He took a slow breath.
“I don’t want to be your pretend husband anymore.”
“I don’t want us to keep acting.”
“I want to spend the rest of my life making you smile the way you’ve made me smile.”
His eyes shimmered with emotion.
“Miley…”
“Will you marry me?”
“For real this time.”
Time seemed to stop.
Every logical thought disappeared.
Only one question remained.
The ring.
The tuxedo.
The flowers.
The candles.
None of it made sense.
My eyes drifted around the room once more before returning to him.
“Stan…”
I spoke carefully.
“Where did all of this come from?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he slowly stood, closed the ring box, and released a long breath.
“I was wondering when you’d ask.”
“The tuxedo…”
I gestured helplessly.
“The flowers.”
“The ring.”
“This must have cost…”
I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
Far more than either of us could afford.
Unless…
A thought struck me.
Had he stolen it?
No.
Impossible.
That wasn’t Stan.
He seemed to read my expression instantly.
“I didn’t steal anything.”
Relief washed through me, followed immediately by confusion.
“Then how?”
He walked toward the fireplace and stared into the dancing candlelight for several moments.
Finally, without turning around, he spoke quietly.
“I think…”
He swallowed.
“…it’s finally time I told you who I really am.”
The room suddenly felt much smaller.
“I never lied about loving our life together.”
“I never lied about being grateful.”
“But I did hide the truth.”
He turned to face me again.
His eyes carried a mixture of relief and fear.
“I wasn’t honest about why I ended up homeless.”
I remained completely silent.
Every instinct told me the next few minutes were about to change everything I thought I knew about the man standing in front of me.
He took one slow breath.
Then another.
Finally, he looked directly into my eyes.
“The truth…”
he said quietly,
“…is much more complicated than you could possibly imagine.”
For illustrative purposes only
Part 6
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