Cyrus and Mina have been together for more than six years. When his father passed away, she has been there for him and supported him in everything. He felt appreciative that she has not complained about his life, how he discarded her occasionally.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, so he thought of proposing. His siblings were not very fond of her, but they respected their older brother's choice and decided to tolerate anything from her. They were exceptionally appreciative of Mina because she stayed with their brother when he was in troublesome times.

He applied to C. Community College for a teaching position as he taught at a local high school. He was confident that he would get the job. However, he waited for so long to hear from them that it felt like he had to wait for an unfathomable length of time.

He wanted to have a superior job to make Mina have a sense of security.

For a year, he spared to the last cent so he could buy her a suitable ring. He wanted to give her everything. He was sure that Mina loved him the same way that he loved her. Perhaps, he thought, "I don't think she is going to stress over the quality. Though it is not a diamond, she will understand." He had hoped that she would overlook it and vowed to give her the best of the best in the future.

\~\~\~

"Cyrus. How is the proposal coming along?" A gentle and low voice asked.

"Great, I think."

"Do you need my help?" Tara inquired.

"It's all right; I can handle it. Where are your brothers?"

"Aunt Grace's. They figured that you might require some 'alone' time with Mina," she said. Cyrus chuckled as he detected the prodding tone in her voice.

"Why aren't you leaving then?" He prodded.

"Bye, Cyrus," she giggled as she went out. He felt apprehensive and on edge. He took a deep breath and prepared the table with the food and wine. He cooked her favorite, lasagna with meat sauce and cheddar. He could not afford to give her a grand proposal, yet he did what he could.

\~\~\~

"Cyrus," Mina called out as she set her keys and coat aside.

"I am coming."

"What's the grand surprise? Someone told me you were..." He was on edge. How was it already eight? He hadn't noticed the time and had continued setting up the table to perfection.

"Hey," he said, greeting her with a soft peck on the cheek. "Sorry, I—"

"What is the surprise?" She asked.

"I have neglected you, missed out on important things you had going on. I am sorry. I know this simple dinner will not make up for it, but I promise that I will be there and—"

"I know how busy you are. The kids and everything," she said. "Goodness! You cooked my favorite," she shot. "It must have been hard on you. You didn't have—Candles?" Mina took a gander at him.

"Come here," he said, waving off her question as he pulled out a chair. He pushed her tenderly under the table and took a seat across her.

"This is delicious."

"Thanks," he smiled dryly. He was happy. However, he could not utter a single word. How was he going to propose? He didn't know how to start. He didn't want to say something that could have ruined the moment he remained silent.

Meanwhile, Mina was feeling sinful for even sitting at the table with him, enjoying the delicious meal and thoughtful evening he planned. She came for one thing; end their relationship. She liked him, but she did not want to marry him. He had no parents, no family, or relatives. They were not her most prominent interests, but—

She was determined and ambitious. She wanted a prosperous man, and Cyrus was everything but a wealthy man. They had good times, but she was not willing to settle down for a man like him. A man with nothing. They were young, and they had a good time. Their relationship was great. She knew he loved her, but she didn't care. It was his problem, and he should take care of his feelings.

The dinner was nice. Nevertheless, she came for one thing, and she would not let guilt get in her way.

\~\~\~

"Let's break up," Mina said in a soft tone, her head down.

"You must have played it in your head a hundred times?" Cyrus asked calmly.

"Excuse me?"

"Sure, let's break up, but give me something—worth hearing. So, what's the argument?" He asked, his eyes fixed on her.

"What?"

"Why do we have to break up, Mina?" He asked, his face showing no signs of anger or resentment.

"Do you have the slightest idea how hard it has been for me?" She scoffed.

"You don't talk to me; how was I to know? If it has been that hard for you, why didn't you tell me?" He frowned. "I tell you every time. Every time, I remind you of my situation. And what do you usually tell me?"

"That I was okay. I would stay by your side. But, this is different—"

"How is this different? I didn't lie to you. It's not like you found out about it today."

"I had to convince myself all those years that one day, you would have something to offer. No matter how long it takes, ten or twenty years. It will not change a thing you'd still have nothing or less to offer," she said, putting much emphasis on the last sentence.

"Ah," he laughed—a dry and cynical laugh. Cyrus was well aware of how poor he was. What did she expect him to do? What else could he have done besides teaching? He was not born into a prosperous family. He didn't know anything else other than teaching high school kids. What did she expect?

"We are still young. Things may change for us or me in the future. And you knew my situation before."

"I am sorry, but I am tired. I don't want your kids to be my burden," she shouted as she was frustrated and exasperated.

"Do not bring them into this, Mina! My siblings are not the cause of us breaking up. What did you expect? You expected me to give them for adoption, only so I could enjoy my life. Is that it?" He yelled back. "They are my only family. They are my younger brothers and sister. It isn't just you and me."

"It's great that you are thinking of others. You and I are different."

"Yes, we are different, but we love each other. I love you. You love me, do you not?" He asked. Mina liked him. Love? Did she love him? "You've already made your decision. I can't force you to stay. I wasn't born into a wealthy family. I am not going to be able to give you the life you so desire. It is who I am. It is a fact that will never change. I am sorry and—thank you for the years you have spent with me."

She should have apologized to him, but why was he the one apologizing? He was perfect. He didn't deserve that.

Mina convinced herself that she wouldn't regret her decision no matter what would have happened in the future.

"For you," he said, handing her a gift bag. Inside was a Channel purse—the one she had been eyeing for some time.

"How long..."

"Don't worry about it."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I have to go."

"Let me walk you out," he offered.

"It's all right."

"Mina, I don't resent you. Don't force yourself. I wouldn't want you to pretend to be happy," he said. "Goodbye! Be happy!"

\~\~\~

The proposal, forgotten. Cyrus had one more surprise for Mina that evening, but her news left him shocked. He sat there for three hours, figuring out what had happened. The job, yes, he had been offered a full-time position at the Institution. If he had told her about it, would she have stayed? He wondered. Resentments—he didn't resent her; he felt ashamed and powerless. If only—

\~\~\~

"Why did you date him?" Kate asked; no matter how many times she tried to figure it out, she couldn't understand her friend's twisted mind.

"He is handsome, and he was good in bed," she laughed, "And I liked him."

"Kate, Je pars. Pourquoi m'as tu invitee ici? Merde, don't waste my time listening to nonsense like this," Louise said. (Kate, I am leaving. Why did you invite me here?). She was bored and annoyed, listening to Mina.

She never met Cyrus, but Mina always talked about how good he was. He was that good; why did she leave him?

"Desole."

"La prochaine fois—" (Next time) Louise gave her a warning glare.

"Je sais. Je sais," Kate quickly said. (I know. I know).

"You!" Mina grabbed Louise's hand. "You don't like me very much." Louise turned around as she stared at her with an unreadable expression. 'I could have liked you.'

"Take your hands off!" Louise finally said, and Mina quickly removed her hand.

'So arrogant!'

"I will call you," Kate yelled behind her friend.

\~\~\~

"Why did you end it, then?" Kate asked Mina after Louise left.

"I want to marry. It's time for me to have a family."

"You could have married him."

"Not him; he wouldn't be able to give me the life I want," Mina said. "He is a teacher; what can he do with that allowance?" She added.

"No one will love you as Cyrus did. He's one of the few. He is a hard-working man. Think this through Mina. He has good manners and a decent job. He raised three kids by himself at such a young age too, and they are well-behaved teens. He also respected you a lot, Min."

"He is so good; why don't you take him?" Mina said, emptying her cup filled with vodka.

"I am a married woman. No women out there wouldn't want a man like him, despite his financial status. But—forget it," Kate sighed. "You are my friend, Mina, and I love you. But are you sure you will not regret your decision?"

"I won't!" Mina said firmly.

"It is painful to say goodbye to someone that you don't want to let go," Peter, Cyrus's best friend, said, walking in the room. "But it is more painful to ask someone to stay if you know they want to go."

"Enough with the quotes, Peter," Cyrus groaned, "But who said this?"

"Anonymous."

"Why are they always Anonymous? You're making them up, aren't you?"

"Not the point here. Come on, get up, "Peter said, pulling the covers off of his friend.

"Give me ten more minutes. I will get up," Cyrus pleaded.

"I have learned not to compromise with you, amigo. It's been two days. You got drunk and slept for two days. I am sure Mina is doing well and good. Look at you!" His friend was not looking like his old self, and Peter did not like it. After the breakup, Cyrus looked lost, haggard. He looked almost unrecognizable.

"I am hurting. What do you want me to do?" He sniffed under the cover. Peter didn't know what to tell him.

"You loved her—you probably still do. I know if she were to come back, you'd accept her. No questions ask. Let's face it, friend, she moved on," Peter said, pulling out his phone to show him her latest posts.

Mina looked great. She was smiling and laughing with her friends, something she seldom did around him.

"I know how much she meant to you, but —this was not the life she wanted. You respected her choice, and you let her go. I am not saying you need to move on from her yet, but you need to connect with us. I love you. Your siblings and Blake. We are here for you."

"I know," Cyrus said as he fell into his friend's arms. "When will that pain go away? My chest feels heavy."

"I don't know man, cry all you want it's better to let it all out. You are going to be fine."

\~\~\~

"You are back and, you look alive. That's great, that's awesome, but we have a situation," Peter said, pacing around the room.

"What kind of situation? Peter! What kind of situation? You are scaring me, okay."

"Someone left with them," he blurted out.

"Someone left with— What?" Cyrus paused. He couldn't make sense of what Peter was saying. "Them? Who?"

"Tara, Tim, and Tyler."

"You're telling me this now? "You just let them take the kids?"

"The lady had bodyguards with her all right. What was I supposed to do? He defended. "She said something about a guardian—yes, something about an adoptive mother."

"That's not right," Cyrus murmured.

"You were adopted? How come I didn't know?"Peter asked. "What are you hiding from me?"

"After my parents died. My aunt has five children of her own. She put us up for adoption. There's nothing to hide. I told you."

"You have an aunt?" Peter asked. Unbelievable. "Well, how come she never came by?"

"She's my dad's older sister. I don't know. We survived without her, didn't we? That's not the point, okay."

"The point is."

"This woman, she claimed to be dad's friend. She adopted us, all four of us. I don't think another family would have taken us all, especially with the twins' condition.

"They refused to foster the twins and me. And the family who was going to adopt Tara was moving to Denmark."

"That's good. Denmark, huh? I don't think you'd ever see your sister. She saved you," Peter said. "Has she been keeping in touch?"

"She usually sent money by Aunt Grace. She moved to France. She paid for my school tuition. She stopped after I graduated. She even sent me a letter, saying she was not going to come back and that we weren't going to hear from her anymore."

"I don't think she is a clean person. She might be running a dishonest organization. My guess, she wants you to run it to pay her back." 'Dios! How did he come to that conclusion?'

"She didn't seem like the kind of person," Cyrus said, rolling his eyes.

"How would you know? You only met this lady a few times before she left for France. Here, there is an address she told me to take you there," he handed him a sticky note. Oh, how Cyrus wished he could have beaten that fellow. Just how did they become friends?

"Peter!"

\~\~\~

Village Capoix—the houses looked elegant, pleasing to the eye, beautiful; the exterior design looked as if the houses covered in gold, not the kind of place they could afford to live.

"You know, there is a slight possibility that you are not entirely wrong," Cyrus commented as they got closer to their destination. "How does someone like her live in a place like that? She didn't look like she—"

"She didn't look like one of those elites. The kind of person who had it all?" Peter said, "Well, it looks like she is pretty elite..."

"You mean rich?" Cyrus asked. "Rich would have been enough to describe her, you know."

"She may not have as much as Buffet, but she seems pretty loaded to me."

"You are right about that." Cyrus pointed to a house ahead.

"Maybe she is not what I said she was," Peter said.

"She isn't. You—and your imaginations."

\~\~\~

A security guard came out, signaling Cyrus to roll down his window. "Afternoon," he smiled, "Do you have business here? Identification, please." Cyrus still was unsure that the people who took his siblings was Mrs. Smith. "You haven't told me your purpose of being here," he reminded them as he took the ids. The security guard signaled him to wait as he verified their identity.

"I am Peter. Mrs. Smith knows why we are here. He's the one she was waiting on," Peter said.

"Sorry, sir," The security guard apologized.

"It's okay," Cyrus assured.

"Thank you," Peter said.

"You knew," Cyrus said in disbelief. "Why didn't you—what was all that for?"

"I am sorry. But, had I said, 'hey Cyrus, your adoptive mother is back. Well, she contacted me some time ago because the Aunt Grace you trusted so much had been lying to you and stealing your money."

"Aunt Grace did?"

"Let me finish," Peter said. "She was here the past two days, took care of you. She has the kids. You don't' have to worry.' Would you have left the house to look for them? You'd still be in bed, crying your sorrows away. And yes, your Aunt Grace did."

"God created you, especially for me," Cyrus smiled."Sometimes, I wonder how I'd have survived without you."

"Don't think too much about it. You wouldn't have no one to tend your heart."

"Thanks, bro."

"You trust me too much."

"You won't wrong me."

"Flatteries!" Peter chuckled.