Promises and Date

“Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.” -Paulo Coelho

Five years ago…

Getting engaged was one of the most special moments of a person's life. You could see in your partner's eyes exactly how it felt when you're so in love that you want nothing more than to spend the rest of your life with that person. When you get engaged, your lives together become one. And that was what I saw in Xavier's eyes.

Love.

A kind of love that wouldn't be reciprocated.

With a burdened heart and moistened eyes, I looked at the ring. The diamond, although big, just did not feel like it belonged to me.

Throughout the ceremony, my eyes kept wavering at Ethan who had an amused smirk on his face whenever he caught me stealing glances at him. If I could relate to any person at the party, it was him. We have so much to talk about. The kind of man I would want as my finance, with perfect looks, an eloquent mouth, and a captivating personality, also we had the same interests.

Finally giving up, I lay down to sleep when two soft knocks diverted my attention. Exhaling loudly, I stood up and walked towards the door.

I opened the door, revealing Xavier in a black hoodie and grey joggers, messy hair, and gorgeous eyes. "Hey," I muttered.

"How are you?" His voice was deep and gentle. For some reason, even his gentleness irked me and I knew it was not fair to him.

"Fine," I answered briefly.

"Let's go on a walk." He offered and when I looked into his green eyes which somehow looked greener, I couldn't just say no to him.

I nodded at him, and when I was about to leave the room, he said, "Rose?" An amused smile graced his face.

"Yeah?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed in a questioning way.

"Where are your shoes?"

"Huh?" Looking down at my barefoot, I mentally cursed myself and ran to wear my sneakers.

Without wasting time, he took the path down the lake with me close behind.

A short while later we arrived at the lake. With great pleasure, I started to walk along the lake with Xavier close behind me. It was dark outside, and the stars floated in the distance, but the moon seemed so close I could grab it and put it in my pocket all for myself.

"We used to come here a lot, for vacation." Xavier decided to break the silence between us. "I mean my family."

"That's great," I spoke.

"I know you don't want to get married," that made me stop realizing that I wasn't fully paying attention to him.

Facing him, "I…I…" my voice trailed off as I wasn't able to frame any sentence.

"It's okay, Rose." He gave me a sad smile.

I wiggled as a shiver slid down my spine when I realized the weather had changed into a chilling night. Xavier quickly noticed as he abruptly took off his black hoodie revealing his undershirt and without warning he slipped it over my head as he waited for me to cooperate and adjust it on me.

If anything at this moment, I wasn't going to deny the warmth coming from him. Thanking him he spoke up again. "I know you're not ready and don't want to get married, not now. And I promise you that I'll wait, however long it takes." He said as his eyes softened.

"Then why do we need to get married; I don't even know you that well."

Sighing, he explained, "For the sake of the contract, Rose."

"I don't understand," I said, exasperatedly.

He tried to lengthen our conversation, but I cut it short, saying I had a headache and I needed to sleep now.

.

.

.

Returning to California from the lake house was so exhausting. But at least I got a break from everything.

"At least show us a picture of your fiancé." Ava pouted when I told her about my engagement. I told them it was a private ceremony although Marc and Dad specially insisted on inviting both Ava and Carly.

I knew once they found out how I was forced to do this marriage, this news would spread like wildfire. Both of them were rich spoilt brats and nobody could expect sincerity from their shallow minds.

"I don't have a picture." I lied.

"Liar." Carly mocked, flicking her silky blonde hair backward.

"Come on, I don't have his picture. Why would I lie?" I lied again, this time adding a hint of annoyance to my tone.

They both rolled their eyes while we walked toward the parking lot. The last class was over and we were supposed to hang out a bit in a nearby cafe when I met Xavier for the first time. Reaching the parking lot, my eyes fell on the familiar car I saw in the lake house.

Ethan?

That was when I noticed him leaning against his sleek black car, wearing his signature smirk and goggles. Leaving Ava and Carly, I rushed towards him and surprised him from behind.

"Here you are, gorgeous." He said when he found me grinning at him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in a surprised voice, not expecting him to be here for me.

"Waiting for you." He smirked with his perfectly plump lips. "I don't have many friends here, so I thought it would be great if we could hang out?"

I felt my cheeks warm up under his piercing gaze. Too lost in our conversation, I forgot about my friends and their huge crush on Ethan Forbes.

"Omg! Omg! Is that Ethan Forbes?!" I heard Ava and Carly, screeching.

They were eyeing Ethan up and down with an admiring gaze while he winked at them and both of them blushed.

"If you could excuse us, I'd like to take your friend out on a date." Said Ethan, smoothly while looking at me.

"Wow, Evelyn!"

"How come you always get the best of everything?" Said Carly, showing her pearly white teeth to Ethan.

"Of course, I always get what I want," I said, smirking and putting my sunglasses on. "Bye girls, I need to go to lunch with my handsome date."

Saying this, I laced my fingers with Ethan's and pulled him along with me. While walking, I commented, "I didn't know when we agreed to go on a date?"

"You didn't object either." He said, passing me a wink. "It's not the best idea to hang out with them when you have a very handsome man here, right?"

"Absolutely." I laughed as he gripped my hand, pulling me with him towards his car and I didn't bother to pull it away from it.

We went to an expensive restaurant and ordered salads for both of us. He was the kind of person who put a lot of effort into their body, and I really admire such characteristics in a person, unlike Xavier on our first meeting.

"So, you're a health freak too." He chuckled and the depth of his voice made me shiver.

"That I am," I said, lifting the corner of my lips.

"How come someone like you ended with someone like my businessman friend, Xavier?" He raised his eyebrows and a ball of nerves erupted in my stomach.

"The deal," I said and his eyebrows drew closer.

"What deal?" He asked.

That was when I realized that he did not know the truth about our relationship. By the time the waiter came with our order, I told him everything from our grandparents' contract, his father's offer, and my meeting up with Xavier. After I silenced him, he looked like he was in some deep thought. His eyes fixated on me and I could not look away from them.

"That's very unfair to you Evelyn. You deserve the world, not this forced relationship." He said in a sad tone. Propping his elbows on the table, placing both his hands on mine, the warmth of his hands creating tingles on my skin.

"I know," I said in a dejected tone, letting his hands massage my palm gently.

After so long, I finally felt like someone understood my point of view, my dreams, and my likes and dislikes. That just made him much more attractive in my eyes.

Just perfect.