked up its pace but I wasn’t sure if it was out of anxiety or hope. What was she going to say?
“Um I …” she began, “what I … I was um, thinking … and I don’t um, I want …”
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Why are you stuttering? What do you want to say?”
I stole a brief glance at Elizabeth and saw that her eyes had widened. She got up from her chair.
I heard Lenora take a deep breath. “I was thinking we should get married.”
My heart dropped into my stomach, and for the next few seconds, I couldn’t speak.
“I know you’re surprised but I’d like to live with you, and uh, I … just think about it, okay. No rush.”
“When?” I asked, when I could find my voice. “When do you want to?”
“Um, I was thinking soon, as soon as you can.”
I was quiet for a few more moments, and then I spoke. “Okay.”
She didn’t speak for the next ten seconds. “Okay, what?”
“Okay, let’s get married.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am. I love you, and I’m ready to do this. So, just get back to me with the date that you want and we’ll get married.”
“Okay,” she replied.
“I love you,” I told her.
“You too … I mean, me too,” she said, and she hung up.
I turned around to see Elizabeth’s shocked face. “What are you doing?” she asked.
I returned to my seat.
“Didn’t we just finish talking about this?”
“Mom,” I said quietly. “I caused this accident.”
“So that’s a reason to sacrifice your life for hers?”
“I’m not sacrificing my life.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“She’s picking a date soon. It means I don’t have to wait as long as I thought I would have. We could have waited a year, or maybe even more but now it might be probably a month or less. She’s obviously worried that I’ll leave her so I won’t, but only for a while.”
“What do you mean by only for a while?”
“People get divorced all the time, and for varied reasons. Many will come up in the year after we’re married and then I’ll leave, but I’ll be able to do that without feeling guilty that I caused the accident and then abandoned her. I’d rather suck it up and pay my dues for a year then get divorced and be able to move on with my life.”
“What if she refuses to give you a divorce?”
“She won’t. She doesn’t need me or anyone for that matter to be by her side. She’s just doing this now because she’s scared. She’d rather be alone than unhappy, she’s told me this many times.”
“I don’t like this.”
“I know. Neither do I.
Lenora
Four days had passed since the phone call with Wendy. And in that time, I’d pondered continuously on the entire issue before I’d finally been able to garner the courage to pick up my phone and call Damian.
And to my surprise, he’d shocked the life out of me.
I was in my dressing room, and sitting on the floor, trembling. I had been standing when he’d accepted, and thereafter, my legs had given out.
He said yes…why did he say yes?
I picked up my phone and called Wendy.
“He said yes,” I told her.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean?” I asked, angry.
“Whoa, that’s surprising. Did you tell him in six months or one week?”
“I told him as soon as possible.”
“As soon as possible doesn’t freak anyone out. The point was to freak him out.”
“Wendy, what do I do?”
“Nothing. You pick a date and send it to him. You wanted to know if he would stay with you, right? There’s your answer.”
“Wendy?”
She sighed. “Do you know why I did this Lenora? I did this so you could finally toss the coin. I didn’t know if Damian was going to say yes, but the point of this wasn’t to find out if he would. The coin has landed on your palm now and its tails, but I needed you to find out what you were hoping for when it was still in the air. And you did, that’s why you’re panicked now. Now it’s time for you to make a decision. I can’t do that for you.”
“Wendy …”
“Go after what you want,” she said. “But do it wisely. Call me back when you make a decision.”
*
More than twenty minutes later, I didn’t even realize that the phone was still against my ear until it started ringing. Absentmindedly, I picked it up without even checking to see who it was and heard Nathan’s voice.
“Where are you?” he asked. “I found a new drama for us to watch.”
I jumped off the floor and back into my wheelchair, tears burning my throat.
“I’m in my dressing room,” I replied, and a few seconds later he came in with a big smile on his face. The tears wanted to choke me.
“Hey,” he said. “How has your day been?” He crouched down and slowly ran the back of his knuckles down my cheeks, his beautiful blue eyes boring into mine. I couldn’t stop myself. The tears poured out of my eyes.
“What is it?” he asked, instantly worried.
He held my shoulders. “Nora,” he said softly but I couldn’t stop. I’d made a mess of everything.
“Are you alright?”
He lifted me out of the wheelchair and into his arms. He took me to the bedroom and laid me on the bed then he knelt down beside me.
“Stop crying,” he said, but I couldn’t stop so he just let me be until I was able to calm down. My heart was so heavy that it wanted to explode. I had made such a mess and I didn’t know what to do.
“Nora,” he said, and I turned to him. “What is it?”
“Kiss me,” I told him, and I leaned forward to take his lips in mine.
All the times I’d kissed him before, it had been because I wanted to feel – because I wanted to feel that overwhelming, heart-consuming fire that he wracked throughout my body every, single, time. He’d made me feel that way when I was fifteen- invincible, as if nothing could harm me just because I was with him. Thirteen years later, he still made me feel the exact same way- safe, and cherished, and loved to a degree that I couldn’t even fathom. And I was about to lose it all.
This kiss was a desperate one. Just in case everything went downhill from here and I never got the chance to do it again. It was probably a last kiss. So, like I’d never fully done before, I poured my soul into it. In that kiss was my fear, my strength and my love, and I was gifting it all to him and saying thank you. Thank you for being you, and I’m sorry for being me.
He noticed like I knew he would and because he’d never felt me completely lose myself to him, he relished it, and kissed me even harder than I him. Then he stopped, and in my mind it registered that it was probably one of the hardest things that he’d had to do because it was the same for me. But I didn’t want him to stop, so I leaned forward again, but he leaned back a bit. His chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
“What’s going on?” he asked, but I didn’t respond. I leaned forward again, but this time he stood up and backed away.
“Lenora.”
“Nathan, just kiss me, please.”
“No,” he said. “I feel so sorry that I let this happen but I can’t keep doing it. I don’t want to put you in this position.”
He was talking about Damian, and he was backing away. He was leaving.
“Nathan, wait!” I yelled and he stopped.
“I broke up with Damian.”
“What?”
“We broke up.”
“When?”
“Today.”
He started moving towards me, the shock evident on his face. He couldn’t believe it.
“Why? What happened?”
He reached me and wrapped his arms around me to pick me up while I put mine arms around his neck. He took me to the wall, and moved his arms down underneath me so he could support my weight against it.
“Why?” he asked again.
Tears gathered in my eyes. “Because I want you.”
“Have you forgiven me for leaving?”
“No, but we’ll deal with that. You’ll pay for it.”
“I accept,” he said. “Whatever you want I’ll do. I’ll get down on my knees. I’m so sorry.” Tears were in his eyes too. “Oh my god. Thank you. Thank you.”
“What if my legs don’t recover?”
He smiled. “I know it sounds cheesy as fuck but, I’ll be your legs. Literally.” He tucked my hair behind my ears. “Who else is going to take care of you better than I will?”
“Nathan …” I said, my voice breaking.
“I love you Lenora, if only you can ever understand just how much.”
He kissed me and everything in me went limp.
I wasn’t lying to him. I meant it. The moment he walked out of here, I was going to call Damian and speak to him. I’d broken my promise that I’d never let Nathan come between us, but I could live with that. However, I didn’t want to live without Nathan.
Seconds passed, and then minutes, but we didn’t stop. I kissed him with the wonder of a first and the agony of a last.
But then I made a mistake.
I wrapped my legs around him, and at first he didn’t notice. Neither did I.
But then he did… and instantly, he froze.
The End
AUTHOR’S NOTE
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I really didn't plan on stopping here but, oh well. Come throw potatoes at me on Facebook or Twitter...I'll be waiting with a hug for you.
I really hope you enjoyed this one. And I'm working my ass off to ensure that you do not wait too long for the final book. Thank you so much for sticking with me. Your support means the entire world to me.
The Truth of Never will be out in August or Early September. Official date will be announced soon.
Love,
Omoye Elizabeth Boroni.
Website: oeboroniauthor.com
Facebook: O. E. Boroni
Twitter: @writersaremade
You can also click on this link to sign up for my private newsletter which will enable you to receive insider information about my upcoming projects, events, extras, prize giveaways, and other newsworthy items.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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This will be the second book I'm publishing, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you because if it wasn't for the support of so many of you, the kind and encouraging reviews, and the overwhelming way that you have embraced my work, I probably would have slowed down. But I didn't and I won't, because your support has pushed me to become better and to write with the amazing knowledge that there are wonderful people expecting this, and hoping to love it.
To all the readers of "The Beginning of Never" and now "The Way to Never”, I'm saying a big thank you.
Sometimes writing a novel can feel a bit too isolated, and that's where the doubts come in, but with these people by my side, always willing to spend their precious time in reading my stories and giving feedback, it has become one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Uyino, I love you. I mean it. You've been reading my work for years and even when I believed it was crap, you encouraged me to continue. Thank you for reading the first half of this book and giving me the green light that encouraged me to keep going.
Jolie Mcadoo, you were the first person I gave my first book to review, and I was scared to death, but your response blew me away. That solidified you as a friend in my heart and when I reached out to you for this second one, you responded so whole heartedly. You're amazing Jolie, and I want say a big thank you.
Victoria, and Favour, thank you so much for providing me with all the medical information that I needed to write this book. Your willingness to share your experiences and provide the support that I needed humbles me. Thank you.
To Viano, we went to secondary school together and although we weren't so close, our love of books brought us together. The first official romance novel that I read was yours. I borrowed it from Kome, and that is what has put me on this path. I am deeply indebted to you for spreading your love of books all over our school. I don't think I can ever publish a book without ensuring your honesty and expertise as a fantastic writer, turns it over with a fine tooth comb. I almost can't believe how willing and generous you are every time I come calling, and I just want to say thank you. I am eagerly waiting for the day that I can show my gratitude to you a billion times over. You're amazing Viano. Truly amazing.
To my editor, Melissa-Jane Fogarty. Melissa, you rock, and I cannot stress this enough. Truthfully, I don't believe you do when you start going through my work, and pointing out the million and one reasons why my belief that I am a genius is absolute bull. But each time you're done, and I see the magic your work makes in mine, I'm ever so grateful to you. Thank you so much.
Then to my mom. Your support keeps me going. I'm strong today because of you and I'm soft when I need to be because of you. Thank you for believing that every crazy idea I think of is pure genius, and for encouraging me to continuously pursue my dreams. Because I have you, I no longer see the stones that may be in my path. Instead I see the materials to make a bridge with. Thank you.
To my dad and brothers, you all are my foundation, and this is one of the reasons why I never look back. Another is because you all will threaten the hell out of me. Thank you for taking my progress so personally, and ensuring that I am always motivated to keep on moving forward. I love you all.
To Paula, my amazing Publicist and friend. Your enthusiasm and creativity has made my life a million times easier. Thank you so much for being an amazing person.
And finally, to my God. Left to my own devices, I cannot write to save my life. not to talk of making up stories that can truly speak to someone else’s heart. You are the greatest artist of all time, and I thank you for taking me under your wings and teaching me with each book that I write, to be better. You're my greatest inspiration and source of strength, everything I am today is because of you.
God, I love you. Thank you for being more than a father to me, but also a best friend. You rock!!!
OTHER BOOKS BY O. E. BORONI
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The Beginning of Never
The Truth of Never
O. E. Boroni, The Way to Never (The Never Trilogy Book 2)
