LOVE THAT NEVER FADES
Chapter Thirty-Two

Broken Hearts

An hour had passed by, and Rose had dried her fallen tears. She sat up and looked around the room one last time before getting up and getting a valise out from under the bed. Opening the valise, she walked over to the closet, taking out a few dresses and putting them in the case, neatly folded. Heading towards the dresser, she took out a few clean undergarments and put them inside the case as well, along with her diary, toiletries, and other necessities. Once she had everything, she shut the valise, and latched it. She picked up the valise and headed towards the door, pulling it open. Opening the door, she saw Jack jump up from his seat and look at her, his face pleading. Rose just stood tall, trying to make her face expressionless. She gripped the handle of the valise and swallowed quietly, heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Jack asked, his voice hoarse.

Rose turned around and looked at Jack.

"I’m going to stay over at Annie’s apartment for a couple of weeks," Rose said, her voice hoarse from crying. Her eyes were still red, and held betrayal and hurt.

"Rose…" Jack began.

"Jack, don’t," Rose said, shaking her head. "You’ve hurt me enough as it is. Don’t make it worse." Rose opened the door and stood there, looking at him. "Good-bye, Jack." Rose said his name as if she was never going to say it again. As if this would be the last time she would see Jack after she walked out the door. Not taking a second look, she walked out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind her. Turning around, she put a hand on the door and leaned her head on it, her eyes closed. "Oh, Jack…I wish I could forgive you…I wish this could all be over." Tears welled up in her eyes, looking at the closed door. The closed door that separated her heart from her. The heart that had kept her alive and happy was now locked inside the apartment. Taking a deep breath, she finally found her self-confidence and turned around and walked across the hall towards Annie’s apartment. She knocked on the door a couple of times before putting her hand down. Within moments, the door was answered.

Annie had a smile on her face, looking at Rose. "Hey, Rose," Annie said. She looked at Rose, seeing her eyes shining with hurt, and looked down, seeing that she was carrying a valise. "Rose?"

"Can I come in?" Rose asked, her eyes beginning to moisten with tears.

"Sure," Annie said, moving aside. "Come on in."

Rose stepped inside, setting the bag down beside the door after Annie closed it. She stood up straight and walked over to the couch.

"What happened?" Annie asked, sitting beside Rose. "Is it Jack?"

Rose’s tears once again began to overflow. "Annie, he kissed another woman!" Rose cried. "At the park."

"Oh, Rose," Annie said. "I’m sure you misunderstood…"

"No," Rose said. "I saw the woman kiss him." Rose paused to calm her nerves down. Looking up, her eyes red, she continued. "He didn’t pull away. He kissed her back."

"What?" Annie asked, not fully believing what she had heard. "Not Jack…no."

Rose nodded. "Yes, he did. And he hurt me!" Rose cried. "I thought he loved me, and that nothing would ever come between us." Rose looked at Annie. "I thought we were meant for each other…" Tears poured down her cheeks, putting both hands over her face.

"Shh," Annie said, putting an arm over Rose’s shoulder. "Everything will be all right."

"No, it won’t!" Rose cried, sitting up straight.

"Rose…" Annie said, her voice soft and gentle.

"Annie, can I stay here for a couple of weeks?" Rose asked.

"Weeks?" Annie asked, worry shining in her face.

"Yes," Rose said. "Is it a problem?"

"No, no," Annie said. "Not at all. It’s just…are you sure you want to do this?"

Rose nodded her head. "I need some time away from him," Rose said, looking at her hands and catching a glimpse of the rings that were on her left ring finger. Putting two fingers over the rings, she carefully removed them and held them in her palm.

"Rose?" Annie asked, watching as she held the rings in her clenched fist.

"I just can’t have anything that reminds me of him right now," Rose said, looking at her. "Maybe when I’m ready…when I’m ready to face him again, I’ll put them back on. But right now, I-I can’t wear these. They’ll only make my heart ache more." Rose looked at Annie. "I hope you understand."

"I understand, Rose," Annie said, giving Rose’s back a gentle rub. "I just hope you know what you’re doing."

Rose nodded her head. "I do know what I’m doing. I’ll be fine," Rose said, looking at her clenched fist. A lump began forming in Rose’s throat, looking at Annie. She swallowed and felt her eyes moisten with tears. "Would you mind giving these to Jack?"

Annie looked at her, a confused expression on her face.

"Rose?" Annie asked, looking down at her extended hand, which held the two rings. "Are you sure?"

Tears welled up in Rose’s eyes, looking at the rings that represented her marriage to Jack. She swallowed down a sob and nodded her head, closing her eyes to control her tears.

"Yes…" Rose said. "Just tell him…tell him that I want him to hold them until I-I’m ready." Rose’s voice was shaky and choked.

"Rose…" Annie began.

"Annie, please," Rose said, her eyes on her friend. "I just can’t have anything that reminds me of him. Not after what he did to me."

Annie sighed defeatedly. "All right," Annie said, taking the rings from her hand. "But what if he asks to see you?"

"Just tell him that I…I…" Rose closed her eyes, holding back the tears that were trying to pour down her cheeks. Taking a shaky breath, she reopened her eyes and looked at her, feeling her heart break at the words that she was about to utter. "That I don’t want to see him." Rose bowed her head, feeling tears beginning to pour down her cheeks.

"Rose," Annie said, looking at her. "Are you sure about this? I mean, you’re in tears. Why don’t you just give him another chance?"

"I can’t!" Rose cried. "I can’t forgive him now. I can’t." Rose covered her face with her hands, sobbing. "I can’t…"

Annie sighed. "All right," Annie said. "Whatever you say."

Annie looked at Rose, watching her cry into her hands. Shaking her head sadly, Annie went towards the door and went out into the hallway and across, knocking on the door.

*****

Jack sat on the couch, his elbows leaning on his knees and his face buried in his hands, tears sliding down his cheeks. Rose had left about fifteen minutes ago, leaving Jack with a broken heart. Running his fingers through his hair, Jack sat back, his face expressionless and his eyes shining with hurt and loneliness. Jack wiped his fallen tears with the back of his hand and sniffed. His eyes still glistened with tears, a frown on his face.

A knock on the door suddenly caused Jack to jump up from his seat, his head twisting towards the closed door. Half of him expected Rose to be on the other side of the door, while the other half knew that she wasn’t. Taking a deep breath, he made his way towards the door, leaning against it.

"Who is it?" Jack asked, his voice hoarse from his tears.

"Uh…it’s Annie," he heard Annie say on the other side, and he heard a hint of sadness in her voice.

Putting his hand on the doorknob, he twisted it and pulled the door open, revealing Annie, who had her head bowed and her hand clenched, as if she were holding something.

"Hey, Annie," Jack said, looking down, not wanting her to see his face.

"Hi, Jack," Annie said, looking up. She sighed, looking at her fist. "Rose…uh…she wanted me to give you these." Annie held out her unclenched hand, revealing Rose’s engagement and wedding rings.

Jack looked at her palm and saw Rose’s rings resting in her hand. He felt a tear slide down his cheek, taking the rings from her hand. His heart sank, holding the two rings in his own palm. The rings that he had put on Rose’s finger when he had proposed and when they were married. His eyes shone with hurt and regret.

"She…uh…she said to hold them until she’s ready," Annie said, looking at Jack.

Jack looked at her, his eyes shining with tears of hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut and cried out. He clenched the rings and banged on the open door, sobbing.

"Rose…Rose…" Jack cried, leaning his forehead against the door and letting the tears spill out of his eyes. "I love you…please…I love you!"

Annie’s heart broke, seeing Jack cry. She had never heard nor seen Jack cry. He was always brave around other people, and never lost his composure. Her eyes glistened with her own tears, looking at Jack.

"Jack," Annie said, her voice soft. "I…"

"Annie," Jack said, his voice choked. "Just tell her I love her…I love her with all my heart and soul, and I’ll die without her. Please…just tell her that." His eyes were pleading, his tears still giving his blue eyes a gloomy shimmer.

Annie bowed her head and nodded. "I will," Annie said. "I’ll tell her."

"Th-thank you," Jack said, more tears falling down his cheeks, his voice hoarse and gloomy.

Annie gave him a small smile before turning to head back to her apartment. She heard Jack close the door behind him, and heard more sobbing from him. Annie sighed, opening her apartment door and seeing Rose sitting there, her eyes red and tears pouring down her cheeks.

Rose looked at her trembling hands, feeling her heart break. She had heard Jack’s words out in the hallway as Annie gave him her rings. Rose tried to hold back her tears when she heard the three words that Jack always uttered to her, but failed when they cascaded down her cheeks, leaving her heart shattered into a million pieces. Rose looked at Annie, noticing that she had tears welling up in her eyes, as well.

"Annie, what’s wrong?" Rose asked, trying to sound cheerful, but only ending up with a hoarse, shaky voice.

"Rose, why are you doing this?" Annie asked, looking at her. "Jack’s hurt…he’s hurt really bad, and you’re killing him. He looks as if he’s going to die."

"Annie, I can’t…I just can’t go back to him," Rose said, feeling more tears well up in her eyes. Closing her eyes, she tried to hold them back, letting out a shaky breath. "He hurt me, Annie. Don’t you understand? He hurt me really bad. How would you feel if you found the man you love kissing another woman?"

"I…well…I…" Annie stuttered, knowing that Rose was right. Jack had hurt her, and he had been unfaithful to their wedding vows. "I’d feel hurt…just like you."

"I never thought that Jack would hurt me like this," Rose said, her voice choked. "I-I thought that he loved me…I thought I was everything to him…"

"But you are, Rose," Annie said, heading towards her. "Jack loves you more than anything in the world."

"Then why did he kiss that woman?" Rose exclaimed, tears continually sliding down her cheeks. "If he loved me, he wouldn’t have hurt me like this…he wouldn’t have betrayed me. And what’s making this even worse is that I love him…I still love him, and that’s killing me, because I can’t find myself forgiving him. Not after what he’s done. He hurt me too much to even go back and forgive him." Rose’s voice was hoarse. Tears poured down her cheeks, holding a hand over her face. "Why do I have to love him so much? Why does my heart lead me to him? Why?" Rose cried, her body shaking with her heart-wrenching sobs. "Why?"

"Maybe it’s because you two are meant for each other," Annie said, her eyes shining with hope. "Maybe your heart is telling you to forgive him."

Rose shook her head and wiped away her fallen tears. "No matter how much my heart aches without him, I just can’t forgive him. I can’t. And I won’t. If I had known he was going to do this to me, then I would have been better off with Cal."

Annie just sat there, not knowing what to say or what to do. She just watched Rose sitting there on the couch, hurt and betrayed by the man she loved. Annie watched Rose’s hands tremble, her body continuing to shake with sobs.

"I-I’ll…uh…I’ll go and get the guestroom ready for you," Annie said, getting up and going towards Rose’s valise, lifting it up from the floor. She turned to face Rose. "I’ll be back." With that, Annie left the parlor and went towards the guestroom, which was next door to her bedroom.

Rose just sat there, putting a hand over her lower abdomen, where her unborn child developed. Tears slid down her cheeks and fell onto the fabric of her pale green dress, her heart breaking, knowing that her marriage to Jack was falling apart. She lay down on the couch and hugged herself, continuing to cry and letting out all the hurt and anger that continued to torment her every time she thought of Jack. Crying, she heard raindrops pattering against the window of the parlor, bringing more grief and pain to her heart, her soul matching the weather outside…gloomy, hurt, and betrayed.

*****

Jack leaned against the door, tears running down his cheeks. In his hand, he held the two rings that Annie had given him. The two rings that belonged to Rose. Sliding down the door, he cried. Jack had to admit that he never cried. He always showed everybody that he was a man and not a child. Even when they had been on the Titanic, he hadn’t shown that he was scared. But now…with his marriage colliding with an iceberg…Jack couldn’t care less that he was a man. His heart told him that he was in love, and that if he lost that from Rose, he would die. He wouldn’t be able to find a reason to live, nor could he imagine living a life without Rose. His heart belonged to Rose and nobody else. He opened his fist and caught a glimpse of the diamond on Rose’s engagement ring. He slid the rings on his pinky and brought his hands towards his face, letting his tears once again overflow. His heart broke into a million pieces as he thought of their marriage coming to an end. Of their love ending because Kristen had kissed him. Jack angrily banged on the floor, letting out an angry shout, tears spilling down his cheeks as he did so.

"Why?" Jack wailed, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears from flowing. "I love you! I love you…please, come back to me…please…" Jack brought a hand towards his face and felt the tears flow. His body shook with his sobs. Fabrizio looked at him, concern shining in his brown eyes.

"Mamma mia," Fabrizio murmured. "You are ‘a falling apart…"

Jack looked at Fabrizio, his eyes red and his lips trembling.

"My whole life is falling apart!" Jack cried, his voice hoarse. His blue eyes looked upward. He cried out, shutting his eyes. "God, please…let Rose forgive me…let Rose love me again…I can’t live without her…I can’t…I love her too much…" Jack lowered his head, looking at the rings he held in his hand. "Please, God…give me back my Rose…my love…my soulmate…I need her…I love her…I love her…I love her…I love her…please…please!" Jack shouted, angrily banging his fist on the floor. His teeth were clenched, tears pouring down his cheeks. "Please…"

The rain began pouring outside, pattering against the window. Jack looked out the window and cried. His heart shattered into a million pieces, thinking about how much longer he would have to spend a day without Rose. He looked down at the rings and angrily threw them across the room. They hit the wall and fell onto the floor beside each other. He leaned his head against the door and cried, his body shaking with sobs.

"I love her…" Jack cried, burying his face in his hands. "I love her…"

Chapter Thirty-Three
Stories