Chapter 38 A Midnight Confession
His... what?! Emily couldn’t be sure whether Byron said this for the sake of their fake relationship, which was probably a moot point now that she had told her story in the newspaper... but he had never called her ‘his girlfriend’ before. She nearly tuned out the rest of the speech as her mind whirled, trying to understand this sudden turn of events.
To her surprise, she felt a blush of happiness infusing her face with fresh color. Meanwhile, Byron announced the opening of a new fund to help people suffering from depression.
“I have lived with depression for most of my life,” he said, “but I wanted to hide it from everyone, even from myself. Now, a very insistent young woman has asked me to come forward, and I’m here to tell you we will try to overcome this illness together.”
Many people gasped, not expecting such a revelation. The next moment, the hall was filled with deafening applause.
Emily heard Byron’s voice whispering in her ear as they turned to leave the stage, “I really meant it about you being my girlfriend.”
People greeted them as they came down from the podium. Many had hugs and words of encouragement. Others shared that someone they knew or a family member also had depression.
It was a more strongly positive reaction than Emily had even expected. She knew Byron had done this for her, and now she was relieved it had such an encouraging impact. All they had to do now was wait for the news to spread to the rest of the city.
The evening was a complete triumph. Even Sylvia was able to relax just a little and not try to rule over everyone with an iron fist. They managed to raise thousands of dollars by auctioning off some of the luxury watches from Byron’s flagship company Tempicum.
Finally, Emily found herself alone with Byron as most of the guests had gone home.
“If it isn’t the ‘man of the hour’,” she said. “For someone who produces watches, you have a funny sense of timing.”
“Do I?” he asked, raising one eyebrow in a mock quizzical expression, “I had the feeling you were ready to be my girlfriend.”
“I am,” she admitted. She had no desire to bug him further about getting help. This moment was too perfect.
“Then time is on my side, for now,” Byron said, taking her hand, “You might run out of patience with me, and I totally understand if you wanted to leave me in the future... but now, in this moment, we’re together. It’s all I could ever ask for.”
Sometimes it felt like he was reading her mind. Emily wasn’t sure about the future either, but all she knew was that she wanted to be with him.
“Why would you think I’d want to leave you?” Emily asked. When she was in his presence, charmed by his handsome face, his smooth voice, and the touch of his hand, it seemed impossible to ever leave him.
“Because I’m completely messed up,” he said. “There’s something I have to tell you. Let’s go for a walk?”
They picked up their jackets from the coat check, and Emily changed into the flat walking shoes she was going to wear on her way home.
“This looks kind of funny with the dress...” she remarked.
“You look cute,” Byron said.
The air was fresh and cold, with just a bit of drizzle, but they quickly warmed up as they walked through the busy streets.
“So, what do you want to tell me?” Emily asked, glancing to the side to try to gauge his mood.
“It’s something that you need to know about me,” he said slowly, “but you’re not going to like it.”
He tried to smile reassuringly. People passed by, talking, shouting and laughing, but Emily felt like she was in her own little bubble because she was so focused on him.
They walked onto Granville Bridge, which opened up a view of endless city lights on either side of the inlet, the dark shadowy ocean between.
The two of them stood in the middle of the bridge, and Byron finally spoke: “The night we met, I was standing here because I was going to kill myself.”
Emily remembered his anguished look on that fateful night. He had been in a whole other world, barely aware of anything around him. She could well believe he had been planning to commit suicide, and now having a sense of how depressed he could be, she began to understand how it could happen.
“Why did you want to do it?” she asked.
“It wasn’t something I ever thought about before,” he explained, “but you might be aware I was in a relationship with that movie actress Nova Summers. I thought she was going to be the one. And when she broke up with me and said she was leaving for Hollywood, it felt like my whole life was ruined. It made me an easy target for the depression to take over. When it happened, I felt like I had nothing to live for.”
Emily squeezed his hand tightly, all her instincts telling her to comfort him. She had strong nurturing tendencies, and Byron was definitely in need of some care, but was it dangerous to love someone who was in danger of killing himself?
“If you still want to be my girlfriend,” he continued, “it would be the most amazing thing that ever happened to me... but I understand if you don’t.”
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