Work Text:
Caitlyn didn’t really pay attention to the first lie Vi told her.
It was a Wednesday and, with a bag from Jericho’s in hand, Caitlyn felt like an idiot standing in front of an obviously closed gym.
Vi had sent her a message warning that she’d need to make up a class with one of her personal training students and, because of that, would arrive home late. Her girlfriend had said she’d teach the class between 7:30 PM and 9 PM.
So, thinking of surprising her, Caitlyn left her office (where she worked as the city sheriff) and went to Zaun to order Vi’s favorite food and pick her up at the gym. However, to her astonishment, the establishment was completely empty and dark when she stepped out of the car to peek at Vi working at 8:45 PM.
Frowning, she checked her phone. No messages from Vi saying she’d get home earlier.
Even though she thought it was strange and very unlike her girlfriend, Caitlyn simply sighed and went home.
“Vi?” Caitlyn called, closing the door behind herself, looking around the living room for signs that Vi was already there.
She found nothing: Vi’s motorcycle key wasn’t hanging on the key holder, there weren’t dishes in the sink indicating dinner, the TV that her girlfriend usually turned on when she was home and wanted some noise around the house was off, and there were no lights on in any of the bedrooms.
Caitlyn dropped the takeout bag she carried onto the kitchen island that divided the living room and kitchen with a sigh. A string of concern hit her because of how odd the situation was.
[21:05] Caitlyn: Vi? Is everything okay?
The answer came immediately.
[21:06] Vi ❤️: hey, cupcake! everything’s fine, i’ll be home in a little bit ;)
[21:06] Vi ❤️: got carried away with the class, but im leaving rn
After the confirmation that nothing bad or serious had happened, that this was probably just a miscommunication, Caitlyn headed for a well-deserved shower after a long day of work.
When she came out of the bathroom, she heard the front door opening. She put on a simple pajama set and walked to welcome Vi home and share dinner with her.
“Hey, Cait,” Vi had a huge smile on her face, her gaze alternating between her girlfriend and the food bag on the counter. “I can’t believe you went all the way to Zaun for this.”
“Well… I had some free time to kill, since you warned me you’d arrive late,” she answered with a smile. “But please, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Vi took a step forward, her arms moving as if to hug her, but Caitlyn’s face twisted into an expressive grimace that made her stop in place and let her arms fall.
“Would you rather I shower before eating?” Vi asked, one brow furrowed in amusement.
After all, she knew her girlfriend well. And Caitlyn had certain rules related to cleanliness: it was absolutely forbidden to lie on the bed or sit on the couch wearing clothes they had worn outside. Shoes had to be removed at the front door. And, if Vi arrived after she had already showered, kisses and hugs would only be allowed once she showered too.
“No, that’s not necessary,” Caitlyn waved lightly, dismissing the suggestion. “But you only get to hug me after dinner and a shower.”
“Got it, Sheriff,” Vi chuckled. “I’ll just wash my hands, then.”
Vi headed for the hallway bathroom, while Caitlyn unpacked the food from the paper bag and carried it to the dining table, which sat beside the living room — strategically positioned to face the TV.
Dinner was the same as every day, in their little shared routine Caitlyn adored. With some silly reality show on the TV, while they sat at the end of the table together — Caitlyn with her legs crossed on top of the chair and Vi making sure to emphasize how much she loved Jericho’s food between massive bites.
As usual, the food was gone while the episode was still halfway through. Normally, they’d move to the couch beside them to finish it, but since Vi arrived late and hadn’t changed clothes yet, they stayed in their chairs until the end of it.
“I’ll throw the trash,” Vi volunteered, standing up.
“No, I can do that. Go shower, I want us to go to bed so we can cuddle a bit before sleep,” Caitlyn told her, dismissing her with a wave of her hand.
So Vi went to their suite, and Caitlyn grabbed a black trash bag they kept in the pantry attached to the kitchen. She put in the torn wrappers, sauce packets, and soda cans and tied the bag shut, leaving it inside the cabinet they used for trash so they could take it downstairs the next morning.
Soon, they were lying in their bedroom, completely tangled together. With her legs intertwined with Vi’s and her head resting on her chest, Caitlyn was almost asleep when she remembered the strangeness of going to the gym and not finding her there, so she asked:
“How was your seven o’clock class?”
“It was fine,” Vi answered, her voice steady, her breathing calm. “Sorry about the timing, the student insisted, and I owed her that one since I canceled with her last week.”
Caitlyn almost argued that she stopped by and hadn’t seen her. But maybe Vi had been using the boxing room or the aerobics area — since both were in the back of the gym, it was possible she simply hadn’t seen the light on.
And the idea that Vi would lie to her was so absurd that Caitlyn didn’t insist on the subject. Closing her eyes, she snuggled even closer into the warmth of her girlfriend’s body to fall asleep.
————
A week and a half later, Caitlyn was accompanying Jayce on his endeavor to find the perfect suit for a gala he would attend in search of investors for Hextech.
Caitlyn tried to escape the boring task of watching him try the same suit for hours, but her best friend knew that every Monday Vi had a soccer game with an improvised team made up of Ekko and other friends. And he used that information to coerce her into accompanying him.
“Jayce, I swear this is the same suit you showed me two minutes ago,” she huffed, sitting in an armchair in front of the fitting room. “This salesman is scamming you.”
“For God’s sake, Caitlyn!” He looked genuinely offended. “The other one was cherry red, this one is crimson red. Could you maybe pay a little more attention here?”
Stamping his foot like a spoiled child, Jayce disappeared into the fitting room again, complaining to himself about bringing the worst person in the world to give opinions on clothes.
About forty minutes later, and after countless “Do you think this really is the right blazer for me?” questions, Jayce finally concluded his mission and they left the store with a shopping bag in hand.
“We’re really close to the bridge,” Jayce commented casually, tossing his purchase into the back seat and getting into the driver’s seat. “At this hour, there’s no traffic, and Vi’s game is almost finished by now, right?”
“The game usually ends at nine,” Caitlyn nodded, climbing into the passenger seat and fastening her seatbelt. “What are you scheming in that hollow head of yours?”
“More respect for your elders, please,” he complained, starting the car. “How about we pick up your girlfriend and stop somewhere for drinks?”
“Jayce, it’s Monday. Some of us have jobs, you know.”
“Oh, shut up, my job demands as much as yours does. Dinner, then?” He pouted, looking at her with his best puppy abandoned on the highway expression. “It’s been forever since I last saw Vi. I miss her, you know?”
“It’s impressive how you two share the same brain cell whenever you meet,” Caitlyn rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Deep down, she loved that her girlfriend and her best friend got along so well. “Alright, then.”
The drive, without the traffic that accompanied rush hour, took twenty minutes. And the time passed quickly with Jayce beside her, who made a point of telling her all the Council gossip he could remember.
Arriving at the community field in Zaun, they got out of the car and looked at each other in confusion.
The field was empty, the floodlights off, and the grass being watered.
“Hey!” Jayce called to a little boy playing marbles on the sidewalk. “Did the game already end? Do you know if everyone has already left?”
“What game, sir?” The boy picked up his marbles and stood up, alternating his attention between Jayce and Caitlyn.
“The soccer game. The one that happens here every Monday around this time.”
“I don’t know about any game.”
“But…”
“I’ve never seen this game you’re talking about,” the boy took a few steps back. “There’s only soccer here on Thursdays and Fridays.”
With that, he turned on his heels and ran away. Completely confused, they returned to the car.
“That’s weird,” Jayce said once they started crossing the bridge back to Piltover.
“Very,” Caitlyn bit the inside of her cheek, drumming her fingers against the car door. “Perhaps he’s not from there and isn’t familiar with the neighborhood?”
Caitlyn hated how it sounded like a hopeful question, but her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong.
“I’m sure there’s an explanation”, he nodded. “Maybe they changed their plans today and didn’t play?”
She took a deep breath, her expression unreadable. The incident from that Wednesday returned to her mind, the class Vi said she taught, that Caitlyn never saw. Her head created a thousand scenarios, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions about the matter or connect events that might have nothing to do with each other.
So, Caitlyn ignored the chill feeling on her spine.
After hugging Jayce goodbye when he dropped her off, Caitlyn found Vi half-naked, sitting in one of the dining table chairs.
“I ate some leftovers in the fridge before showering and decided to wait for you so we could go together,” Vi said as soon as she saw her. “I figured your shopping with Jayce wouldn’t take much longer than this.”
“Where were you?” Caitlyn raised an eyebrow, finishing taking off her heels and placing them in a shoe cabinet beside the door.
“What do you mean?” Vi grimaced. “In Zaun, playing with Ekko and the Firelights.”
“We stopped by there, because Jayce wanted to see you.” She pointed out, narrowing her eyes. “It was dark, and the field was closed.”
“It ended earlier than expected.”
“A little boy was playing in the street. Jayce asked about the game, and he told us there’s only soccer in that arena on Thursdays and Fridays.”
Vi froze for a few moments, and Caitlyn could swear she saw a flicker of desperation in her powder blue eyes. Her girlfriend let her gaze travel over Caitlyn’s entire body and, melting the expression into a mocking smile, she stood up.
“Well… With this here on your waist,” Vi stretched out her arm and pulled the police badge Caitlyn wore clipped to the waistband of her pants. “The poor kid probably thought he’d get in trouble and answered you with whatever came to mind so he could run away.”
Caitlyn stared at the badge in Vi’s hands and laughed softly. The tension in her shoulders slowly melted away as the explanation fit the boy’s behavior and his running away. She picked up the badge, flicking it through her hands, but her heart was still drumming against her ribs. It didn’t feel right.
Her instincts were still screaming inside her head that something was off. As a Sheriff, she was used to following them on every case — and Caitlyn was proud to say she was almost always right. But… But this was Vi. This was her safe space, the home she shared with the love of her life, where Caitlyn could bring her walls down and be vulnerable.
So, this was probably one of the few times that the stupid voice in her head telling her to investigate this was wrong. Once more, Caitlyn ignored the urge to ask any further questions.
“I can’t believe I forgot to put this away when I left the station,” she shook her head. “Shower, then?”
“Right after you, cupcake,” Vi gestured for her to lead the way, with a bright smile that made her eyes spark a little.
————
It never crossed Caitlyn’s mind, from the moment their relationship had started, that one day Vi would cheat on her.
How could she predict this? If Vi looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered in the whole world?
If someone had even mentioned the idea to Caitlyn a month earlier, she would’ve called insane anyone who dared suggest such a fantastical, dystopian, and idiotic scenario. But now — one month after the confusion about the soccer games in Zaun — she had no choice but to face the situation.
Because now, while Vi was cooking and she was on the couch reviewing some important reports she brought home, her girlfriend’s phone lit up with a notification on the coffee table in front of her.
It wasn't Caitlyn’s nature to snoop or invade anyone else’s privacy. When she lifted her head to look at the device, it was because she thought it was from her own phone (which was right beside it). And she read the message that arrived in the notification bar before noticing it was on Vi’s phone, not hers.
[19:06] Sarah: Tomorrow? Will you come here?
Caitlyn swallowed hard, frowning. Before she returned her attention to her papers, another message arrived:
[19:07] Sarah: Is your girlfriend around? Would you rather talk later?
With trembling hands, Caitlyn ended up crumpling her papers by accident, her fingers curling into fists in an automatic reaction. The screen went dark, and she blinked a few times, as if she was unsure whether she had hallucinated the whole thing.
Her heart seemed to have sunk between her ribs, making her chest weigh a ton.
Vi dropped the vegetables she was chopping and walked to the table, picking up the phone. Caitlyn watched as she typed a quick response — and, instead of putting it back down, Vi slipped it into her shorts pocket and returned to the kitchen.
Caitlyn focused on keeping the rhythm of her breathing steady, her eyes fixed on the wall ahead, because the pressure in her chest made her feel like she was drowning. Suffocating. She swallowed hard, and her tongue felt too heavy too, the action demanding more effort than usual.
It felt like her entire body was malfunctioning.
A few minutes later, Vi appeared in front of her with two bowls of meat and salad.
“Enough of this, Cait. It’s Friday!” She exclaims, taking the papers from her girlfriend’s hands. The relaxed tone quickly turned to a worried one when she noticed the way Caitlyn clutched the documents, and, cautiously, she asked: “Difficult case?”
“Yeah,” she sounded strange, her voice hoarse. Speaking scratched her throat, like the words were made of sand. She cleared her throat. “I’ve made a discovery I would rather not know.”
Vi hummed in acknowledgment to indicate she heard and stacked the papers on the coffee table, placing the bowl in Caitlyn’s free hands. She sat on the couch beside her, the cushions sinking under her weight, and grabbed the remote to turn on the TV.
“I mean… Some things are better covered, right?” Vi took a bite of salad, chewing slowly. Their show was already on television, paused. “If there’s something you wouldn’t want to know, you can just ignore it, and maybe the problem will solve itself.”
Caitlyn looked at her own bow, and her stomach twisted immediately. Vi sounded casual, but the implication behind the words stung in Caitlyn’s chest like a knife cutting her open. Her eyes burned with tears threatening to appear, but she suppressed them with a few blinks.
“I’m not hungry,” she said at last, standing up. Leaving the food by the sink, she picked up her work papers and headed to her office, which was in the room beside their bedroom. “I need some time alone.”
“Alright. Call me if you need me,” Vi had a crease between her eyebrows, apprehensive about the sudden distance, but she didn’t insist on the subject. “But you need to eat something before coming to bed, okay?”
“Yeah, right.”
It wasn’t an unusual scene. Sometimes, when dealing with very delicate cases — usually the ones involving heinous crimes — Caitlyn needed a few moments alone to absorb the facts and regulate her emotions. That’s why Vi looked a bit troubled by her distance, but didn’t question it when she locked the office door behind herself.
Caitlyn’s body collapsed onto the chair inside, her legs losing all strength. She embraced herself, unsure what to do.
Honestly, she wanted to scream until her vocal cords were hurting and failed her.
She wanted to march back into the living room, confront her girlfriend, and demand that she show her the conversation with “Sarah”. She wanted to point out all the strange facts joining together in her memory and demand answers.
The soccer games on Mondays — which started around six months ago and which, apparently, truly didn’t exist. Was that when this affair started? The class Vi supposedly had to teach on a Wednesday, but wasn’t at the gym… How many other classes that stretched past work hours were flimsy excuses too?
At the same time, Caitlyn wanted to do nothing except curl into herself and cry until she dehydrated. She wanted to believe there was an explanation because, even with all the evidence, her erratic heartbeat still insisted Vi would never do this. It felt like something so unimaginable, so outside reality, so incompatible with her girlfriend…
But Caitlyn was never the type of person who ignored evidence in favor of her feelings. Therefore, she knew she needed to talk to Vi.
She would do it tomorrow, she decided. Because today she was feeling too fragile to conduct a conversation, feeling too vulnerable and exposed terribly — in a way that draws heavy tears from her, leaving her breath uneven and making her feel absurdly small.
————
By morning, Caitlyn woke up with a stiff neck from the awkward way she fell asleep in the office chair and with her legs tingling from the position they were bent in, knees tucked against her chest.
With a grumble of discomfort, she stretched and stood, heading directly to the hallway bathroom — and startled at the sight she found in the mirror’s reflection. Her hair was a complete mess, frizzy and full of knots, and deep dark circles marked her swollen eyes.
She washed her face slowly, feeling the cold water against her skin as if she needed something to anchor herself to reality. After finishing her morning hygiene routine (except brushing her teeth, since her toothbrush was in their bedroom suite), Caitlyn headed to the kitchen, motivated by a low growl coming from her stomach.
It was while preparing two eggs for breakfast that she heard movement behind her, in the living room, along with the sound of keys jingling.
“Morning, cupcake,” unaware of the storm of emotions she was facing, Vi approached and wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. She gave her a loud kiss on her cheek before saying, “Powder called me, she needs my help today to move some furniture.”
It wasn’t a lie that Vi’s younger sister was, in fact, moving — Powder had gotten a good rent deal on an apartment beside Zaun’s university and, for the facility of it, was moving out of Vander’s house.
It was something Caitlyn would’ve believed without question under normal circumstances. But after yesterday… After putting together the strange pieces from the past few months, with the message she had read — Tomorrow? Will you come here? — still hammering in her memory as if branded there, she knew with absolute certainty that this was a lie.
“Can I go with you?” Is the route she chose to take to force some answer from Vi.
Vi let her go, and Caitlyn turned off the frying pan, the eggs almost burnt by her distracted thoughts. When she turned to face her girlfriend, she was already with her back turned, walking around the counter.
“You don’t need to, baby. It’ll be boring, y’know? Just moving furniture from one place to another… There’ll probably be a lot of noise, things dragging around, and dust. I know you’re sensitive to those things. I don’t want to take you just for you to be uncomfortable with everything there.”
Another rehearsed answer that, days ago, would’ve worked perfectly.
“Vi…”
“I know I’ve been going out more than usual lately,” she said, hooking her motorcycle keys into the waistband of her pants while crouching to grab one of her boots from the shoe cabinet, still not facing Caitlyn. “But don’t worry, I’ll come back in time to get ready for the ball tonight.”
Caitlyn froze.
She completely forgot about that damned ball.
It was a party her mother was organizing at the Kiramman mansion — Caitlyn and Vi had received the invitation around two months earlier, with recommendations for semi-formal attire accompanied by a recommended color palette (which varied between shades of white and cream) and the time set for 7 PM.
All her determination to confront Vi about her behavior and the messages from the previous night collapsed like an avalanche.
Because she knew Cassandra adored Vi — and she not only didn’t want to deal with the headache of solving this problem now, on a day they had an event scheduled, but also didn’t want to face a boring ball with high society without her girlfriend by her side, despite the circumstances they found themselves in.
In silence, Caitlyn watched Violet put on her boots and, with one final “bye,” the girl left the apartment.
————
[11:26] Vi ❤️: hey, cait
[11:26] Vi ❤️: forgot to warn you earlier
[11:27] Vi ❤️: i booked an appointment for you at the salon across the street at 3pm so you don’t have to worry about makeup and hair for tonight! :)
[11:32] Caitlyn: Thank you, Violet.
Caitlyn sighed, frustrated. She curled a little further beneath the bedsheets because the way Vi knew her — and knew she hated dealing with getting ready for formal balls — wasn’t helping at all in organizing her thoughts.
How was she supposed to believe she was being cheated on when Vi was so fucking attentive? It was driving her mad.
Closing her eyes tightly, she decided she would bury the matter in the back of her mind. She wouldn’t deal with it today, and it wouldn’t do her any good to keep obsessing over it all.
Setting an alarm for 2:30 PM, she decided to try sleeping a little so she’d be rested that night.
————
At 6 PM, Caitlyn waved goodbye to the salon employees.
The makeup was light, matching her outfit and the color palette determined by Cassandra, with a brown smoky eye and pink gloss on her lips. Her hair, tied in a high bun, had a few strategically loose strands framing her face. And, at the insistence of the girls who attended her, she also ended up painting her nails with a clear base with white tips.
Back at the apartment, just as she finished putting on the white dress she had bought for the occasion, her phone vibrated atop the bedside table with two new messages.
[18:10] Mother: Dear, we had an unforeseen issue. Our gardener didn’t show up this afternoon, therefore, it’s unfeasible to hold the party in our gardens. The new address is that restaurant by the river, La Belle Cuisine. See you there!
[18:11] Vi ❤️: just got your mom’s message
[18:11] Vi ❤️: i got caught up here with powder and her bedroom wardrobe, i won’t be able to go home and get ready
[18:12] Vi ❤️: don’t worry, i brought my clothes in my backpack :) see you there!
Caitlyn wasn’t the biggest fan of abrupt changes in plans.
Breathing deeply to stop the tears slightly blurring her vision, she mentally cursed both her mother and her girlfriend. In automatic movements, she put on her gold accessories — earrings, necklaces and bracelets — and grabbed her heels from the wardrobe, since the living room only held the shoes she and Vi usually wear daily.
She looked at herself in the mirror: the dress is an icy shade of white and reaches her feet. It has thin straps, but with two pieces of fabric attached to the bust that drape like sleeves over her arms, the same length as the dress, giving it a refined fall. The bust and waist fit tightly against her body, but from her hips down, the dress opens slightly.
Caitlyn nodded to herself, considering that yes, she looked nice. Sufficiently satisfied with her choices, she went to the living room and sat on the couch to fasten her heels.
At 6:30 PM, she was in her car, typing the address into the map to look for the best route to the restaurant.
————
As soon as she got out of the car after parking in front of the restaurant, Caitlyn saw her girlfriend.
Vi was standing at the entrance, wearing cream-colored pants with a black belt and a white button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled to her elbows. Her pink hair was styled with a few strategically messy strands, giving her a casual appearance.
She looked restless, hands frantically fiddling with the buttons on her rolled sleeves, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. As soon as she saw her, Vi opened a smile wide enough to split her face in half.
“Cait,” she sounded breathless, her eyes seeming to shine while looking at her. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Caitlyn smiled, unable to stop the way her chest warms at the compliment. “Shall we go in?”
Vi placed a hand on the middle of her back, guiding her toward the entrance.
Strangely, the restaurant was empty.
There wasn’t any decoration inside the place, nor any table large enough to accommodate her mother’s guests, as Caitlyn had imagined. Furrowing her brows, she wondered if she should pull out her phone to confirm they were in the right place.
Despite the strangeness, Vi kept guiding her with firm steps.
When they reached the outdoor area, a wooden floor stretched over the sand leading to the river. In the middle of that space, a low table is centered between two white poufs, with some red rose petals scattered across the floor and the lighting provided by artificial candles lit around the environment.
“Hasn’t my mother arrived yet?” Caitlyn looked around, confused.
“No, baby. Your mother isn’t coming,” Vi corrected with a quiet laugh. “Come on, let’s sit.”
The poufs were arranged facing opposite directions, one on each side of the table. Vi extended her hand so Caitlyn could use it for support while sitting without losing balance in her heels and, afterward, dragged the other pouf to her side to stay closer to her.
“Caitlyn,” Vi took one of her hands, squeezing it between both of hers with a heavy sigh. “I think I owe you some explanations.”
Caitlyn held her breath.
I can’t believe she’s doing this to me here, she thinks, with a pang of despair. After all, it would be cruel if Vi encouraged her to get dressed up and brought her to this restaurant just to break up with her, wouldn’t it? To tell her she’d met someone else?
“For a while now, I’ve been hiding something from you,” Vi discreetly bit her lower lip.
“Vi, no–”
“Let me explain, Caitlyn.”
“Vi, please, don’t do this here.”
“Cait, trust me,” Vi asked, with a thread of a voice. Her eyes were pleading too, staring right into Caitlyn’s, and she sighed and nodded. “It started six months ago.”
“What?”
“I’ve been taking some classes on Monday nights, so…Yeah, I lied. The soccer games I told you about never existed.”
“Classes? About what?”
“Jewelry making. Learning how to handle precious metals and make jewelry,” Vi distractedly played with Caitlyn’s fingers, her hand still held between hers. “The idea started as a joke from my sister. I asked for her help looking for a ring for you, but none ever seemed good enough, and she said that if nothing was ever good enough for me, then I should make it myself.”
Caitlyn remained silent, staring at her, waiting for the explanation to make any sense, with her heartbeat racing.
“It took longer than expected, honestly. The prediction was that I’d finish around two months ago, but I just… I wanted it to be perfect, you know. To match you,” Vi gave a shy smile, releasing her hand. Breathing deeply, she leaned forward and got off the pouf, kneeling on one knee.
“What…” Caitlyn wanted to ask what exactly was happening, her head spinning with the new information and with everything she’d reasoned since the previous day, but the words died in her throat.
Vi pulled a small black box from one of her pockets and, visibly trembling, opened it. Inside were two identical rings, distinguished only by the central stones — one ruby and one sapphire.
The rings were rose gold, each one with two bands worked into delicate branches and leaves intertwined along their lengths. At the center, the round brilliant-cut stones dominated the piece, held by discreet prongs. Small diamonds are embedded along the band between the leaves, adding points of light that reinforce the central stone’s shine.
“Caitlyn Kiramman, will you marry me?”
Caitlyn opened and closed her mouth a few times, choking on air as she tried to formulate an answer. Her eyes filled with tears as soon as she noticed every little detail in the rings Vi made.
Everything inside her wanted to scream “yes” and throw herself on top of her girlfriend — even better, her soon-to-be fiancée. But, with her thoughts turbulent, she felt like she needed to clear everything up at once:
“Your classes were on Monday, but there was a Wednesday when you said you had a class after business hours… The one I picked up food from Jericho’s for dinner. I passed by, and you weren’t at the gym.”
“It was an extra class with a precious stones specialist. It was optional, but I wanted to go to make sure I’d choose the best options.”
“And who is Sarah? I saw the message yesterday, through the notification bar.”
“She’s my teacher,” Vi giggled quietly. “She was asking if I was going to pick up the rings today. I left it at the studio so I wouldn’t risk you finding it at home. I spent the day out because I had lunch with my family at Vander’s and showed them how it turned out.”
“And…”
“Tonight’s party never existed,” she continued explaining. “I arranged with your mother for her to organize this lie and send you an invitation so I could bring you here dressed up without you suspecting my intentions.”
“So everyone knew?”
“Everyone except Jayce, yes. He’s too much of a blabbermouth. He would’ve told you about the plans in less than two days.”
Caitlyn felt the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, still feeling too stunned to have any reaction to the proposal. Vi, still kneeling on one knee, held the box with one hand and leaned forward enough to place the other beneath her face, her thumb softly caressing the wet skin.
“There’s nobody in this world for me besides you, Caitlyn. And not to rush anything, but I’d really appreciate it if you could give me an answer soon. It may not look like it, but I’m losing my mind here every second that passes, convincing myself you’re going to say no.”
“Vi,” her name came out more like a gasp than a word. Caitlyn placed her hands on the collar of Vi’s shirt and, pulling her by the fabric, she answered shortly before sealing their lips together, “Of course I will, love.”
The kiss was brief, but it conveyed everything words couldn’t really express. When they separated, Vi was still subtly trembling as she took Caitlyn’s left hand and slid the sapphire ring onto her ring finger — letting her do the same with the ruby ring shortly afterward.
With the rings on, Caitlyn pulled Vi to her side and they squeezed onto the same pouf, Caitlyn's legs draped over her girlfrie– no, her fiancée.
Wrapping her arms around her waist, Vi took the opportunity to scatter kisses over everything she could reach: her cheeks, her nose, her neck. And, between the sweet small kisses, she whispered:
“It’s really hard to surprise you, you know? I figured you’d seen the messages yesterday, when you locked yourself in the office. I spent the night awake, thinking about whether I should just tell you already.”
“What can I say? I’m good at my job.” Caitlyn laughed, her body relaxed atop Vi’s.
“Perks of dating the Sheriff, I suppose,” Vi smiled against her skin, brushing her nose affectionately on her cheek.
“Even though I did spend the night apprehensive, I’m glad you didn’t ruin the surprise,” Caitlyn murmured, closing her eyes. “This is perfect, darling.”
“You deserve no less than perfect, baby,” Vi whispered, kissing her face all over again. “There’s no reality in which I’m not hopelessly in love with you, Caitlyn. I’m meant to be yours in every universe.”
“So do I, Vi,” Caitlyn giggled from the tickling of the little kisses. She cupped Vi’s face and brought her close, to kiss her properly. “Thank you.”
“I love you, cupcake,” Vi nestled her face into Caitlyn’s neck, smiling while informing her: “Also, I already made our wedding rings too. But you’ll only get to see them on the ceremony day.”