Then my hand touched the emerald diamond necklace around my neck and I instantly felt awful for doubting Connor’s love for me. Stop it, Liv! Why do you keep thinking the worst of Connor? Have some faith in him for a change. I let out a deep sigh and tried to reclaim some of the hope I had from earlier today. I knew that if our relationship was to work, I had to show just as much understanding, patience, and trust in Connor as he has been showing me over the last month and a half. I had to believe that he would keep his promise. I had to believe that he’d be home tomorrow morning and he’d be there to wake me up so we could spend my birthday together.
***
The next morning, Connor was indeed the one to wake me up.
But he wasn’t there in the room.
Instead, it was his call that woke me up. The alarm clock on my bedside table said it was 6:56 a.m. I sat up against the bed and yawned. As I pressed the button to pick up the call, I clung on to the hope that he was just calling to let me know that he was on his way home.
“Hello?” My voice was tentative as I held my breath, waiting for him to start talking.
“Happy birthday, Liv.” There was a forced cheerfulness in his voice, and it immediately sent a wave of dread and disappointment to wash over me.
“Hey. Are you on the train yet?” I refused to give up the hope that he would be here today.
“Baby, I…” There was a pause, and it was then that any shred of hope I had left had evaporated into that silence.
“You’re not coming back today, are you?” My voice was flat as I answered my own question.
There was a pause before he answered. “Liv, I’m so sorry, honey. I hate to have to do this to you, but the client wants to finalize this entire deal by tomorrow. I thought we still had until next week. I’m so terribly sorry. Please don’t be upset.”
I was too disappointed to know how to respond.
“Liv, I promise we’ll celebrate your birthday when I’m back,” he pled.
You also promised you’d be back today, I wanted to say to him.
“Please say something.” I could hear the desperation in his voice, and I felt conflicted with how I felt. I was upset. I wanted him to know how upset I was that he’d broken his promise. But I was also afraid that if I said anything now in the heat of the moment, I’d regret it later.
“I’m not sure what to say, Connor. I’d be lying if I said I was okay with the fact that you won’t be here today. I was really looking forward to the birthday plans you had made.”
“I know, baby. I was really looking forward to spending the day with you too. You have to know that I would much rather be spending the day with you out at Milburn Orchard and having a nice romantic dinner than with a dozen employees in this stuffy conference room for the next fifteen hours working non-stop and eating out of take-out boxes. Liv, if I could delay this for a different day and spend today with you, I would.”
I did believe him. I knew he had been working really hard lately. I knew the company was very important to him. And I knew this client was a big deal for the company. But none of that knowledge was enough to minimize the huge disappointment I felt inside. None of that knowledge was enough to bring back the hope I had felt for our relationship before this call.
“Liv, I know this isn’t an ideal situation.”
I frowned at how he chose to describe his broken promise.
But before I could say something, he continued, “So because I can’t be there to celebrate your birthday with you, I had Bill plan a special spa and shopping day for you. He’ll email you all the details and Jim will drive you around.”
I wasn’t sure why, but this made me even more upset. Not only was this not an ideal situation, but I found it offensive that Connor thought having his assistant plan a spa and shopping day to keep me busy would be an acceptable alternative. I wasn’t sure how I was before, or how our relationship was, but this didn’t feel okay to me. If Anna had been right, then a huge part of our relationship revolved around Brady Global. So if the company was out of the equation, if I didn’t work there or care about the company, would this be how our relationship would become? Would we barely see each other and would he try to solve any problems we might have with money?
“That’s okay, Connor,” I said flatly. “I’ll be fine today. I’m not in the mood for a spa and shopping day.”
“Liv, baby, are you upset?”
That’s a dumb question. “Let’s just talk about this whenever you actually get back.”
Before he could say another word, I hung up on him, making it clear to him that I was upset, that what he did was not okay with me.
Part of me expected him to call me right back to apologize and make sure I was okay. But he didn’t. Instead, a few minutes later I received an email from Bill with an itinerary of my spa and shopping day he had planned out for me. At the top of the email before the itinerary, Bill wrote:
Dear Ms. Stuart,
Mr. Brady sends his deepest apologies for missing your birthday today. He has asked me to tell you that he understands that you may be a little upset, but he promises to make it up to you when he is back in Philadelphia.
I wish you a very happy birthday today. If you do not have anything planned yet for the day, I have taken the liberty to plan a relaxing spa and shopping day for you. All the massages and spa treatments have been scheduled and listed below in the itinerary. Also, Jim will be at your disposal and will happily take you to wherever you’d like to go.
If there is anything else you’d like me to plan, please do not hesitate to ask.
Best regards,
Bill
I deleted the email from my inbox, unable to accept its existence for another second. As I sunk back down into the bed and under the sheets, I felt the heaviness of disappointment weigh down against my heart. I wanted to believe that due to this demanding client and the time-sensitive deal, Connor had been on edge, and his behavior toward me this week was just a fluke. But after each disappointment, I became less and less sure.
Then my phone began to ring, and I immediately thought it was Connor calling me back to explain himself. But when I looked at the caller ID, what little hope I had left crumbled. It was Anna.
“Hey, Anna.” I forced a cheerful tone.
“Happy birthday, Liv!”
“Thanks.”
“Well I know you’re about to go have a fun and amazing day with your loving fiancé, but I wanted to catch you before you guys left and wish you a happy birthday!”
A tear rolled down my face as I listened to Anna’s warm happy, well wishes.
“Thank you,” was all I could manage to say in response. I thought about telling her what had just happened moments ago, but something stopped me. My pride. I felt embarrassed and stupid, and I couldn’t bear to tell her that the day Connor had planned for my birthday wasn’t going to happen.
“Well I don’t want to keep you. Call me tomorrow? You can tell me all about your fabulous day.”
“Sure, I’ll call you tomorrow. Thanks for calling, Anna.”
I hung up the phone before my voice failed me. I bowed my head and felt sorry for myself. I was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster Connor had pushed me through in the past few days. I no longer had the energy to pretend that I was okay, that I was happy with how things were going.
I grabbed my journal from my bedside table and opened it. As the pen moved quickly across the pages, I was surprised by how easy it was to pour out my thoughts onto the page.
…Today is my birthday, and I’ve never felt more alone and scared in my life…
Just then, I was pulled into a new flashback.
“I’m home.” His words were slurred as I heard him stumble through the front door.
I looked up from my diary as he walked into the living room. “Hi dad. Are you okay?” I knew the answer to that question. From the way he was swaying in place and the smell coming from his clothes, I knew he had been drinking.