The Marriage Contract [Completed]

twenty three

"Xael, I'm done, I'll be waiting outside," Ethan called out from outside the door as I fumbled with my mascara. It was my first date and I was nervous as hell, taking a whole lot more time than I normally do.

"Ok, I'll be done soon," I replied as I tried my best not to let mascara clump on my lashes.

I heaved a sigh of relief when I was finally done and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I had on a ribbed light pink dress and a denim jacket to go along with it. I paired my entire outfit with plain white converse. Nothing could go wrong with white.

Giving myself a slight nod, I picked up my sling bag as I made my way to the door.

Ethan was lounging on the sofa when I made my way out. "Phew, I thought I was late," I heaved a sigh of relief as I looked at the time, it was five minutes to five.

"You look great," Ethan complimented as he gave me a once over. "You're not bad yourself," I commented as he stood up and walked towards me.

Ethan was dressed in a casual white shirt with the sleeves folded all the way to his elbows and a pair of dark jeans. He had his hair gelled up today and was looking even better than usual.

"Let's go," Ethan reached out his hand to me and I placed my hand in his with a smile. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" I asked Ethan as he started up the car. "Its a surprise," he told me as I shook my head. I had expected that reply. "Come on, can't you give me a little hint?" I showed him my puppy eyes and he smiled, relenting. "Fine. Its gonna be windy and a little noisy."

I thought hard, but no answer came to me. Windy...a park? Amusement park? But amusement parks are not exactly only a little noisy.

"Can you guess what is it?" Ethan asked and I shook my head, jutting my lower lip out out of habit. "Then you'll just have to wait and see," he teased and I let out a sigh.

The club isn't the best place to find a lover
So the bar is where I go
Me and my friends at the table doing shots
Drinking fast and then we talk slow
And you come over and start up a conversation with just me

Ed Sheeran's Shape of You came playing on the radio and I stopped prompting Ethan and started mouthing the lyrics that I knew at the back of my head.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Ethan smile as he started to sing.

Come on now, follow my lead
I may be crazy, don't mind me
Say, boy, let's not talk too much
Grab on my waist and put that body on me
Come on now, follow my lead
Come, come on now, follow my lead

It was the first time I head Ethan singing, I didn't know he had such a soothing voice and I couldn't help but sing along with him, despite not having much confidence about my own ability to sing.

I'm in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
Although my heart is falling too
I'm in love with your body
And last night you were in my room
And now my bedsheets smell like you
Every day discovering something brand new
I'm in love with your body
Oh—I—oh—I—oh—I—oh—I

We belt out the lyrics of the songs one after another and before we knew it, we were at our destination.

"I didn't know you could sing," I told Ethan with a smile as he parked the car at a lot. We were at a beach. So that's what Ethan meant by windy and a little noisy.

"I was right, you have a nice voice," Ethan commented as we both made our way out of the car. "How did you know, I normally only sing—" and I stopped myself. I was about to say bathroom. Don't tell me...

"Yea I heard," Ethan chuckled as I felt my cheeks grow warm. "Was it that loud?" I asked, cringing a little as Ethan shook his head. "I enjoyed it."

The wind was getting stronger as the sun began to set. "Come on, we have to see the sunset," Ethan held my hand and started to jog towards the sand. I smiled. He looks like a little kid.

After setting out the picnic mat that Ethan had brought along, we sat alongside one another on the mat as we looked out to sea. The fiery orb slowly sinking beneath the horizon, as shades of red and pink mingled in the sky and danced with the clouds.

I looked to my side to see Ethan's side profile illuminated by the setting sun and a wave of feelings washed pass me, warming my heart.

"Its beautiful, isn't it?" Ethan murmured as he kept his gaze fixated at the beautiful sight in front of him. "Yea," I replied as I looked at the beautiful array of colors in the sky. "I've always loved the sunset. When I was younger, mom and dad would always take me to the beach, but when I turned five, they started to get busy with their work and I was always left alone with our housekeeper," Ethan said in a low voice as he stared at the sea blankly, as if reminiscing his past.

I knew how he felt. It was the same for me too. But I had my Zoey and Ava who would always come over to my house when I was young, I wondered if Ethan had such good friends too.

"I was really lonely at that time. As I was home schooled, I had no close friends at all," he shared. "It was only when I got older that I pleaded with my parents that they allowed me to go to school," he told me.

"Why didn't they allow you to go to school though?" I asked softly and Ethan replied, "they were afraid that I would get kidnapped again." Huh?

Ethan's words made me look up at him in surprise. Ethan was kidnapped before?

"It happened when I was four, I think. My memories of that few days were foggy. It happened so long ago. I was throwing a tantrum and ran away from my housekeeper who had brought me to the park. Then two masked men came along, I tried to struggle but it was useless. I was too small and weak. In the end, I spent two nights at some abandoned factory tied up and had little food to eat. I was thankful that they didn't hurt me as all the kidnappers wanted was money," Ethan recounted.

"What happened to the kidnappers in the end?" I carefully asked after Ethan told me his story. "They were captured, my parents called the police and they set a trap to capture them."

"Are you okay now?" I asked concernedly as I placed a hand on Ethan's cheeks and made him face me. "Yeah, its true that time heals all wounds," he told me with a small smile on his face.

"Thank you for listening to my story, you're the first person I've ever told this to," he gave me a gentle smile as he placed his hand on mine. "I'll always be here to lend you a listening ear. You don't have to keep such things to yourself from now on," I returned his smile with one of my own.

How lonely must little Ethan have felt, I thought to myself as I felt my heart clench. How I want to be there for him when that happened.