What was it expecting when i came outside , nothing screamed inspiration talk less of a thriller , maybe if I read some books or watch a movie based on that genre I may get somewhere , who was I kidding...., I had done that but still nothing g , I sighed I had until next week to present a draft , I wouldn't have anymore excuses to give , as my mind wandered , I saw Denver , his head was down , it looked like he was in deep thoughts , as he approached I felt that fluttering feeling all over again and before I knew it I did the unexpected ...I called him , I didn't know why I did that but as soon as he raised his head and looked at me I just froze , why did I call him ?, what was i going to say?, and then.....he approached me , I couldn't move , he was smiling from ear to ear , he looked like an over active puppy who had found its owner, " Rhea?...", he called my name softly, I should be going right but I just stood there , " do you want to drink some beer?", that question all of a sudden was weird, I don't know what vame over me , maybe it was the fact that he had been giving me food and pastries for that past week or he had excused the kiss, I owed a lot of debt to him and the least I could do was probably accept his offer, " okay....where to then?", it was simple and he just smiled more and my heat helplessly fluttered.
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Rhea stood at the ridge of he bridge , the endless sea stretched far ahead , the sun was setting and it gave the water body a golden glaze, it was so beautiful , nothing had changed since the last time she was here, when last had she been on this bridge , that salty sea breeze which was nauseating to other was now nauseating to her, it was meant something, the illusion had been casted away , it was just salty sea air that was nauseating, nothing special, she heard footsteps, she turned and expectedly it was Denver, he was holding two cans nifty cold beer and a pastry bag was securely tucked under his arm , he was smiling, the type that was contagious but she didn't dare respond back, he looked like a puppy, " sorry if I took too long...", he said as he took a hankerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around the cold can handing it over to Rhea , " it's already cold , don't want your hands getting cold ", he said pushing the can towards , Rhea have an awkward nod before collecting the beer , he had already opened it, when did he do that ?, she took small sip of the beer , it ran down smoothly in her throat, Denver leaned on the railing as he watched her , the sea breeze was palpable, Rhea looked back to the sea , how can place be this peaceful , " its refreshing right?", she turned to look at Denver, " the sunset, xool air , the view of the sea while you drink a can of cold beer , it's refreshing".
Rhea looked at the can of beer in her hand, it was refreshing indeed, she nodded before taking a sip again, it was awkward, the silence and everything was just disturbingly awkward, he pressed her thumb on her can as if to distract herself from the person who was some distance away from her , the sun setting was beautiful , " Rhea.....", Denver called put finally breaking he silence , Rhea thumb pressed until the can more creating a dent, she should answer him , " Rhea looked at him and she saw he was nearr to her now, that pure smile outshone even the ocean view , " remember when we were still in high school , we use i come to this bridge because you said....this was the only place that had the Inspiration you were looking for ......but....", he looked up at her , Rhea held her breath, " what did found mean by that.....if you don't want to answer, there is no....". "Hope...", it was simple and sort, Denver tilted his head and little confused , " hope?", he repeated, Rhea turned fully to him , her hand still resting on the railing , the wind messing with both their hair, " I made sure that every character in my book ...", she looked down,her hand gripping the railing ," hope", it faltered, like it was hard to say , Denver for some reason regretted why he had asked that question , she looked sad , " every character in my book always had hope , a villan in a story had the chance of becoming good again, the protagonist always had hope that things will get better for them or they could love the man or woman they always wanted, the kind of hope where there were still secondary d chances ", she said as she gulped down her beer and crushed the can , all the while Denvers gaze never left hers then a little smirk formex on her lips, " if i had not forgotten how peaceful this place was I would hammer came here sooner ...when was the last time I felt this peaceful .....tsk, probably when I was pregnant".
Denver stilled when he heard that " pregnant?", she was pregnant, his stomach knotted , he couldn't just imagine the he'll she had been through , apart from everything that had happened , she had been pregnant for the scumbag and all he had done was resenting her , resenting himself when all along she had been fighting her own battle , he felt guilty and and a deep seathing pain in his chest.
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Their relationship was based solely on her talent and his management , it's not like they had truly loved each other , were they pretending all along?, most of what happened was it for publicity?, and then all of a sudden their perfect facade began to crumble , fhe relationship they was built on ambition and reputation somehow began to crumble.
Was it the fact that she was afraid of being alone or she was desperate to not lose the public image she had worked so hard to build , either way this engagement could not fail, in a desperate attempt she got pregnant, she thought she could bring him closer instead.....he drifted apart more, their already shaking walls crumbled entirely , eventhough he had left , one thing that held Rhea to keep going was the child in her womb and she swore to give it the life and love she could never have , with this baby in her womb...she had hope.
But then...six months in her child died due to so much stress from working she had a miscarriage,that hope she held unto was gone.
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I looked at Denver who I could not tell what he was feeling , a mixture of emotions , pain, guilt and resentment, i don't know why I told Denver this , probably for the fact that he always listens to me , he was the only one that never judged me , never pressured me into telling him anything , he just patiently listened like he always did , I sifmghed helplessly, I gave him a chance to leave, a woman who put her ambitions first and didn't care about her own child was pathetic.
He came closer to me , his eyes full of until pain and guilt , " if .....if I was just there by your side , if I had looked for you more.....", " it was meant to happen , none of it is your fault , I was the one that pushed ou away....., don't take anything I said to heart" , I almost smiled at his reaction,when last had I seen someone be concerned for me like this, it felt nice. " But still...you went through all of that by yourself ....Rhea...", he stepped closer to me and I couldn't help but look at him , my heart was beating so fast , he was close to me now , just a breath away , ghose hazel brown eyes of his glowed beautifully under the golden sunset, " tou are strong.....don't let anyone tell you otherwise and I....", he lifted his hand , his gaze never leaving mine, neither of us wanting to break eye contact and then..., he gently cupped my cheek , the warmth of his coarse palm and calloused fingers for some reason ...made me feel safe, " I will always be by your side, eventhough you don't need me , you toss me aside , ignore me or push me away .....I will keep coming back ", those words , so gentle, so sincere, when last did anyone ever speak to me like this , when has anyone ever spoken to me like this?. Then there was a loud cracking sound, like something exploding , both I and Denver instinctively looked up, colourful fireworks blasted to the sky , Denver hand fell from my cheek and I lost his warmth , he had a broad smile plastered on his face , " who knew here would have the best view", he said in awesome and a hint of amusement in his voice as he looked back at me , " i had always wanted to see the fireworks....with you Rhea , that had been my wish every year ....", those ten long years and he had never stopped thinking about me , for a brief moment in my life I had forgotten Denver and I felt selfish.
The fireworks kept cracking in the sky , the colours in the sunsetting sky and this moment seemed ethereal, my hand clutched the railing of the bridge and that question from ten years ago popped in my mind, I didn't know why I was thinking about it but I suddenly had the urge to ask that question, " Denver...", he looked at me ,his eyes soft like he was ready to listen to anything I had to say, I sighed, " why do you like me?", it asked , the same question i had asked ten years ago, I was nervous but I made sure my words didn't faltered, he leaned on the railing , a confident and gentle smile playing on his lips, the cracking sounds if fireworks seemed to add to the foreboding tension, " cause ....you are Rhea .....i just like you because you are Rhea".
The while world faded and it was just us in this space , there was no time , no thoughts , just us in this world of ours , where we could easily see our feelings , at this very moment I knew for sure that I liked Denver a lot , the cool night felt warm , despite how beautiful the view was we could only see each other , if someone asked me why I liked Denver, I would say...because he is Denver.