It All Started With A Lie

{37}

"What was I saying?" I asked myself. "I uh, I don't remember," I mumbled sheepishly. 

"Right," he said slowly, leaning forward to kiss me again. "I don't wanna leave," he whispered. 

I eyed him for a moment before shrugging, "So don't." His eyebrows perked up. "Don't leave, just stay the night here," I said. 

"But we've got school." 

"So? You live next door, go get dressed in the morning," I shrugged once again. 

"That works?" he asked. 

"Sure it works," I nodded. 

He grabbed both sides of my face, kissing me. "Oh, shit," he laughed, quickly grabbing onto the window. 

"Just come inside," I rolled my eyes, taking a step back so he had enough room. 

He crawled back in, climbing over my desk before dusting his hands, turning to me. "I love you," he said, slowly kissing me. 

"I love you too," I replied. 

We'd been lying in bed for about 30 minutes now and we're talking about getting married. Yes, this is a serious conversation. 

"You know, Cher told me that we should elope in England because the legal age for marriage there is 18. She thinks we should get married as soon as possible," I chuckled. 

"She's not wrong," he smiled. 

"What are your views on marriage?" I asked. 

"What are my views on marriage, let's see," he sighed. "I think marriage is marriage," he shrugged. 

"I think marriage is a tragedy too though, don't you think?" I asked, looking up at him. 

He shook his head slowly, "No, I think love is a tragedy," he said. 

I looked at him in confusion. "Why? Marriage is what ruins things," I pointed out. 

"No, love ruins things," he corrected. 

"Huh? Explain please," I said, sitting up. 

He sat up as well and turned to me. "Let's say we've got 2 couples. One of them is a married couple, husband and wife, the other is a couple that's living together, hmm?" I nodded in understanding. "The married couple is having trust issues. Let's say the wife thinks her husband is cheating on her. The live-in couple is also having trust issues, the boyfriend thinks his girlfriend is cheating on him. Now, who is to say the trust issues are because of the marriage? For the sake of it, let's just say nobody is actually cheating on their other half, but the doubt is still there, right? The suspicion is still there, right? In both relationships?" 

I thought about what he was saying. "Yeah, but people really do cheat more in marriages. They feel tied down, they feel bored," I argued. 

"Yeah, but who is to say that's because they're married? It could also happen in a normal relationship, before marriage, couldn't it? See, marriage is nothing. It's just a formality if you think about it. It depends on each person how important it is to them. For some, it's more sacred than it is for others. Those people respect it more. For others it's just a superficial title," he shrugged. 

"Marriage is not just a superficial title," I frowned. 

"For some people it is. That's why there are people out there who don't believe in marriage at all. You don't need marriage to commit. And marriage doesn't ruin love, infidelity, betrayal, and dishonesty does. Marriage is over-hated," he explained, "Married people cheat just as much as people in relationships. You're committing to another person in both. People are just cruel. The world is just cruel, that's why marriages and relationships fall apart." 

I sat in silence while processing what he just said. 

"And anyway, why is it such a big deal if a husband cheats on his wife but not as big of a deal if a boyfriend cheats on his girlfriend? It's because marriage is a little more for society. For people to see. That doesn't mean it's not important to you. It just means people feed into it." 

"It's not as big of a deal because when you marry someone, you're committing for life. When you're in a relationship, you're committing to them, you just don't know how long it's for. That doesn't make cheating acceptable, it just... I don't know how to explain it. It's just a bigger deal when your husband does that," I shrugged. 

"Why though? What's the difference between a great husband and a great boyfriend? Apart from the title, that is. What does a great husband have that a great boyfriend doesn't?" he questioned, "And anyway, if you can't take a husband or a boyfriend's word for commitment, then what's the point of marriage?" he asked. 

"Marriage strengthens the bond of the two people. You get married for yourselves, not for other people," I explained, "You get married because having that title, that commitment to one another, makes you feel happier, not because other people approve of it," I shrugged. 

"Then why need someone else's approval at all?" 

"You don't." 

"Then why do people ask for it?" 

"Cause people are dumb," I retorted, "You should choose who you wanna get married to, how you wanna get married to them, where, when..." I trailed off, "Some people just give their family and their family's opinions a little more importance than others. That's why they seek their approval. It's not necessary, just a little conformation or a little discussion, if you will," I chuckled. 

"Let's say a girl brings home her boyfriend who she's about to marry to ask what her family thinks of them getting married and her family flat out rejects the boy. They say, 'no, he isn't the one for marriage.' That doesn't mean she actually has to listen and agree to what they're saying. Maybe she's just asking cause she wants to know. That doesn't mean their words won't hurt either, you just have to trust your love is stronger than that," I shrugged. 

"Well tell me this, Ms. Wise Old Carrington," he grinned while pulling me onto his lap so I straddled him. "What would happen when we get married?" he asked. 

"Well, that depends. How important is marriage to you? Because it's damn sacred to me."

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 37

sorry I didn't update yesterday but I'm Indian and it's Diwali, you get it you're Indian but basically there's a lot of family nights and prayers and poojas and stuff, just, whatever, I'll be writing now onwards lmao