Midnight || Sirus Black

chapter 18

"Sirius Black!" Esther yelled at the boy once again that day. Her mother had demanded the two to plan more for their wedding. Esther trying to make her parents happy tried so hard to be nice to the boy but he kept on giving her reason to hex him.

"What." Sirius grumbled. "Oh let's see yeah sure I don't really care what color the theme is." Esther blankly stared at him. Which Sirius returned. He rather be anywhere then in a room with Esther.

"I didn't want this either you know." Esther sat in the chair besides him, "I was actually willing to make things work out between us, until I saw you with that girl." Sirius cringed at her words.

"I said I was sorry." Sirius tried to explain to the girl again, "It was a stupid choice and know you don't trust me or want anything to do with me."

"Don't pity yourself Black." Esther spoke, turning back to the wedding planner her mother had given the couple to look through for the future wedding. A wedding that will take place the following month.

"I don't pity myself." Sirius shot back.

"Then stop grumbling about it and move on."

"Move on?" Sirius spit out, "Oh Merlins beard, I never did think about that, yeah move on in my life, sure would be great, oh wait, I'm engaged and getting married to the girl who hates my guts!" Esther just glared at the boy.

"You can not be so sarcastic you know." Esther turned the page in the book, "Does you no good." Sirius grumbled again.

Esther slammed the book shut, her frustration mounting as Sirius lounged back in his chair like he hadn't a care in the world. The silence between them crackled with tension, the weight of their forced engagement bearing down like a storm cloud.

"You could at least pretend to care about this," she snapped, tossing the wedding planning book onto the table. "Merlin knows you've mastered the art of pretending your entire life."

Sirius's brows furrowed, and he sat up straighter, his temper flickering to life. "Oh, that's rich, coming from the girl who's spent seven years perfecting the Ice Queen routine. You've barely given me the time of day, but now you're upset because I'm not drooling over centerpieces?"

Esther's jaw tightened. "This isn't about centerpieces, Black. This is about you being incapable of taking anything seriously. For once in your miserable life, could you act like an adult?"

"Adult? That's hilarious coming from the girl whose idea of handling conflict is screaming and storming off," Sirius shot back, his tone biting. "And newsflash, Esther: I didn't sign up for this either. But here we are, stuck in this bloody mess because your family and mine decided we'd make a pretty picture together."

Esther stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. "Don't you dare act like you're the victim here. You've made it abundantly clear that I'm just another obligation to you, no different than detention or a chore."

Sirius smirked, his irritation laced with mockery. "You think I'm the only one? You're not exactly sending me love letters, Esther. For all I know, you're counting the days until you can hex me into oblivion."

"Maybe I should!" she snapped, her voice rising. "At least then I'd get a reaction out of you that isn't sarcasm or indifference."

Sirius's expression hardened, and he rose from his chair, the playful glint in his eyes replaced by something colder. "You want a reaction, Esther? Fine. Here it is. I don't care about this wedding. I don't care about the color of the bloody flowers or the guest list. And if you think for one second that I'll ever care about you, you're sorely mistaken."

The words cut deep, and Esther felt her composure slipping. "You're unbelievable," she said, her voice shaking. "You've spent your whole life running from responsibility, from people who care about you, and now you're doing the same thing here. You're a coward, Sirius Black."