Ficlets

Engagement Kills

Simone lifted a trembling hand to her lips, her eyelids fluttered as she bit down on her right index finger. Jared gazed up at her, his brilliant blue eyes filled with hope. She blinked at the ring in its tiny black box glittering in his large, open palm, struck momentarily dumb.

“I love you more than words could possibly say.” She heard, but it sounded like she was underwater, drifting far away from him. She tugged her hand nervously to her side, glanced around the restaurant with a timid smile. He’d promised that if he proposed, he wouldn’t do it in public. It was far too much pressure. Her heart battered her ribcage, trying frantically to escape.

“Oh, Jared…” She murmured, and watched his face fall. The box slid from his hand, thumping against the wooden floor of the Italian hole in the wall they loved so much. She shook her head, took a few steps back, and felt horribly dizzy. Her heartbeat intensified, she remembered the heart medication, long-forgotten in her medicine cabinet. She collapsed.

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