The journey back from the meeting was silent and the tension in the air was thick. You could tell Matt was just as frustrated as you were because his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel.
You hoped the meeting would go well and that you'd get the news you were waiting for. But all you felt was disappointment and trapped in your own relationship.
You and Matt had been together for eight months, but it had been a secret. At first, you chose to have it that way because you didn't want the hate when you were just trying to find out where it was going. But a few months later, you both realised how serious the relationship was and you were ready to go public.
Matt's management had other ideas. With the success of the triplets, they didn't want him to be happy or settled down. They wanted him to be single for as long as possible.
Part of you understood. You thought you could get through it so that at the end, you could be together unbothered. But that moment will never come.
Today was the fourth meeting with them. You'd been in the dark for four months, watching Matt appear to be a bachelor and the rumours flying around of who he may be dating, when he spent his nights with you. The hiding was hard, but you had to keep yourself out of it for at least another month.
None of you were happy about it but there wasn't much you could do. Legally. But now you've ran out of patience and you felt it Matt stood up more to them, they might have shortened the month or just gave up. But he didn't, he sat there nodding when you knew how frustrated he was.
"Are you gonna act like it's my fault?" He finally spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Should I act like it's mine?" You mumbled back, crossing your arms over your chest as you stared at the window.
"You know my hands are tied"
"Nothing is tied, Matt. Especially not your hands. It's your management and if you wanted out, you'd do it. But you sat there like a good puppy when they forced our relationship into the ocean again"
Matt pulled up to your building and you got out of the car quickly, leaving him behind to put a hat on so no one noticed him. By the time he locked the car, you were on your way into your apartment.
"You're making a big deal of something that's out of my control!" He yelled when he caught up with you. You kicked your shoes off, one of them flying into the hallway.
"So pretending that we aren't a couple for another month doesn't bother you?"
"That's not what I said! I signed the contact, I can't do anything about it" he argued, following you into the bedroom as you took your clothes off to put on something more comfortable.
"I don't care about the contract, Matt!" You barked back, unloading your anger on your boyfriend. "I'm tired of this shit. Do you not want to be a normal couple?"
"That's the thing, nothing is normal about my life. I made the pretty clear when we first met"
"We could at least pretend!" You snapped back. "It would be nice to just go out, the two of us and I could hold you hand or kiss you. Not act like strangers when we've been sleeping in the same bed for months"
"You think I don't want that? You think I want rumours of other girls when I've been with you this whole time? I'm not doing this for fun"
"You could have stood up to them at least. Try to convince them that we're tired of hiding. But you sat there and let them control you!"
"I'm not bringing a lawsuit on myself!" He groaned, pulling at his hair. "Is that a crime now? That I'm trying to stay out of trouble?"
"Fighting for your relationship isn't trouble, Matt. But if you feel like that, then we have bigger issues than people playing with our life!"
The tone of your voice sent a shiver down Matt's spine as he stared at you. Part of you wished you didn't say it out loud, but you couldn't take it back now.
"I'm going home now" he mumbled and walked out of the room to put his jacket and shoes back on.
"So that's it? You have nothing else to say?" You called, putting your clothes on and rushing after him to the front door.
"I've had enough of your screaming for today" he said and his words stung.
"Real mature, Matt. Says a lot about you" you snapped before he walked out the door and closing the door behind him.
You stood there for a few minutes, letting a tear stream down your face. You sobbed, collapsing on to the bed, feeling like you just lost the love of your life.
The next morning, you woke up with an aching heart. You checked your phone and your stomach dropped when you saw no call or text from Matt. Guess he was done for good.
You forced yourself out of bed to eat something because you skipped dinner. As you ate your toast, you looked out the window and nearly choked when you heard someone knock at the door. You brushed off your hands, walking to look through the peephole first. It was Matt.
"What are you doing here?" You asked, opening the door. At first, you were afraid he came back to officially break up with you, but then he smiled as he stepped inside to stroke your cheek.
"Get dressed, we're going out"
"What? Who else is coming?"
"No one, it's just us. I'm taking you to the market for a date"
"Like a real one? What if someone sees? They'll be angry-"
"I don't care about them or the contract. I just want to be with my girlfriend without rules"
You stared back at him, tears welling in your eyes and he stepped closer.
"Don't cry"
"This is the sweetest thing!" You sniffed as Matt wiped your tears away. "They'll drag you through the mud if they got pictures of us"
"I don't care. I'll pay them off and send them on their way if they want to give me a hard time for being with my girlfriend that I love"
"You still do?" You asked, putting your hands on his waist. "I was a bitch yesterday, I'm sorry"
"You were right. I should have stood up for us and I'm sorry I made you feel like you weren't important enough. You know I love you"
"I love you too" you smiled, before pressing your lips to his.
