The Romantic

There is something missing in our relationship. Sophia surprised herself with her silent confession.

The truth of it resonated within her. She knew from watching Joshua sleeping beside her that he must have felt it too.

“Why?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

The morning sun peered through the blinds. Did she sense that Joshua did not love her as fervently as Hadriel once had? Did she now long for that kind of adoration after years of being convinced that she did not need it to feel complete?

Joshua shifted in his sleep. She smiled weakly at him. It was impossible to know if it was time or circumstance that united them, for both occurred simultaneously. They were in essence; betrothed to each other, but was it true love?

For a moment she wondered why they were engaged. She dared to consider if perhaps she might have felt happier with Hadriel. Then she repented the imprudent thoughts and rolled out of bed.

After she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, Joshua opened his eyes. When he was certain that she would not immediately return to the bedroom, he grabbed his phone off the nightstand.  

“Lunch?” read the text message from Gabriela Martinez-Alvarez.

The mirage of his memories had returned at last. Joshua had taken the call in his office a week before, from a woman who refused to give her name to his secretary. When he heard her voice on the other end of the line, his breathing had grown shallow.

They agreed to meet for drinks and discuss a business proposition. When Joshua saw her, he knew immediately that his destiny had been irrevocably altered.