“Don’t you ever speak to my wife like that again,” Max said in a low voice while wiping his face. “I don’t care what’s going on between you and my brother. Ada will be treated with respect!”
Karina stood there, stewing, while the entire restaurant went silent except for the soft music playing overhead.
With a heavy sigh, Franklin stood slowly.
“Karina,” he said, “I think… I think this is why I can’t set a date. This isn’t working. It hasn’t been working for a long time, has it?”
“What?
What are you saying?” Karina whispered.
“I’m saying I can’t marry you. Not when you’re so angry all the time, so jealous of everyone else’s happiness. That’s not the person I fell in love with, and that’s not who I want for this family.”
Her face crumpled with sadness at first, but then, as she saw everyone staring at her, pure rage gathered in her eyes.
Her face reddened, but in the end, she only grabbed her purse and ran out of the restaurant.
“I should go after her,” Franklin said, but he didn’t move.
“Let her go,” his father, Robert, said quietly. “Some things need to end without much explanation.”
We were frozen for another second until Roseanne asked me to sit down. Dinner resumed, and Max told me everything he had planned for our trip and who had pitched in with ideas.
After that night, Franklin and Karina broke up for good.
It was apparently ugly, but Franklin was sure of his decision.
The monthly family dinners were scheduled once again, as if nothing ever happened.
Eventually, Max and I went on that island vacation and managed to rekindle our love. It felt like a second honeymoon.
But we also learned to talk more and to share our fears and hopes. We never lied to each other that way again, even while planning surprises.
Source: amomama
