It doesn’t, of course. It costs more than… well, more than everything I own combined. But that doesn’t even matter so much.
What matters is what the ring symbolizes.
And the words he used.
I’m his. And he’s going to do everything he can to take care of me.
I keep thinking about the way he looked at me and chills roll down my spine. I can’t help myself. He’s so handsome, so intense, and I know what he’s thinking when he looks at me. It’s written all over his face.
I believe him though. When he says we’re in this together, I believe him. I don’t think he’ll try to screw me over or go back on his word, but it’s still hard to accept that this is my life, my future.
The next day, after Josh goes to work, I head out and get an Uber to my dad’s offices. He takes me inside and leads me back to the break room where he makes us some coffee. “How are you?” he asks as we head back to his office.
“Fine,” I say. “Just figured we should touch base.”
“Good.” He nods and smiles at a few of the employees. I stop and chat with his secretary, a woman that’s been working for him for years. When I’m done, he sits behind his desk and I sit down in front of it, sipping my coffee. “Been a while since you’ve been here.”
“I know.” I laugh a little. “Feels weird.”
“How’s Josh?”
“Good,” I say and hold out the ring.
He stares at it. “Wow,” he says. “That guy’s not messing around.”
“No, he’s really not. He says we need to make it real… and he’d give his real wife a ring like this.”
“Makes sense, but man. That kid must be making better money than I am.”
I grin at him. “Well, their company is bigger.”
He gives me a look and laughs. “Fair enough.” He calms down and frowns at me, looking uncomfortable. “So he’s being… good to you, right?”
“Yes, Dad,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Of course. I’d tell you if he turned out to be some asshole.”
“I know that, sweetie. I just don’t want you to think you need to stick this thing out if he’s being… an asshole.”
“If he’s abusive, I’ll let you know.”
He sighs. “I don’t even mean that much. I just mean, is he being considerate? Making sure you have what you need?”
“Yes,” I say. “He actually is. I have my own room, all my own stuff. He even gave me some money to get whatever else I want, like groceries and stuff.”
“Good.” Dad laughs. “I was wondering if I was going to have to keep funding your lifestyle.”
“Or if I’d have to get a job.”
“That sounds too awful to really contemplate.”
We lapse into a comfortable silence as I sip my coffee. It occurs to me that I’m doing this just as much for my father as I am doing it for myself or for Josh. He has as much to gain from this, but I can tell it makes him uncomfortable to ask me to do all this.
“Listen, Dad,” I say, keeping my voice low. “It’s okay, really.”
“I know.” He smiles at me. “It’ll be fine.”
“No, really. I’m in this. Josh is a decent guy. He’s being good to me, and we’re working this out together. I think… it’s going to be okay, Dad. Really, we’re going to figure it out.”
He nods once and I can tell he’s getting emotional. “Thanks, sweetie.”
“Yeah, sure. I just wanted you to know that. And if anything ever goes wrong, I’ll call you first. You’ll owe me big time.”
He laughs a little and looks away. I think he might be blinking away tears, which scares me. I’ve never seen my father cry, not a single time. He’s the sort of man that would rather jump off a bridge than let someone see him cry. But I guess it’s emotional when you ask your daughter to do so much for you. It must hurt him, at least a little bit. But that’s not what I want.
I don’t want his pride to hurt just because I’m involved now.
“Anyway, just so you know, I plan on taking Josh’s name.”
That surprises him. He looks at me again and furrows his brow. “Really? I thought you liked being Maggie Fyall.”
“I do,” I say quickly. “But it’ll look more realistic if I change my name to Maggie Cork.”
“True, true.” He grumbles a little bit. “I know that’s true.”
“Look, it’s not… it’s not personal. I love you, Dad. I love our family. It’s just going to look better.”
“I know, I know. And if you two were married for real, I wouldn’t even question it for a second. This whole situation is so…” He shakes his head.
“I know it’s hard for you. That’s why I’m here, talking you through it. If you want, I can just… stay home. And handle it.”