Chapter 22: Shoulder to Cry On

"Here," William placed the cup of tea he had ordered in front of Dell. "This should help calm you down."

Dell tried to stop, tried to tell herself that this was no big deal. This was a fake relationship anyway. But the tears just won't stop. Even after William had taken her to a cafe near her place, she had just followed him quietly, but the tears continued falling. Even when William took his seat in front of her, she just sat there sobbing, unable to say anything to him. But thankfully, he just sat there quietly and allowed her to cry.

"Forget about him," William said at length.

She looked up to William's serious face.

"He's not worth your tears," he continued.

She told herself it wasn't as if she missed Sean. She just felt... rattled at the turn of events. Truth be told, it wasn't the breaking up that broke her heart. "I was... I was too hard on him, wasn't I?"

"I wouldn't know. I just met him today."

"And that was rude of me, wasn't it? Leaving him at the party and going off with Raphael to meet business contacts."

"... Yeah, that felt a little off."

"So, it is my fault." Her tears started falling anew.

"Even so. He still shouldn't have made a scene like that." He picked up the paper napkin on the table. "If he really loved you, he wouldn't embarrass you like that."

Well, he doesn't, actually, Dell thought. Of course she couldn't tell William that. But why was she crying? Did his rejection actually hurt her? Had she perhaps developed feelings for Sean? Impossible! But...

She was startled out of her thoughts by a sudden touch on her cheek. When she looked, William had started dabbing at her tears with the paper napkin. In a quiet voice, he said, "I would never embarrass you like that."

Dell's heart gave a skip at William's gentle words and gesture. What was happening?! William was being very kind and gentle. "W-william…"

"Your boyfriend's a jerk," he said quietly. "He was supposed to protect you."

She gave a small bitter laugh. "Sean isn't really that kind of guy. He's a very leave-alone kind of person."

"Then what's the point of having him as a boyfriend?"

"It works for me most of the time. I don't like being coddled. I value my space."

"Stop protecting him, Dell."

She looked at him and saw his expression soften.

"You're a wonderful woman. Do you know that? Every bit worth protecting."

She had never really seen William as anything more than a colleague. But here he was, comforting her in her distress. Why had she never seen him, really seen him before now? He had always been nice. But could there be more to this?

Her phone suddenly gave a sound. Wiping her eyes, Dell quickly took out her phone.

William leaned back and crossed his arms. "Is it him?"

"Uh, no. It's… it's a friend of mine." She sniffed. It was from Tim. It read: I've been calling you. What happened? People said you suddenly walked out. Everything ok? Call me! She had twelve missed calls from him. She mustn't have heard it because of everything that was happening. "Hold on," she said, wiping her nose with the paper napkin she was holding. "I need to reply to this."

But she didn't get far. Just as she was about to type, William's hand covered her screen. He gently pried the phone from her hand, placed it face down on the table, and took her hands in his.

"Dell," he said. "You are a strong spirited woman. It pains me to see you reduced to tears like this."

Dell looked down. He was right. Something like this shouldn't be strong enough to defeat her. She shouldn't be letting this affect her too much.

"Break up with him."

Her head shot up. William had a very serious expression on his face.

"He doesn't love you enough to deserve your loyalty."

"Well, he..." She sniffed. She pulled her hands away from William's and hooked her hair behind her ears. "Don't you think it's a bit early to throw in the towel? It's only our first... second... fight."

"Two fights in just your first month? I'd say it's a mismatch that's better ended sooner than later."

"I-I know it looks that way but..." Well, she didn't really have any counter to his logic. "A-anyway, you're right about it being something I shouldn't be crying about. I'll go wash my face."

She stood up to head to the restroom. But as she was passing William's side, he held her wrist, the sudden sensation causing her heart to speed up, and her legs to stop.

William slowly turned to face her. "Will you consider having me as your boyfriend, instead?"

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