Chapter 157: A Non Proposal

If it wasn't bad enough that Aaron brought up getting married as if it was the obvious thing to do, he never even properly proposed. During the last semester of their senior year, he simply handed Keeley a box one day.

"Here. It's about time you had this."

She opened the lid and saw a whopping six carat solitaire diamond ring with a platinum band covered in little diamonds all the way around. How was she supposed to use her left hand when it was weighed down with something that big?

She sighed. So much for dreams of a romantic proposal. "You know, traditionally the guy is supposed to get down on one knee and specifically ask the girl to marry him."

He looked like it didn't even occur to him. "..should I do that now?"

Was she in love with an idiot? "Yes, Aaron."

He took the box back from her and knelt down in front of her, taking her hand. "Keeley, will you marry me and stay by my side forever?"

Keeley slid the ring on her finger and tried to adjust to the weight. This thing was heavy! She placed a hand on both sides of his face and seriously said "yes" before kissing him.

The whole thing was incredibly anticlimactic. At the time she was just happy that she was able to marry him at all. How stupid she had been.

Thinking back on all that was so strange now that she knew the truth about everything. If Aaron had truly loved her back then like he claimed, couldn't he have put a tiny bit of effort into his proposal?

She knew he grew up in a cold, loveless environment. He claimed that was why he didn't know how to properly cherish someone but you would have to live under a rock not to know how to propose marriage.

It did explain a lot of other things though. Like how he almost never verbally expressed affection back then. Every bit of love and care she did get from him was through actions. He looked out for her in his own dumb way until he pushed her away completely.

Hindsight is a funny thing.

Her heart constricted a bit. Aaron had tried to make it up to her in this life even if he didn't always go about it the right way. He complimented her more. His actions were far more considerate. He had really been trying to be good to her.

But after everything that happened between them there was no way she could accept it. Keeley couldn't be with him simply to assuage his guilt over everything that happened. Guilt and a sense of obligation weren't the same as love.

Even if that wasn't an obstacle, they were just too different. They never should have ended up together in the first place. Their values, lifestyle, and interests didn't align one bit. It was a miracle they ever had anything to talk about at all.

Not that Aaron even did that much talking in the first place. Most of their conversations consisted of her babbling about something or other and him occasionally contributing a comment.

Love doesn't conquer all. Some relationships simply aren't meant to work out.

historical

Keeley may have started to like what she thought was a different version of Aaron but knowing him and her ex-husband were one and the same squashed those budding feelings like a bug. She didn't love him and hadn't for a very long time. Finding out things were different than she thought didn't change that.

She had spent so many years drowning in loneliness when he was right there. That killed any lingering feelings she had for him. She felt a little sorry for him but not enough to change her mind. They were better off putting the past behind them and living for themselves this time.

Keeley snapped her book shut resolutely and put her reference materials away. It was time to go to the lab.

She emptied her head of thoughts of Aaron and the past as she made her way through the throng of students heading to and from class. Ugh, the lab building was so far away from the library. She was getting a workout simply from walking there.

When she arrived, she scanned her card at the back door that was closer to the entrance to the labs to get in. She put her backpack in her locker and pulled on her lab coat and goggles. It was time to get to work.

The objectives of the day included taking data on her mice, checking on the status of her ripening cultures, and starting the next batch for further trials. All of that was for her own research; she still had to do things for Dr. Kim or she wouldn't get paid.

Hours later, Keeley was hard at work measuring things out into test tubes so they could go into the centrifuge when there was a knock at the lab door.

She glanced up at the clock. Right. It was 5:30 PM. Every day on the dot she would get an anonymous takeout delivery.

Today's delivery boy was from a sandwich shop. He smiled at her professionally. "Keeley Hall? I have your steak and cheese sandwich, a chocolate chip cookie, and a water bottle right here."

"Thanks," she said politely. It wasn't the delivery boy's fault he was aiding and abetting the man she was trying to forget.

The delivery boy turned to leave and shot out a signature "have a nice day!" as he went.

She shut the door behind her in low spirits. Aaron had been doing this every day she was in the lab since they parted ways. At least, she assumed it was him from the get go because who else did she know that had the money to order food for someone else?

He respected her wishes to be left alone but was still taking care of her. Keeley had angrily texted him the first time this happened and he replied that it may not technically be his job anymore but no one else was going to make sure she was eating while she worked so he wasn't going to stop.

She had mostly accepted it by this point but it was still annoying because each time the delivery person came she thought of him. What did he care if she was taking care of herself? She hated him! Why couldn't he just hate her back? Why did he insist on continuing to be nice?

Keeley ate her sandwich tiredly before getting back to work. No use dwelling on it.