Eight years together, with a promise to get engaged the moment he met my parents. And once again, Arthur Delgado broke it.
His message lit up my screen. "I'm at the police station. Had to teach some idiot a lesson for Tessa."
"Let's do your family another time. I can't get away right now. She's scared, all alone here."
I stood in the departure lounge, staring at the crowd, and everything in front of me swam and blurred.
I crouched down to steady myself, blinked back the sting in my eyes, and typed back, "Tenth time. You're really standing me up again?"
Every time I told them I'd bring my boyfriend home, my parents lit up like it was the best news in the world.
The two of them would be up at dawn, laying out a full spread, watching the door, waiting and waiting.
And every single time, they couldn't hide the disappointment in the end.
This was the tenth time. I'd sworn to them that, no matter what, I'd bring him home.
The message went out. Arthur didn't answer.
Clinging to one last shred of hope, I rushed to the police station.
"Arthur, if we leave now we can still make it to the airport—"
The moment I spoke, Tessa Winfield's voice came just as softly. "Arthur."
That was all she said after his name. She just looked at him, gentle and waiting.
Time stalled, like some silent choice hanging in the air.
Two seconds later, Arthur pulled his eyes off me, stood, and walked toward the mediation room.
The woman trailing behind him glanced back, her eyes brimming with delight and something like gratitude.
I stood where I was for a moment, then calmly took out my phone.
"Sorry to bother you out of nowhere. I have to meet my family tonight, and I'm short a boyfriend. Would you be willing?"
——
After I sent it, I put the phone away and followed them into the mediation room.
The mood inside was heavy.
The man who'd taken the beating refused to back down, wouldn't apologize, and was demanding a hefty payout.
Arthur was just as unyielding. The money didn't matter to him. His one condition was that the man apologize to the woman beside him, the one named Tessa Winfield.
With both sides deadlocked, Tessa was the one to give ground.
"Arthur, let it go. I don't need an apology from someone like him."
The man let out a hard, scornful snort. His gaze slid past Arthur and Tessa and landed on me.
"You're his girlfriend?"
He sneered. "Your boyfriend's guarding some other woman this hard, biting my head off over an apology, and you don't even min—"
"Mm," I cut him off quietly. "I don't mind."
I didn't look at Arthur's face. As I turned to go, I said, "Arthur, I'll wait for you outside."
The whole mediation lasted forty minutes.
I sat alone outside the door, replying one by one to my relatives' well-wishes.
The messages wouldn't stop flashing, everyone thrilled that I was finally bringing my boyfriend home to meet the family.
Inside the room, even after the offended man no longer cared to chase down an apology, Arthur kept his words sharp, refusing to yield an inch.
Tessa sat beside him, leaning on him, trusting him in a way that had long since crossed the line of a mere business partner.
Originally, Arthur was supposed to go to the airport with me today.
This morning Tessa called to say she wanted to scout out a project, and he threw on a suit and walked out the door.
Said he was interested in the project too.
And then the man who was always so humble and mild raised his fists for his business partner, and stood me up in front of my parents all over again.
My phone buzzed. My sister, calling to ask if I'd boarded yet.
I gave her the rough version of what had happened.
When she spoke, she sounded sadder than I did. "That woman's been clawing her way close to him for two years now. How many times is this? Hiding behind 'work' over and over, it never ends—"
The door to the mediation room swung open.
I glanced back, then turned away. "Zoe, don't tell Mom and Dad about this. I'll handle it myself."
She ground her teeth, furious, but afraid of upsetting me, she said nothing more.
Arthur walked Tessa to the door, traded a few words with her, and only then strolled over to my side, unhurried.
