It was good that Roman was gone when Zara woke up.  It gave her private space to think.  She sat at the window watching the gentle rain turned into ice on the tree limbs. It was quite a sight.  The lower the sun dipped the more precipitation clung to the branches.  From the penthouse view, it looked like an ice palace.  She was happy to have gotten everything out in the open about Ethan.  Even though it had been painful. 

As she listened to herself talk the clearer the man's deception had become.  The Ethan that she'd described for Roman was not the same person that she'd first met. No, that guy exuded character and charm. The person that she described today danced on the edge of calculation and control.  She glanced down at her cell and his barrage of texts confirmed the latter.

The reason that he'd demanded a response was because he planned an event to introduce her to his friends and family.  He'd announced that it would be the social event of the season.  It had taken months of precise preparation.  The guest of honor surely had to be there.  According to Ethan, she would have to go through with the contract.  In his mind, the marriage was already arranged and settled.

Zara laughed thinking about the blur of events that took place over the last few days.  She'd married Roman in a blink, not even considering the possible repercussions.  Things happened so fast.  The most that she could hope for should they go to court is that her signed marriage license would prevail over an oral agreement.  How did I get myself into this mess? The opening of the door startled her.

"Feeling better?"

The sight of Roman felt like pure Nirvana.  His presence made everything bright.  She couldn't wait for him to walk across the room so that she could curl up in an embrace.  It had been a tough day of talks between them.  Wrapped tight in his arms would feel so good. 

"Yes, I do feel better.  Where did you go?" 

The sofa dipped as he sat next to her.  Just like she wanted, those strong arms hemmed her in.  She snuggled against his chest, breathing in the comfortable, familiar scent of him.

"I went to see Judge Harrison.  He's going to get more information on the enforceability of the oral contract."

"I'm so sorry that you are in this now."

"Don't be."

She released a long sigh and stroked his hand.  There was so much that she wanted to say at the moment.  Her mind whirled thinking about what to say first.  When she glanced up Roman's intense gaze pulled at the strings of her heart. She could see his concern and knew without asking what the judge thought.

"Is this all going to work out?"

"Yes," he said.  What will be the risk? That's troubling.

Roman waited patiently for her to speak.  This matter would get handled one layer at a time.  He was there to listen and support.  Though he had a thousand questions he wanted to ask he decided to keep quiet.  The most important thing was to let Zara get everything out in the open. 

That's how he worked with his clients.  There was always a big problem that needed solving. Some risks they were trying to avoid or some danger that they had to eliminate.  It always started with getting as much information from the client as needed and listening.  Roman couldn't believe that now he was a client of his own firm.  He worked his hands over her shoulders.  "You're in knots.  You need to relax."  His fingers pressed in, and little by little he felt the tension release.

Zara ran her hands through her hair, turning towards Roman. "Every bad decision that I've made got caused by that string of abuse, running through my life. And I'm just now seeing it."

Then the floodgates of conversation opened again.  Zara's emotions were all over the place trying to express what bullying felt like.  It was painful listening to her open up about the verbal abuse.  But the more that she talked it was as if he could see chains snapping off of her life. Roman sat quietly and listened. All his life he'd waited for her to face herself. Watching it unfold was beautiful. Roman always tried in every way to let her know how valued she was. But that was not his job to do. Zara had to figure her way out of the spider's web of trauma in her life.

"I looked for flawed men, just like me.  I felt good enough for them and settled. I don't even know if I'm making any sense."

"You're making plenty of sense."

She lowered her head allowing his hands more access to the tight spots on her neck.  The pressure from his hands felt wonderful.  After a while, Zara lifted her shirt and flung it.  She lay across his lap, pointing for him to massage her back as well. His soothing fingers dug in deep.

"Settling in relationships has gotten me into this mess," she said, the bitterness in her voice felt like barbed wire. "All I needed is the appearance of a normal life. That's why I didn't just go to some fertility clinic and get a donor. This way my child would have a father to raise him."

Rawness hit Roman's nerves. His mind swept across time thinking of all those moments she stepped from her parent's home with puffy, red-eyes. He'd saw how crushed she would be.  Sometime he'd come by at the end of a fight between her parents. Roman felt Zara's devastation, but he was only a child.  What could he do?

What's the matter, Zara?

Nothing.

If he had a dollar for every time that she used that one word to cover up everything damming in her life, he'd be more than a billionaire.  So what did Roman do?  He kept her close.  He made her laugh. They created an invisible world, just between them, that no one could reach. A place where his abiding love touched her, but only so far because of the wall that she'd built.

I did everything that I could to be the bright spot in your life, treasure. I'm so glad that you're here with me today. "We're going to get through this."

"You kept telling me that you loved me and that I was enough, but I couldn't hear you, Roman."  She groaned. The sound revealed the deepness of her wounds, giving Roman heartache. "I couldn't hear.  You almost broke through to me that night on your 18th birthday. I never felt more loved in my life. I wanted to be with you forever."

Roman wished that he could have stopped time at the moment when they kissed.  Everything was so perfect.  The memory swelled in his mind.  He shook his head at the intensity of it.  Had that night not gone so bad their relationship would have stood a chance.

"Why did they have to laugh at me that night, Roe? Why did my life have to be the target of so much verbal abuse? No hand ever touched me, but the blows against my life from what people have said  - is as if a cannon blast shot through my heart."

Dear God. The words stunned him so that his hands froze on her back.  He could hear the laughter in his mind and the sound of Ava's slap against the instigator.  Even at this instant, his feet felt heavy like he was running through the sand again to catch her.  That one moment changed everything in their life.   He leaned down, kissing her back, her shoulders, her neck. "I'm so sorry, treasure."

"I never told you what happened that night, why I didn't go swimming."

"You told me it was a woman's issue."

"I lied."

Roman braced himself. He couldn't imagine that day ending any worse. What she revealed rattled him to the core. Her body tensed again, that jarred him back into rubbing her back and shoulders while he listened to a moment from her past.

***

"Oh God – mother!  Do you know how that makes me feel?  You're killing me. The lock - the lock - it's like you're putting me in a cage.  Am I some uncontrolled animal?  Take it off mother!" Tears streamed down Zara's face as her heart broke. "I don't even eat much, mother."

"Zara, you're a pig!  You're going on a diet," yelled Mrs. Peters.

"Stop it, Anna, you stop it!" roared Mr. Peters. The man towered over his wife.  His fists shook in her face.  But the diminutive woman didn't back down. "She takes after my side of the family. What are you doing to our daughter?  She can't help it.  Take the lock off that door, right now!"

"You're damn right, she takes after your side of the family – a fat - weak, nobody.  But that weight it's got to go.  Nobody is going to want her looking like that."

Zara crumpled to the floor crying.  Her father continued to blister his wife with rage, but Zara's damaged heart already ruptured.  She sat with tears falling, and her knees against her chest – rocking.

***

"That b**** put a lock on the refrigerator door?  Why didn't you tell me?  I would never have taken you to the party and..."

Zara rolled over and put a finger over his lips.  "Shhh.  You were so hyped about your 18th birthday.  Ava and I had been planning it for months.  There was no way I was going to ruin that for you."

The devastation in Roman's heart overwhelmed him. He sat for a minute taking it all in. "What perverted nutcase would do something like that?" His fist slammed the coffee table with such force that it lifted and crunched back to the carpet. Zara grabbed his hand and held it.

"I know that made you feel like dirt."

"Yeah, I felt like a pig. I had bought a bathing suit just for the party. After what mother did, I felt like shit."

"But yet, you came for me. I love you for that."  He leaned over and brushed her lips, and then wound her up in his arms. His heart ached knowing the trauma that she felt.  Knowing that she'd sacrificed her pain in order to come to the party meant the world to him.  "You're such a strong woman. You are so strong.  I promise we're going to get through this Ethan mess and have a great life."

***

Late the next evening

"Bundle up," Roman said, dragging Zara up from the sofa.  After the tough moments that they'd experienced over Ethan, he needed to lift the mood.  What came to his mind would do them both a lot of good.  Watching Zara's eyes fill with excitement lit him up.

He laughed, letting her know that he was up to something sneaky.  He shoved her parka, extra scarf, and gloves into her hands.  Zara looked up bright-eyed, and that was a good thing.  Yesterday had been enough painful introspection. The thought of a lighter moment felt good.

"Where are we going?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," he said, grabbing a quick kiss before helping her into her coat.  "We need to be quick about it."

"Alright, alright," she said stuffing her fingers into her gloves.  Before Zara knew it, he'd swept her up and into the elevator.   She laughed as he carried her out of the building.  Her eyes widened as he placed her down.  Zara smiled up at him, giving him a big hug.

"How thoughtful, Roman."

The horse neighed shaking snow from his mane.  The driver of the carriage stepped down from the seat.  "Welcome," he said, with a bow.  "I'm Ernest, it's my pleasure to take you for a ride this evening."  He opened the carriage door and they stepped inside. 

Ernest handed them 2 large red-plaid blankets. Once they'd settled in, he handed them two thermoses filled with hot chocolate and two huge mugs. The gentleman climbed back onto his seat. With a shake of the reigns, the horse was on a slow trot through the city with bells jangling around his neck.

"You timed this perfect," Zara said, gazing at the flaming orange ball, fading beneath the horizon. It left in its wake inky streaks of purple and red.  She snuggled against Roman, as he tightened the blankets around them. Drifting snow, against night-lights blinking on made the backdrop – magical. The steady rhythmic clops of the horse placed them in another time where life wasn't so hectic. 

"This is so romantic," she said, taking a sip of her chocolate. "I feel so spoiled."

"That's a good feeling to have," he said.  "But I've got something that will make you feel even better."  Roman reached in his pocket and pulled out a small black box. "I got a little carried away the other night."

Zara tossed her head back, laughing. "You mean when you declared, 'the only thing that we're going to do tonight is get married and make love until the sun comes up.'"

"That was a pretty good idea though, wasn't it?"

Heatwaves saturated Zara from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.  The memory of all that passion healed so many places in her heart. Every fiery touch and every fervent kiss left Zara in wonder.  Her core throbbed at the smoldering memory of their energetic union and one climax after the other.  "Best idea – ever!"

The words came out in a shout. Roman snatched around, laughing. He hoped Ernest wasn't paying attention. She got bolder by the second. "I am glad to have obliged."

Leaning over, she whispered in his ear.  "You're a great lover."

This was his time to blush and his face turned red as holly berries.  All he could do was shake his head. He needed a comeback – quick.  "You'd better watch yourself or we'll have to tell Ernest to leave.  Plenty of room to make out on this seat."  He slipped his hand under the blanket and gripped her thigh.

Zara fell back against the seat and snorted.  She cast a seductive glance at him. It was so enjoyable to talk freely and flirt.  She flipped open the box. "This is gorgeous, Roe."

He slipped the 14 K Rose Gold Nouveau Diamond ring on her finger. Five carats glistened under the fading sun. "It looks just as beautiful as I'd imagined. I am so looking forward to my life with you, Roman Gray."