Redeeming the Scorned Damsel - Preciousness is only revealed to one worthy of such things. (erotic coupling) By Erozetta. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. What’s a girl to do when everyone has been hinting that her boyfriend is going to propose in front of his family on Christmas Eve?  Then, upon receiving my gift, instead of a ring I found a note. Not a promise of a ring to come, but a note folded to fit into the slot of a beautiful ring box that read:Rin,I’ve thought long and hard about this. I know you were expecting something else, but I think we should see other people. We’ve always been on different paths and I don’t think long-term is going to converge those two wildly different walks of life. I would appreciate it if you kept up appearances until after we leave my family gathering. They’re expecting me to propose, but I just don’t feel it’s the right move with you. We can pretend this is a placeholder then part after we get back home.So sorry,Tommy I didn’t pretend. I lifted my gaze to him as he had the gall to kneel on one knee in front of me while his family looked at me expectantly. The tears in my eyes were quickly found to be the unhappy variety as I said, “Are you fucking kidding me, you asshole?” Pushing him away from me, I dropped the note and box on the floor in front of one of Tom’s brothers as I fled the cabin where his family was celebrating Christmas Eve. I noticed, during my escape, the oddly placed mistletoe hanging in the door frame past the front entrance. I was the only unrelated person present at this gathering, the image of expectant kisses should I get caught by his family under the decoration made me irrationally angry. I slammed the door behind me before running out into the snow. Mortified and put on the spot, I didn’t really care where I went or how heavy the snowfall was. I headed down the driveway without grabbing my coat, or even my shoes. My heavy wool socks became soaked as the snow melted around my feet and I jogged away with tears burning my eyes as the cold wind threatened to freeze the evidence of heartbreak to my face. James, Tom’s youngest brother, ran after me, quickly catching up and grabbing my hand to stop me. I pulled out of his grip and fell into the soft snow, laughing at the absurdity of the whole thing. James leaned over and picked me up. My protests fell on deaf ears as he lifted me over his shoulder and carried me back toward the cabin. I hit his back, pushed off of him, squirmed and tried to get him to drop me, but he held onto me with ease. He might’ve been Tom’s younger brother, but he certainly wasn’t smaller or weaker than the man I thought I was getting engaged to. “Put me down!” I snapped amidst a choked sob. James sighed and dropped me back to the ground a few hundred feet from the cabin, “It’s freezing and there’s nowhere to go for five miles in any direction unless you want to hang out with some lonely old local men that probably wouldn’t even see you as human or a grizzly or two, should you decide to venture into the woods. My brother’s an asshole, but the rest of the family ain’t. Mom sent me after you and everyone is tearing into Tommy for breaking up with you the way he did.” I looked up into the sky as large fluffy snowflakes landed on my face and eyelashes, “So, are you offering to let me sleep in your bed instead?” I asked without shifting my eyes to him, “Or I can share a bed with your parents, I suppose.” “Tommy’s on the couch, you’re getting his room,” he replied with zero emotion to his tone. “Why’s mistletoe hanging in the doorway?” I asked as James grabbed my hand and pulled me back to my feet before putting his coat over my shoulders. “What?” “I’m the only one in the house that isn’t related to anyone else, so why hang mistletoe?” James huffed, “We don’t actually use it. Mom likes how it looks.” I laughed, “Well, maybe I’ll put that to the test and hang out under the mistletoe. See if anyone’s willing to bite and help me get back at your br