Until My Last Breath

by Tiffany Patterson

“I see you’ve closed yourself off. I know when I’m being dismissed.”

  I grunted.

  “This conversation isn’t over.”

  I stared at the papers in my hands for a moment before looking over to my right. When I did, she was gone. I mulled her words over for another minute but then pushed them out of my mind. I was doing the right thing. Patience would eventually get on board with my decision.

  Without even realizing what I was doing, I pressed the button to talk to the one man I owed my life to.

  “Didn’t you just hang up the phone with my wife?”

  “Good morning, Father,” I responded.

  “Morning, son. You’re headed to the breakfast meeting with Truth Financials?”

  I nodded even though he couldn’t see me through the phone. “Yes, I’ll have a full report to the board by the end of the week.”

  “I’m certain you will. But you didn’t call to discuss business.”

  “I didn’t.” I paused. “When you were courting Mother, was there anything or anyone that stood in your way?” I didn’t understand why I wanted to know the answer to that question but I did.

  “Have you met me?”

  I let out a small chuckle.

  “There were a few that tried, however.”

  Raising my right wrist to my face, I saw that I had another twenty minutes before we would arrive at the restaurant. With that knowledge, I sat back against the seat and began listening, undistracted, to my father’s story.

  ****

  Then

  Robert

  “This is not the best time to be doing something like this, son.” My father’s voice was thick with agitation.

  I gave him a deadpan expression, refusing to allow myself to give into the anger that consumed me whenever he dared to speak of my and Deborah’s relationship. It was, after all, our engagement party, and the last thing Deborah would want is for me to make a scene.

  “Something like this?” I questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

  “Yes, this.” He nodded, looking around the expansive space of the foyer we stood in. We were in Townsend Manor, the home I’d grown up in and that my parents currently lived in. The Manor, as it was often referred to, was a ten-thousand-square-foot mansion which resided on over six acres of land. My father’s father had purchased the property when my father was still a teenager, and began building Townsend Manor once my father took over Townsend Industries. It was the only home I’d ever known before moving away to go to college. And while it had been large enough, I refused to move back in once I returned to Williamsport, much to both of my parents’ dismay.

  Townsend Manor hadn’t been my first choice to host our engagement party, but my mother had insisted. And Deborah had been pleased at her invitation, thereby practically twisting my arm to agree. Now, here we were, two months after announcing our engagement and my father was in my face about it.

  “This,” I began, “is my fucking engagement party, in case you failed to understand.”

  “I recognize that, and I am asking you if you believe this is the right time to be getting married? Townsend Industries is still mired in all of these leaks, the board keeps on my ass about our stock prices, and this damn energy crisis won’t let up.” His voice was tense and full of the stress of everything he’d just mentioned. I watched as he ran his forefinger along the collar of his tuxedo shirt, to provide space between the collar and his thick neck, obviously overheating.

  I stepped closer. “You don’t think I’ve been working on everything you’ve just mentioned? How many times have I told you that Townsend needs to expand our product and services line? The energy markets are too tumultuous with everything going on internationally, for us to be so reliant on oil. Technology is the wave of the future, and you keep getting in the fucking way of—”

  “Now you listen, son. You might have done a good job helping to run Townsend while I was ill—”

  “Helping? Is that what you fucking call it?” I questioned, moving even closer. “I did more than help. I’ve been running this goddamn company for the better part of five years. You know it and I know it. The only people who don’t know it is the board, and I know how much you don’t want them to find out.”

  He grunted, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, once they do find out, we’ll see how much they think of you running the company with falling stock prices and a decreasing market reach.”

  “Because you won’t take your foot all of the way off the gas. You won’t fully implement any of my suggestions nor will you allow our R&D division to fully pursue alternative energies. You’re the one getting in the way of progress, and once you’re removed from position as CEO, I will be able to take Townsend into the next decade and century to reach its full potential.”

  I started to walk away, done with my father and the conversation for the time being, but his words pulled me back.

  “She’s not right for you, son!” he hissed.

  I spun around, glaring at my father. “You don’t get to decide who is and who isn’t right for me.”

  “She’s not one of us.”

  My entire body stiffened and I advanced on my father. “The last man who said those words to me, ended up on his ass.”

  My father’s eyes widened, mouth going ajar. “You would turn on me for her? On your family?”

  “In a fucking heartbeat.” Tightening my fists at my side, I stepped back, fearing that I really would hit my father in that instant. How dare he try to hold the title of family over my head? The only time he’d treated his own sons like family was when he needed one of us to do something for him, or to look good in front of others. We were related by blood and linked forever by the legacy of Townsend Industries but we weren’t a family. At least, not in the truest sense of the word.

  “She is my family. And with her, I will raise our children to know the meaning of the word family. To look out for one another first and foremost, business will come second. They will turn out nothing like you.” I meant what I said with every fiber of my being.

  I stepped away from my father and the ghosted expression he now wore, and turned to walk away, going to look for my future bride.

  ****

  Deborah

  “That ring is gorgeous,” Robert’s aunt stated, holding my left hand out in her hand as she gazed at the princess cut diamond ring Robert had given me two days after he’d proposed. “I always looked forward to the day I’d meet the woman who captured Robert’s heart. You have to tell us how he proposed?” his aunt, Nancy, gushed as she stood beside Robert’s mother, his younger cousin, and two friends of his mother’s.

  I glanced around the circle of women, who were all a part of high society. Their eyes were glued to me, anxiously awaiting for my retelling of how Robert asked me to marry him. Obviously, I wasn’t about to inform this group of women that my now fiancé proposed while he was deep inside of me, bringing me to my second climax of the night.

  No.

  That was a story I should probably keep to myself.

  “Well,” I paused, clearing my throat and cupping the champagne flute I held with both hands, “it was very romantic. Just after dinner at my place. He pulled out the ring and asked.”

  “Did he get down on one knee?” his cousin, Laura, questioned.

  I took a sip of champagne and nodded. “Mhmm, I believe he did.”

  Laura frowned. “Believe?”

  “Oh well, you know, I was so emotional and everything, my recollection is a little hazy,” I laughed it off.

  “Oh, don’t I know it. When my Harold finally proposed to me after our long courtship, I was over the moon,” Robert’s aunt stated, her eyes looking wistfully upward as if remembering that day. “I couldn’t wait to pick out a dress and design our wedding cake, and book the caterers for the food. It was such a spectacular time.”

  I wrinkled my forehead.

  Her daughter, Rachel, spoke up. “Oh yes, when Andrew asked me to be his bride I felt the same way. Luckily, I was able to
take days off from the job I had at the time to work closely with my wedding planner and get everything done just the way I liked it. Hopefully, your job will let you take off,” she finished, looking toward me as if I should’ve been in agreement.

  “Well, I don’t think I’ll need to take many days off to plan the wedding. We’ll just have to work around my schedule. It’s a very busy time at work right now.”

  Rachel and Nancy frowned.

  “They’ll have to learn to make due without you, hun. Besides, once you and Robert marry and begin having children, you’ll have to resign anyway. They might as well start looking for someone to fill your role now.” That statement had come from one of Robert’s mother’s friends. Suzanne, I think her name was but couldn’t recall.

  I didn’t know what surprised me more—the fact that she’d actually said those words to me with a straight face, or the fact that every other woman in the circle nodded their heads in agreement.

  “Quit my job?” I questioned, looking around the circle.

  “Yes, of course,” Robert’s mother answered. “There’s no way you can work full time, be a mother, and hold up your duties as a wife to a man in a position such as Robert’s.”

  “What position is that?”

  “There’s all types of events and charity organizations that will need your time or request for you to make an appearance.” Janet shook her head. “Robert should’ve gone over all of this with you.” She moved closer, taking my left hand into both of hers. “We’ve all been through it, dear. It’s a bit of a shock in the beginning, but we get used to it. Besides, no woman attends a prestigious school like Stanford not to find a husband. Am I right?”

  I glanced around to find the rest of the women nodding their heads in agreement.

  Pulling my hand from hers, I opened my mouth to tell her that she had this all wrong, but that’s when I was saved by my fiancé.

  “Excuse me, ladies. If you don’t mind, I need to steal my fiancée.” Robert didn’t wait for any of the women to respond, including myself. With his arm around my waist, he led me away from the other women.

  I was more than happy to leave their presence, still stupefied at their beliefs.

  Robert led me down a long wall that turned off from the mansion’s dining space where most of the engagement party was being held.

  I stopped abruptly and turned to face him. “I did not go to Stanford just to marry a rich guy!” I insisted.

  He paused, obviously stunned at my outburst.

  His eyes read mine. “Okay,” he stated cautiously.

  “And I am not quitting my job, Robert.”

  His forehead wrinkled. “Did I ever ask you to quit your job?”

  “No, but just in case you had those thoughts. You can just discard them right now. I’m not leaving Glamour Cosmetics. I will continue to work.”

  He nodded. “Okay, anything else you need to get off your chest?”

  I thought for a few seconds, my eyes roving up toward the vaulted ceilings before they landed back on him. “No, that’s it for now.”

  He nodded sharply. “Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s get married.”

  I gave him a wary look. “It’s way too early for you to be going senile, sweetie. You’ve already asked me to marry you. And I agreed. I know this because otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing in your parents home, wearing this pink sequined gown—”

  “You look delicious by the way,” he growled as his eyes roamed up and down my body in the fitted, floor-length gown.

  “Thank you, but back to what I was saying. We’re already getting married.”

  “Right. Tonight.”

  My eyes doubled and mouth fell open. “Robert, where is this coming from?” He’d never shied away from the fact that he desired a short engagement, but we had originally planned for our wedding to be six months out from the night of our engagement party.

  “From the fact that we’ve waited long enough.”

  “We haven’t even been dating six months.” How he had managed to get me to say yes to marrying him in such a short amount of time, I didn’t know. I’d dated Cohen for two years, was friends with him for two years prior to that, and the idea of marrying him had never entered my mind.

  “What’s your point?”

  I sighed.

  “Additionally, this is coming from the fact that you nor I even like half of these people here.”

  “Half?” I questioned, giving him a look.

  “Okay, ninety-nine percent of these people. And yes, it’s mostly me who doesn’t like them. You hardly know anyone here.”

  I snorted. A handful of my friends had come to the party to congratulate Robert and I, but the bulk of the people in attendance had been invited by Robert’s parents. Needless to say, I didn’t know any of them.

  “And what does that have to do with us getting married tonight?”

  “Because these same people will be at our wedding if my parents have anything to do with it. And look, I’m willing to give you the wedding you want. Anything you want. If you want the big, fancy dress with a long train and all that shit, I’ll do it. But all I need is for you to be my wife. Tonight. We can still plan a big, opulent ordeal if you—”

  “Yes.”

  His mouth hung ajar as if he was ready to keep making his argument.

  I moved closer, hands cupping his face. “I’ll marry you. Tonight. You know more than anyone, I don’t need a big wedding. Hell, this engagement party was enou—” My words were captured by his lips covering mine.

  Abruptly, he pulled back from the kiss, grabbed my left hand, and I found myself having to run in heels just to keep up with his long strides.

  “Robert, slow down,” I hissed. “I’m in heels.”

  I went to protest more, but almost ran right into him when he stopped short.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” His voice was low, a tone I recognized he spoke when he was attempting to stave his anger.

  “Just here to say congratulations.”

  A voice I hadn’t heard in years, but recognized immediately had the hairs on the back of my neck standing. On its own accord, my face formed into a scowl at the sound of Jack Lassiter’s voice. I peered over Robert’s shoulder to see my suspicions confirmed. It’d been over five years since I’d seen Jack’s face, but he still wore that same cocky grin he always seemed to have in college.

  His eyes moved over Robert’s shoulder to find me. His eyelids rose slightly, that grin widening. “To give you both my congratulations.”

  “You weren’t on the invitee list.”

  Jack looked back to Robert. “My father was. He believed it was a mere oversight that I wasn’t invited to the engagement party of an old college friend. And when I heard it was to the one and only Ms. Deborah Tate, I just had to be here.”

  “Thanks for coming to celebrate with us, Jack,” I managed to say. “But we have an important engagement to make.” I decided to speak because I could feel the growing tension in Robert’s body with each word Jack spoke.

  “Now, what could be more important than welcoming an old friend at a party to celebrate your love. Am I right?” Jack’s gaze shifted from me to Robert and back to me again. That was when he held up the champagne flute he held in his right hand. “I mean, kudos to you, Deborah. The girl from Kentucky scored big with the Townsend from Williamsport. You’re a long—”

  “Robert, no!” I implored in a hushed tone, trying not to draw attention to the fact that Robert had literally just wrapped his hand around Jack Lassiter’s throat. Thank God we were still in the hallway, apart from most of the partygoers.

  “Did you think I was fucking kidding when I told you I’d kill you five years ago?” Robert questioned through gritted teeth.

  I moved closer, squeezing his free hand in mine.

  “Robert,” I whispered. “Don’t do this here. Don’t let him ruin our wedding night.” I said it low enough so only he could here. I watched as his grip on Jack’s throat loosened
slightly.

  Robert glanced down at his arm then back up to Jack. “You spilled champagne on my tuxedo. Apologize.”

  “L-let g-go,” Jack struggled to get out.

  “Apologize.”

  “S-sorry.”

  Slowly, Robert released Jack, leaving him coughing and struggling for enough oxygen to restore his normal breathing pattern. With one last glare at his former friend, Robert wrapped his arm around my waist and led us through the throngs of partygoers toward the front door.

  Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t the only hassle that stood in between Robert and I getting married that night.

  ****

  Then

  Robert

  “I can’t believe we’re going to do this,” Deborah stated as we exited the front door of Townsend Manor. “Are you one hundred percent sure about this?”

  I paused, turning to her as we reached the driveway of the Manor. Staring into those blue eyes, I briefly thanked my stars that I would be able to look into those same eyes every night before I went to sleep. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.” I froze, not wanting to ask my next question but also needing to. “Are you having doubts?”

  She paused and it felt like my whole world stopped spinning, as if my very fate rested in her response … because it did.

  I only resumed breathing when she shook her head. “No.” It wasn’t the word but the assuredness I heard in her voice that had my world spinning again.

  “Okay, than let’s catch a flight to Vegas and get married.”

  Deborah began giggling in excitement.

  “Whoa! Tonight, big brother?”

  I pivoted to see Jason, arm wrapped around yet another woman, staring between Deborah and I.

  “I came to surprise you, but I guess you two are full of your own surprises, huh?” he questioned, chuckling.

  “You’re two hours late to my engagement party but you were coming to surprise me?”

  “That’s right,” Jason responded as if that answer made any sense at all. “We wanted to share our good news.”

  My eyes went to the woman he had his arm draped around. The one he was staring down at as if they shared some big, important secret. For her part, the woman’s eyes skittered between Deborah and I before looking back to Jason. She wasn’t the same woman he’d brought to dinner a couple of months ago. This woman had long, brown hair and wore a long, black sleeveless dress, appropriate for an engagement party. Her eyes didn’t have that glossed-over look from whatever drugs or alcohol most of Jason’s dates usually consumed.