Some Enchanted Evening 5

"Meg, you’re back… I missed you so much." Benedict said and he pulled me into a tight hug.

There were a few moments after he said those words that I felt I couldn’t breathe. It was like all the oxygen was sucked out of my system and I could hear my heart beating so loudly. Every thought rushed through my head.

I was shocked. I was angry. I was distressed. Yet most of all, I felt numb. I didn’t know what to say or what to do.

I could still feel his warm embrace and I didn’t know how to tell him the truth.

"I’m not Meg." I said in a small voice.

I could feel his arms tense around my body. He slowly pulled back and looked deep into my eyes. He slowly moved away from me, as if finally realizing his mistake.

"Oh my god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…." He said. He looked even more lost than I was at that moment.

And then I realized something. I wasn’t angry at him. I felt sad for him. I looked at him while he sat down in a chair, with his head held down.

It was then that I finally understood his reason for accepting my proposal. He was just as lost as I was. He was in love with a girl he could never have. He was looking at his company that was gradually getting destroyed.

He just wants all his dreams to come true, just like me. And he would do everything in his power just to see that even one of his dreams would become reality.

I understood him then. In so many ways we were alike. We were both brave on certain matters. And we were afraid of the same things.

"It’s okay." I said. His eyes looked at me intently, asking a question.

"It wasn’t part of the deal that you would love me. It also wasn’t part of the deal for you to stop loving someone else. So I don’t care how you feel. It’s not that sort of relationship anyway," I tried to sound as dignified and convincing as someone defeated could do.

"Just don’t keep things like this from me again…" I said, while turning away. I didn’t look back to make sure he was following me. I walked out of the door and to his car. And then I waited for him.

It was after a while when we drove for about 10 minutes that we reached the restaurant. We haven’t spoken for the whole time and I didn’t really want to talk.

The restaurant was very unique in many ways. It was in a very secluded area, with a lake view. The house was built in the early 1900’s. It was remodeled recently as a restaurant by the owners, while still keeping some of the original pieces.

We sat in the rightmost table, overlooking the shimmering, crystal lake. It was the most beautiful time in the year to come here. The moon was shining its dim light into the water, and it shimmered as if asking you to dive in.

I could see a small boat in the water where a couple was sitting side by side. They were laughing and drinking while just gliding in the water. I’d never felt so envious of other people’s happiness before.

"What do you want to eat?" Benedict’s voice interrupted my thoughts. Sure enough, the waiter was already beside us, waiting for our orders.

I scanned the menu before settling on grilled fish and buttered vegetables. It was funny to think that I felt this to be a real date. I was even afraid of ordering something that would show how large my appetite was.

When the food came, we quietly sat there, munching on the delicious fresh fish in the mouth-watering sauce. I wasn’t usually a quiet eater, but I wasn’t that good at starting conversations.

He finally broke the silence. "So, aside from dating guys, what else do you like to do?" He asked in a joking manner.

That finally made me laugh, and it was a real, no-holds-barred laugh.

"Well, aside from conning guys into going out with me, I also enjoy traveling to different countries. I love painting the scenery and taking photographs of weird-looking people," I joked.

"What about you? What do you do when you’re not dating around girls who con you?"

"Well, instead of telling you… I’ll show you instead." He said.

In a flash, he stood up and walked towards the band that just finished playing "Moonlight sonata."

I saw him whisper something in the pianist’s ear. And the man smiled in answer to his request.

After a few moments, I heard the faint sounds of the piano drifting in the air. It was a sad sound at first, as if trying to portray a deep longing for something.

Then suddenly, the sound became more vibrant. It was telling the story of love that was lost, and then found again. I turned to look at the man playing the piano.

To my surprise, the pianist was Benedict. The sound was so intoxicating that even the other people were somehow drawn to the man playing this instrument. You could actually hear time stop for just a few minutes while he was playing the most beautiful song.

And as the song drew to a climax, the room grew even more silent. The end of the song was met by applause.

I stood up and applauded with the people around me. There was a large smile on my face as I saw him walk towards our table.

As he slowly walked towards me, I felt it again. It was a weird feeling of falling into a deep hole, as if never reaching the ground. And when he held my hand and brushed his lips against it, I knew that he had caught me once again.
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Hi everyone! I really enjoyed reading the comments from the last stories, so I got inspired to write this part. I hope you like it. Don't forget to tell me what you think about the story so far. Thank you!