Jia
My soul weeps for him.
I gaze up into the beauty of his soul as I see it. It’s pure, the same purity as the love he’s always shown me.
It holds the same magic.
I would never have guessed that his father was so evil. I can’t imagine the horror his father’s girlfriend and their child must have felt. I can’t begin to conceive it. It’s more than evil. There’s a lump in my throat that’s swelled to fill the space. It’s almost suffocating, and it constricts my lungs as I try to breathe past the horrific story Paul’s just shared with me.
I touch his face and continue to gaze into his eyes, remembering the day we first met.
That day, he was different to every other time. He’d shown me a softer side that had suffered from the cruel hand his father dealt him. It’s that same boy I’m looking at now.
That day was the first time he showed me his soul.
I see it now, full of love for me. I wish I’d known the truth before and how he felt about himself because I would have said the same thing I’m about to say now.
“I would never think you were anything like your father, Paul. There is no one like you. You aren’t him. Nothing like him at all. I’m sorry he did what he did and hurt you so deeply, and that’s as far as my thoughts go in regard to him. Nothing more. I love you.”
A tear slides down his cheek, and he reaches for me.
“I love you too, Jia. I’ve always loved you.”
“Then we need to move forward together and leave the past behind us. Just the bad parts. Only the bad parts. I don’t want to forget how I fell so hard for you.”
“Don’t…”
“I won’t.” I reach for his hand holding the box with the ring, and I stare at the soft velvet. “Will you still give it to me?”
“Yes… but on a happier day. A day like what I planned. So I can surprise you.”
“I’ll wait.”
My heart soars into the heavens when he lowers his head and kisses me. It feels different, like I just found the missing piece of my soul.
He is.