"What do you think? Does it suit me?" I ask the second I step out of my room, fidgeting with my necklace.
I'm wearing a red peplum halter dress that goes just an inch above my knees and to say that the dress is pretty is an understatement. I totally love it!
"Oh my god, Lauren! You're so beautiful!" Gillian's hand flies to her mouth whilst looking at me as though I was a totally different person. "Nicky will fall in love you all over again, for sure!"
I smile at her. "Thanks, Gill. Do you think he will like it?"
Not that I'm not confident with how I look. It's just that I'm extra conscious right now especially that I'm going out on a date with my very good-looking boyfriend! We've been together for nearly 3 years now and since then, lots of things have happened in our relationship. There's loads of distractions and whatnot but we've managed to get through all of it.
He's become even busier with Westlife and I, on the other hand, have been so focused on my studies since I started schooling at University of West London. It's so sad that we don't see each other that much now unlike before.
But tonight, we're going to have a date! I still feel nervous even though we've done this a few times before. I still get that crazy feeling when I'm with him. He's just too good to be true that I can't help but feel so lucky to have Nicky in my life. I know a lot of girls would die to be in my place right now.
But sorry girls, he's already taken.
Gillian eyes me from head to toe. "Of course he wil like itl! Right, Vogue?!"
I spot Vogue sitting down on the couch whilst giggling at something on her phone. When she hears Gillian mention her name, she looks up impulsively and says, "Did you just say something, Gill?"
I roll my eyes. Gillian does too. She's always not paying attention.
"Who are you texting with?" Gill pokes her in the ribs causing her to jolt back.
"Oh c'mon Gill, I'm just texting with my... with my old friend because it's already been a long time since we last talked!" Vogue replies defensively.
"Whatever you say," we both say in unison.
"Just mind your own business!" Vogue hisses.
I glance at Gillian and give her a knowing look. We both perfectly know who she is texting with. It's Bryan, for sure. They've been hanging out a lot lately and Gillian once caught them holding hands in a not-so-friendly way. Sure something is up with these two secret lovers whether they tell us or not. Maybe they're not just yet ready to appear in front of the public as lovers.
Vogue became one of my friends because of Westlife. I can still remember the day I first saw her at the St. Stephen's Green in Dublin and she nearly got me and Nicky in trouble if only we hadn't managed to escape from the fans. When Westlife launched their second album, she'd been attending to almost every gigs and CD signing sessions. Did I not know that she was actually nice until I decided to have a decent conversation with her and then voila, we eventually became good friends!
To be honest, I'm so happy for her and Bryan. They will make a good couple!
"Keep hiding your secrets, girl. We already know who you are texting with, anyway," Gill mumbles.
"You can't be so sure Gi--"
The doorbell rings, cutting Vogue midsentence. Relief washes over her face for we have no choice but to drop the topic, for now. Gillian opens the door to my apartment and in comes Mark wearing a black suit.
"Good evening ladies, I'm here to fetch Lauren if that's okay with you."
"What is this all about?" I query
"Nicky asked me to come pick you up. He wants you to be treated like a princess so I'm here to drive for you."
"Aww how sweet!" Vogue giggles.
I grin widely and grab my handbag from the couch. I give myself one last look in the mirror before then I bid the girls goodbye and slide my way out through the door.
I follow Mark to his fancy car and settle myself in the backseat, feeling like a total princess. This is going to be a special night, I guess.
-------------
In just a few minutes, we finally get to our destination. Mark opens the car door for me and leads me to the restaurant. My heart is hammering inside my chest as I look around, searching for a certain person.
And there he is.
I literally gawk the moment my gaze falls upon him. He's wearing a white collar shirt paired with black vest and denim pants. And his hair, damn, he has it chopped a bit making him look even more handsome if that's even possible.
God, thank you for giving me this boy.
He is so perfect!
Slowly, I walk over to our table not breaking eye contact with him. Maybe he has this entire restaurant reserved for us for we're the only people in here.
How romantic.
"Good evening, Lauren." He reahces for my hand when I'm only a foot away from him.
"Good evening, love," I greet back, smiling widely as he places a gentle kiss on the back of my palm.
"You look so beautiful tonight."
I giggle at how cliché that sentence is. But it doesn't matter to me as long as it came from his heart.
"Thank you, so do you."
He smiles cheekily at me before asking, "Can I hug you?"
I nod.
Within a second, he envelopes me in his arms, sending my heart flying out my chest. Just his mere presence is enough to make me swoon. But this, this is more than amazing. I could stay like this forever.
"Ehem, ehem."
We pull away and direct our eyes to Mark, who happens to be watching us.
"Go away, Mark! This is our moment."
"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you two, bye," Mark says innocently before disappearing from our sight. To where he's gone, that's what I don't know.
I just want us to be alone tonight.
"So, shall we sit down now?" Nicky asks, pulling a chair out of our table.
"Sure."
We finally sit down, tearing our eyes away from each other for a moment. I look around the restaurant and notice that there's not even a waiter or waitress which is kinda weird. It would've looked absolutely creepy if it wasn't for the lights and because of the fact that I'm not alone.
This is the first time that we've gone to a restaurant with only the two of us. I don't know what Nicky is thinking of right now. Knowing him, he has always something under his sleeves. In our first anniversary, he took me to a surprise trip to Las Vegas with the lads and Gillian and Vogue. In our second anniversary, we went on a vacation in Paris.
Now that our third anniversary isn't too far from now, I wonder what my boyfriend has planned for us.
"Let's order now?" Nicky breaks the momentary silence.
I strare back at him. "Okay."
Getting the menu from the table, I slowly unfold it, imitating Nicky's action. He's catching quick glances at me as I look down at the menu, only to be surprised by what's written on it.
'I knew it from the very start,
You're the puzzle of my heart.'
I can feel his gaze on me as I read the words over and over. What is this all about? What kind of game is he playing?
"Pity there's no pasta in the list," I mutter, feigning innocence.
Nicky plays along. "Ah, no problem," he says snapping his fingers whilst shouting, "Waiter!"
Oh there's a waiter?
"Wait, what--"
"Yes, sir?"
I look over my shoulder only to see another guy in black suit.
"Bryan?" I ask incredulously. "Wh--whatt are you doing... here?"
Bryan gives Nicky a sly smile, ignoring my question. He's wearing the same black suit as Mark and it just makes everything even harder for me to figure out.
Nicky nods at him and as if on cue, Bryan holds out a small boquet of roses in front of me I didn't know he was hiding.
My mouth widens in surprise as I shift my eyes alternately betwen Bryan and Nicky, taking the boquet in my right hand.
"Oh my god... I--I wasn't expecting this."
Nicky grabs my free hand and squeezes it gently. "This is not yet over."
"What do you mean?"
Nicky just smiles at me as a response. I raise my eyebrow in confusion. He holds up his hand and then snaps his fingers.
In just a second, Shane comes on sight with a covered plate. It doesn't take me too long to notice that he's also wearing a black suit.
"Shane?" I shake my head.
"Yes, it's me." Shane smiles at me in return.
Then I turn to look at Nicky. "Can you tell me what's this all about? I mean the whole thing?"
Nicky takes my hand in his once more and beacons me to stand up, his eyes never leaving mine. I swallow hard as he runs his fingers through my hair and tucks the loose strands behind my ear. Just by looking into his eyes, I can feel how much he loves me.
And then Shane lifts up the plate cover, revealing a small red box. My jaw drops in an instant as I stare at the box, already getting a hint about what's inside it.
"No way." Tears start to well in my eyes because of joy.
Nicky takes the small box in his hand, letting go of me in the process and as though he doesn't clearly see that I'm in the brink of losing my consciousness at this moment, he crouches down and then kneels before me.
Holy Molly.
I wasn't expecting this at all!
I stare down at him, disbelief written all over my face. His hands shake a little as he slowly opens the box, revealing an exquisite diamond ring.
He starts, "We've been together for almost 3 years now, would you believe? It had been a rough journey before we got here but we managed to get through it all. I love you and I know you feel the same way, too. You're my angel, my inspiration, my love..."
I can't hold back the tears anymore so I just let it run down my face. There's no way to describe how happy I am right now!
"...You make my life so complete. You make me feel loved in your own simple ways. You're the woman I wish to spend the rest of my life with. And I want to stay by your side forever..."
He takes a long deep breath before saying, "So, are you willing to take another big step in our lives and make the tie between us last forever? Lauren, will you... will you marry me?"
I don't wait another second to answer. I just pull him up and seal our engagement with a kiss. They say, to make something seem more real, you have to express it beyond words.
And of course, I want to marry him.
I pull away and look him in the eye saying, "I love you."
"I love you so much more."
The feeling is just surreal! I didn't expect this night to be this special and life-changing. Now, we're getting married!
But there's more.
Kian finally comes on sight, carrying a guitar. In an instant, the boys all form a single line facing me.
As soon as Kian plucks his guitar, they all start to sing.
"We are two very different people,
so much to overcome,
So why care for one another,
when there's so much to be done,
Cause sometimes it's necessary,
just look how far we've come,
You could say my friend that,
it's the end,
or a new tale has begun,
Cause it's all,
It's all in the way,
you look through your eyes,
and when all is said and done,
All of the fear
and all of the lies
are not hard to overcome
It's all in the way you look at it,
that makes you strong,
We were two,
now we are one..."
I wipe my tears away and hold my chin up, feeling so proud of myself. If I hadn't been brave enough to face my fears, we would not have discovered that we love each other equally. I did a lot of mistakes in the past but still we ended up together and that's what I'm proud of.
I'm willing to take an everlasting journey with him. To guide him. To make him feel special. To love him. Because no matter what happens, I will always love him with all my heart for he's worth the pain and trials.
And I swear to him my love will remain.
******* THE END ******
And that's a wraaap! I apologise if it took me so long to upload this last part of The Reason. But finally, after 1 year and 6 months, it's time to say goodbye! Thank you so much guys for everything :)
Sorry for the late updates and broken promises for I'm only human and I do feel lazy just like the rest of you guys do sometimes.
Again, thank you so much for sticking with me nonetheless. I know this isn't the best of the epilogues but I only intend this chapter to give you some closure/conclusion. And yes, I paired Bryan with Vogue ( omg, have you heard the news that they already split up? I was so stunned! hope Brian and Vogue are ok)
Anyway, I hope you like it and have a great day! PM me sometime (:
- EFG x