Gerhard had to go to Germany to have a series of meeting with the German bank. That was one reason he had wanted to get Sharon's answer before he left.

The two days before he left, though he did not ask Sharon for the answer to his proposal, he kept looking at her hopefully but she would look away, and he would swallow the pain her continued rejection caused him.

'Ensure that you do not leave until I get back', was his last plea to her before embarking on his trip.

The day he took the flight ...