.”

I took the envelope, biting my lip as I opened it.

Inside were two plane tickets to a beautiful island resort, along with hotel reservations and activity bookings.

“What is this?”

“Max came to us about planning this surprise for you,” Roseanne explained as her eyes softened. “He wanted to do something special to reconnect with you. He’s terrible at keeping secrets, you know, so we had to be careful.”

“I noticed things weren’t right between us,” Max said quietly, moving closer to me as a smile formed on his face.

“The way we barely talk anymore, how we’re like ships passing in the night. I wanted to make it better, but I’m terrible at planning this stuff. I needed help, and everyone had different ideas, so it took longer than I expected.”

“You could have just talked to me,” I said quietly, looking at the tickets.

“Lying to me about work meetings…”

“I did have many work meetings, but at the restaurant bar over by the office. This is only our third time meeting about this, and today, they were supposed to help me plan how I was going to surprise you,” he continued. “But you’re right.

I should’ve talked to you instead. I’m sorry.”

“I thought your family didn’t want me around anymore,” I mumbled through a tight throat.

“I’m so sorry,” Max touched my face. “I should’ve realized.

I’m really awful at surprises, but I wanted our spark back. I want us back.”

“Oh, darling,” I finally smiled, though my eyes were still teary.

Max kissed my cheek as the others smiled, but a harsh laugh cut through the moment.

“Oh, this is just perfect,” Karina spat. She stood up, her chair scraping against the floor.

“Nothing like this has ever been done for me, even though I’ve been with Franklin much longer. But precious Ada gets a whole vacation planned by the entire family?”

“Karina, please,” Franklin said, reaching for her arm. “This isn’t about you.”

She yanked her hand away.

“It’s never about me, is it? Eight years I’ve been with you, Franklin. Eight years!

You won’t even set a date for our wedding, but your whole family will gather to plan a trip for her?” She grabbed her glass of soda, her hand shaking, and turned her hateful gaze to me. “That’s why I told you, you don’t belong here!”

As she moved to throw the drink at me, Max acted quickly, pushing me behind him. The soda splashed across his shirt and face.

There were collective gasps from everyone in the restaurant.

“Karina!” Roseanne shouted.

“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