Mágoa | SB19 Josh [SB19 Series #4]

2

Josh's POV

"What?!" I was astounded. This girl is crazy. I repeat, this girl is crazy.

Marriage? She was bringing up marriage! Sheesh.

"Marry her in the marriage booth, you silly," Paige rolled her eyes at me. She probably think I was dumb for even thinking that she was going to ask me to marry her friend for real.

"Ayos, pre. Ikakasal ka na. Best man ako ah?" Clark teased, raising his eyebrows up and down.

I wanted to strangle Clark so bad.

"I'll be back," Paige informed me and Clark. She came back a few minutes later with another girl in tow. She was about 5'3" in height, a little shorter than my 5'6" frame. She had brown hair and really light brown eyes. She looked half-Filipina.

She was really pretty.

I blinked, reining my thoughts towards the situation at hand. Paige was already babbling. "Josh, meet Grace. Grace, this is Josh."

"Hi, I'm Clark!" Clark introduced himself to Grace. Grace smiled at him politely.

"Here's the thing," Paige started. "Grace hates marriage. She vows never to get married. I wanted her to get the experience. You know, get married without the commitment and the fear of getting divorced," Paige explained.

I know I must have looked confused because Grace stepped in. "It's okay if you don't want to do it. Paige just wants me to experience it. That's all. If you don't want to, I won't force you."

"Maybe we should just let Clark be your groom," Paige suggested.

"No way!" Clark disagreed. "Leah will kill me!"

"Hold up," I raised my hand, trying to shut them up. "You don't believe in marriage?" I clarified. I stared at her in disbelief.

Weddings were like a dream come true for women. Not all, but most anyway. I just haven't met a girl who was adamant about not getting married. Grace would be the first.

"No. Saw my parents do it. Now they're divorced," Grace answered.

"Divorced? Divorce is not legal in the Philippines," I commented, confused.

"Divorce is legal in the States. I was born there."

Ahhh. So, that would explain why she looked like a halfie.

"And you want to get married? In a marriage booth?" I wanted to scoff at that idea.

"Like Paige said, it's for the experience. I have no plans of doing the real thing. Why say vows of unconditional love when your spouse won't even live up to that promise, right?" she said bitterly.

I recognized the hurt- the pain in those words. I saw how she reined those in, trying to act strong as if it didn't bother her. As if her parents divorce didn't bother her.

But, it did. How parents act will always affect their children. When my dad left us, it shattered me. I always questioned myself if I was the one to blame. If I had been a good son, maybe dad wouldn't have left. If only I did my homework, maybe he and mom wouldn't fight so much. Maybe if I didn't sneak out to play computer games, maybe they wouldn't have been screaming at each other.

I hated going home because of it. I still hate going home now. I would much prefer to sleep in ShowBT or stay at work than going home to an empty, lonely house.

Grace mirrored the emotions that I was feeling. She must have been lost and confused when her parents separated. Separation, divorce, annullment- whatever the case, whatever the legal jargon, the end game was the same- two people who once promised eternal love don't want anything to do with each other. And the ones that they left behind? They suffer emotional damage and have to live through the trauma of it all.