The Height Of Happiness

With a solemn cadence in his voice, Edward replied, “It is all true, Daphne.”

“You’re marrying her?! Is this correct, Edward?! Was this not some dumb prank?!!!”

He shook his head, not saying another word.

“Who’s going to replace me on the board?!” Daphne’s eyes looked wild.

Edward tried to remain calm, but he knew his words wouldn’t help her as he answered, “Well Daphne, Serena will.”

“WHAT?!” she shrieked.

Serena could hardly believe it herself. Edward had had a plan in place all along. His offer during the proposal wasn’t just a whim. As he spoke, he explained to them both the plans they had been outlining behind closed doors for a month.

“I only had to figure out how to get you to say yes, and while it may seem soon I knew the Summerfields fortune would give you plenty of cash to throw at an acquisition like this. Actually, it won’t even take a dime since our marriage will give us the rights to make such legal transactions once we get a formal vote from the board.”

Daphne looked white as a ghost. Her eyes were so wide it seemed she no longer had eyelids. Still and hardly breathing for a long moment as silence fell in the room, she opened her clutch and pulled out a very small handgun that fit in her petite little hands perfectly. Not pointing it at either of them, it was clear that the situation had just become dangerous for everyone in the room.

“Daphne, don’t—” Edward began, but she cut him off.

“Don’t start with me! You were mine Eddie! I pined after you! I gave up a job offer in London for you! I could have worked at the top fashion houses in Paris! I could have even worked with my extended family in Shanghai! But I followed you because I never wanted to leave you! I thought you needed me!”

“You were always the best. You were my girl Friday.”

“That’s not a good thing!!!” Daphne shrieked again, flailing her arms and the gun around as she shouted.

Going unnoticed, Serena sent an emergency text to her manager working downstairs. Her heart raced as she pressed each button on the screen. Sure she would be caught by the crazy Asian girl waving a tiny gun around, it seemed like a text for her life. Edward tried to be calm as Daphne kept yelling, but finally it reached a point where Serena had to intervene. Standing, Daphne turned and looked at her like she’d forgotten Serena was ever there.

Stepping slowly toward the woman, Serena spoke in a slow and even tone as she said, “Daphne, I get it. Edward is charming, and it’s easy to get lost in that. When I was mad at him, I didn’t know what to do with myself because it seemed like he could weasel his way out of anything with a smile and a few nice words. All these years, that must have kept happening to you, and you kept hoping things would change. I’m sorry they didn’t. It wasn’t fair to you to be strung along, but he didn’t realize his actions were hurting you. He didn’t see that with me either. I mean, I had to get upset at him several times for him to realize how foolish he was being.”

“He never did see,” Daphne muttered as she lowered the gun as she sunk to the sofa.

“We have to end this now, but do it the right way. Let him go, and you’ll be free. Be the bigger person, and forgive his dumb… male… actions. Let go, Daphne. You will be so much happier when you do.”

Daphne turned the small old hand gun over in her hands as tears began to streak down her face. It seemed to Serena that the woman standing before her was seeing things clearly for the first time in years. Slowly, Serena took the gun from her hands as the police woman rushed in to cuff her.

Edward let out a huff of air as they walked out the door, and he relaxed saying, “Thank God that’s over.”