Read Between the Lines

EPILOGUE

A year later...

"Pumpkin spiced latte."

It had become a tradition of sorts. They had to have pumpkin spiced latte every single year on the week before Halloween. It wasn't an anniversary per se, but more like a tribute to the first time they'd met. They'd only gotten to do it twice the first time they were dating and this was the third time they were doing it ever since getting back together.

"Here," Michelle handed a cup to Anntonia. "I took it to go."

"Huh? Why?" She asked as she took it from her hand reluctantly. Michelle just shrugged.

"It's nice outside. And we haven't been to our reading spot in a while."

Anntonia smiled at her girlfriend, but didn't comment on it.

They were happy.

They were so disgustingly happy.

It had been a bit awkward at first, what with neither of them knowing what to do with the fact that their feelings had never actually gone away. But they had ugly history together, so they weren't sure if they were willing to risk it again.

Who was to say they wouldn't reach the same conclusion?

They didn't.

This was different. Both of them knew what they'd done wrong the first time around and both of them had had five years to fix their issues in life and to work on themselves in separate ways. Anntonia had gotten the worst she'd always expected – she'd been cheated on even no matter how she tried to avoid it. She claimed it had made her realize that trust issues aren't actually a predictive factor and the only thing they do is ensure you're utterly miserable, always looking over your shoulder and looking for signs to confirm your suspicions. One time she'd been right, and one time she'd been wrong. Neither of those times had made her happy about being right to have trust issues. So she decided to stop expecting anything at all and that she'd rather be happy instead of being paranoid and scared.

On the other hand, Michelle had been trapped in a relationship with someone she hadn't loved simply out of spite and out of fear to admit the ugly truth to herself. That she could be held accountable for the failure of her relationship with Anntonia. That it had been as much her fault as it had been hers. And that commitment is only a leash when you're with someone you don't share the same chemistry with as she did with Ann. It doesn't restrict your freedom when you're with someone you actually love. And he could see that now, after five years of not having the person that her whole being has been craving for in her life and realizing she never wanted to have to go through that again.

"You seemed pretty wrapped in thought today, Love. Wanna talk about it?" Anntonia's voice brought Michelle out of her reverie as they sat down in the hammock, feet dangling and a bright smile on their faces.

"Just thinking of a big move I'm about to make." Michelle answered with a nervous smile.

And before giving Anntonia the time to process, she fished something out of her pocket and dropped to one knee. Just as expected, the girl's face fell and her features contorted in utter terror that was too hilarious to watch.

"Love—"

"Don't you fucking dare go on, Michelle Dee!" Anntonia seethed, panicked as she looked at the scene in front of her. It's not that she didn't want what it meant but they already talked about it. They both agreed to focus on their careers first and make the most out of it before settling down for good. Not that they couldn't do it when they're married but things will be different, priorities will shift.

Anntonia definitely wants to marry Michelle but this isn't the time.

"Just let me finish, woman," Michelle said annoyed as she rolled her eyes, but Anntonia was glaring at her so hard she was pretty sure she was about to stab her soon.