Paul gave a Colette a smile back. It was tense, though, he couldn't hide that. This trip was supposed to be fun and thanks to Rich, it turned out to be awful. It pained him to walk away but he had no choice. Diane might have been able to talk Martin into changing his mind, but Paul didn't want her to. He was done with it all. It was time to move on with his life. His only hope was that Martin and Diane didn't suffer too much thanks to Rich. If they did...Well, he's hear about in the papers now. He was fired and Martin was no longer his problem.<br/><br/>~"You're very welcome and I'm sorry he treated you like that. You did not deserve it and I would do it again, in a heartbeat."~<br/><br/>He replied to Colette in French. She did nothing to deserve the type of treatment Rich at thrown at the young woman. He would gladly defend her again from him, even knowing now what the fall out would be. If he had any regrets it was that he hadn't hit Rich even harder. A more happy smile appeared on his face when she presented him with a slice of chocolate pie.<br/><br/>~"Thank you, I love chocolate."~<br/><br/>He said and truly did. Chocolate was one of his favorite things to indulge in. He took the plate from her and stepped back to let her enter the room. He told her.<br/><br/>~"It did but..."~<br/><br/>Paul sighed a moment, as he thought of what happened. He didn't want to burden Colette or make her feel guilty.<br/><br/>~"Deep down, it was a long time coming. If anything, what happened made me realize what I need to do. So, thank you for that."~<br/><br/>He had been stuck for a while. Too afraid to move forward and putting up with things he didn't agree with. While it hurt to say goodbye, it was best. He could move on with his life and not live in lies. That already felt more freeing. Maybe, someday, Martin would realize that was best too.