You, Just You | ongoing

vii. disputationem

vii. disputationem

[ discussion ]

Victor stared at the photo from the papers. His eyes drifted over the title of the article, lips pursing as he did so.

'WEDDING OF THE CENTURY!' the black printed words screamed at him and his gaze slid up to the enlarged photo on the right corner of the paper.

Somehow, the papers had caught them at a rather...interesting position from a social outing a week ago. 

Jenessa was smiling broadly as she talked, her eyes were filled with warmth and amusement (how they've managed to catch that quality in a picture, he'd never know) but what stood out was the way the photographer had caught him on camera.

The corner of his mouth was quirked up—dare he say it?—into a small semblance of a smile, his eyes were portrayed to be warm and he was leaning down to hear her speak. Overall, an indulgent expression was on his face.

Did he really look like that whenever Jenessa was around?

He didn't think so.

However, the small subtitle under the header made him tense. In uppercase letters, the three words made him narrow his eyes.

'ARRANGED OR LOVE?'

The former, he corrected inwardly in mild annoyance and disdain, eyes squinting at the name of the journalist.

Despite the header and photograph, the article was well-written, stuck to the facts and the minimum details that were given.

The sound of the door to his private study being opened made him grit his teeth. "Get lost!"

"You know, for someone who has been by your side and had your back all these years, you would think they would receive a proper greeting."

Victor paused and looked up.

"William," he said, getting to his feet. "What are you doing in England?"

His best friend grinned, making a shrugging movement before rubbing his hands together. "I'm back for good, Hannah missed home. Apparently, she didn't care much for the sights in New York either."

"I liked New York," Victor said, the lie automatically springing out.

"Liar, you hated it," his best friend retorted good-naturedly as he settled into the seat facing his desk. "Plus, I just came to see how are you, considering the fact you're now going to be a married man in a few months time."

Victor sighed, shoulders tensing once more at the reminder.

"I couldn't believe it when I first found out. Because surely you would inform me on such a huge event. But who knew I had to find out from the papers? Certainly not me!" 

He rolled his eyes. William Bauer's dramatics did rub on his nerves at times.

"What's your point?" he cut in. 

William grinned, showing off his pearly whites. "Nothing. I just wanted to see who was the woman who melted the ice around your heart." 

He scoffed, crossing his arms. "If you did read the papers, you would have known it was nothing like that." 

"Yes, but this picture says otherwise." His best friend snatched the morning's paper and waved it triumphantly in the air. "How could I believe it when you look at your fiancée as though she's the light of your life?"