EPILOGUE — ETHAN'S POV (EDITED)
SHE WAS GOING to actually fucking murder me.
The thoughts that were running through my head all ended with the possibility of her actually killing me. While I had been planning this for months and had even entertained the idea of doing it under the Eiffel Tower or jump out of a plane, my idea was more suited to us.
Would it be one hell of a story to tell? Yes
Would she say no? Also, yes. Probably.
Shit. I hadn't thought of the possibility of her saying no yet. I was on such a high from wanting to propose and choosing the ring. Charlotte Forde agreeing to marry me and spend the rest of her life with me sounded like the craziest idea in the world suddenly.
"She's not going to say no." Vanessa drawled from the other side of the extra room we had gotten.
Charlotte obviously had no idea what was going on. Vanessa and Aiden were supposed to be spending a 'relaxing' day as Charlotte and I looked after the kids. That was the only way to get her alone since she would want to go wherever Aiden and Vanessa went. She thoughts the kids were with me but Vanessa and Aiden had them sleeping in their room.
I faced Vanessa with an incredulous expression on my face.
"Yes, she will. We literally had a fight this morning and she told me I was acting a little distant, too. She'll take the wrong idea."
Vanessa rolled her eyes at me and closed the velvet box that held the ring. It was beautiful but would look much better on Charlotte's finger. It definitely put a dent in my bank account and that was saying something.
"What did you even fight over? You guys are like cats and dogs." She said and Aiden laughed as he shook his head.
When I asked him how he proposed to Vanessa, he just said he was himself and said what he felt. So, here I was— being myself. And, it sounded like the worst idea ever.
"I wanted the right side of the bed. It makes me sleep better! She knows that." I said and folded my arms across my chest defensively.
"I don't even want to know. Give me your phone." She said.
"No. I'll text her. You guys can leave now." I said and shooed the two of them out so I could breathe in peace.
All the planning that had happened in my head for this moment was of no help at all. If anything, my mind felt completely blank.
They were only trying to help me, I knew that, but it somehow only fueled my anxiety.
Why am I even anxious?
This was the girl I knew for a fact I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. She drove me mad but in the best way. She made me want to run away but then walk right back into her arms. This was Charlotte Forde and Charlotte Reed definitely had a ring to it.
I made my way outside the hotel to the secluded area that I had gotten prepared for the proposal. It was the hardest task yet since Charlotte knew all the ins and outs of the hotel.
Once I got there, everything was perfect. I spotted the videographer and photographer I had hired to document the moment and they were hiding perfectly. The sun was close to setting and I wanted it to be picture perfect so I fished out my phone to text.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to picture her face in my head. It was hilarious how much our relationship had changed over time. Would I have ever thought of asking Charlotte Forde to marry me three years ago? No. And, I would have laughed in the face of whoever had the ridiculous idea.
After typing and deleting a million messages, I finally hit send deciding to take it by ear.
From: Ethan
To: Charlotte
I need to talk to you. Come down to our spot?
There was no going back now. I was really doing this.
My heart was racing faster than Usain Bolt as I waited for her to make her way to me. She hadn't texted back meaning she had definitely gotten the wrong idea. And was probably devising ways to kill me.
I was in the midst of having a very public breakdown when I saw her making her way towards me. She somehow looked more gorgeous. She always did. God really took his sweet time with her.
She was dressed in this cute dress that I liked a lot since it exposed her never-ending legs. Her hair was blowing in different directions as she looked around the beach.
When she was close enough to hear me I shouted,
"Char!"
Once she noticed me a frown appeared on her face. That was probably because of my face. I was acting the part of being sad but really it wasn't too hard because it would be heartbreaking to see her hurt.
She stopped in front of me and I balled my hands into fists to resist the urge to tuck her hair behind her ears. Luckily, she did it herself or I would have really blown it by doing that.
"Can we take a walk?" I asked.
She nodded lightly and I took her hand. I couldn't not touch her for any longer. It was physically extremely painful.
We were a little far away from where the proposal would be and I was thankful for the massive rock shielding us from the decorations.
"So, I've been thinking..." I started, unable to even get through the sentence without stopping. I felt her eyes on me but I kept them firm on the ground since she was great at reading my expressions now. We both were.
"This isn't working out, Char," I said, going completely off script. There wasn't actually a script but if there were, it would be less blunt.
"What do you mean?" She said, her voice grounded but I could tell her resolve was breaking.
I sighed deeply, now knowing what to do with all the things I wanted to say, and stopped right before we got to the rock. I turned her around so she was facing away from the area.
"I mean, and this is very hard for me to do, trust me because I love you—"
"Just say it, Ethan!" She shot at me. She was losing her cool and was practically shouting at me. As hot as she was whenever she was mad, it was hard when she was mad at me. I reminded myself that it would be worth it since it would have a happy ending. I hoped so, at least.
I looked at her finally and tried to get out my finest acting skills.
"I don't think I can do this anymore. This whole living together, the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing isn't working for me." I said, hoping she would get it.
Her mouth curved downwards and I felt like I was being shattered. Why was I such a jerk that had to take it this far?
I reached forward and took off her sunglasses. I could tell she had tears in her eyes even though she didn't want me to see them. And in that moment I wanted to punch myself for ever considering this idea.
"Why?" She whispered. It was so hard to not reach forward and just hug her and tell her I was still madly in love with her and was just kidding.
"Because I don't want to do this boyfriend-girlfriend anymore!" I was grinning at the point because she was smart and the fact that I was repeating it should ring some bells in her head.
Instead, she looked pissed. Extremely pissed.
Before she could say anything (or run away), I placed my palm over her eyes and turned her around the face the way we were supposed to go.
"What the heck, Ethan? Let me go!" She screamed in my arms as she tried to get out of them. She really was stupid if she thought I would ever let her go.
We had also gotten an audience and I smiled at them hoping they didn't take the wrong idea. It would be embarrassing if someone thought I was doing something I wasn't.
Once we were right where we had to be, I stopped but didn't let her see yet.
"I don't want the boyfriend-girlfriend thing," I said again, hoping she would just get it so it would be more poetic.
"I fucking get it. Now, let me go so I can pack up and leave." She seethed.
"Oh my God! I have to spell everything out for you." I said, looking up at the sky. I had to just tell her because the sun was extremely close to setting and the fireworks would go off at any point.
"If you sigh one more time, so help me God, I will throw you in the ocean and not look back." She threatened and I smirked at that. I'd have loved to see her try.
I finally let go of her waist and her eyes so she could see again. She was about to scream but stopped once she saw what was in front of her. I had kept it simple by laying out rose petals in the pattern of our initials that were separated with a heart in the middle.
So many emotions crossed her face in that moment and I felt my pulse racing. So fast.
"Is this..." She said and her voice broke.
I smiled and grabbed her hands.
"For the millionth time, I don't want the boyfriend-girlfriend thing because I want the husband-wife thing," I said so she could finally understand what I was going on about.
I took a step away from her, not wanting to get carried away, and got down on one knee. It was really happening and despite still being nervous, I couldn't help the goofy smile on my face.
"Charlotte Forde, before I met you I didn't know what happiness meant. It was just another emotion that I sometimes felt for a little time. But, now I know what it feels like to look at someone and see happiness in the human form. I feel it from the way your ocean blue eyes light up whenever you're teasing me, the way you randomly sneak glances at me when you think I'm not looking, and the way you smile and that's when I lose it. When you smile, I lose what little sanity I have because that one thing about you makes me feel like I'm on top of the world.
You have made me the happiest man in the world by being with me these past two years. We come with a whole load of baggage but we're the only two that can deal with it. It really is you or nobody, babydoll.
I didn't fall in love with you because of your looks but because of who you are. Of course, the looks are a huge bonus because you're so painfully gorgeous. But, the real you is even more beautiful. The one that makes me feel like I'm on cloud nine but also want to rip every strand of hair out of my head.
I know you're probably plotting a thousand ways to kill me but, you know I wouldn't do things traditionally. The Eiffel Tower is overrated anyway. I had to bring my own element— pretty harsh and I'm so sorry, baby. It will definitely be a story to tell. So, Charlotte, before I get too carried away and go on forever, I have one thing left to ask. Well, there is only one thing left when you love someone as much as I love you."
On cue, the fireworks went off and she looked surprised to hear them. She faced them and it made everything in life worth it. She made life worth living. My parents' marriage hadn't worked out and for a while, that had been an issue for me since I stopped believing in the idea of a marriage. But, Charlotte Forde had the ability to make me second guess myself. Everything was different with her. She made me want to commit to her for the rest of my life and then some.
Once the fireworks were done and had displayed the message, I opened up the box that held the ring and met her eyes.
"Will you marry me, Charlotte?" I asked, holding my breath.
She nodded as I slid the ring between her finger, trying my best to keep my own emotions at bay. She jumped into my arms and for the first time in hours, everything was fine in my world again. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her deep enough to show just how much I loved her. I held her so close that I was afraid I was cutting off her air supply. There was no way I was letting her go.
But, I obviously had to. When we pulled away, I saw the most beautiful smile on her face even with all her tears. It made me feel like the luckiest man alive.
"I love you," I whispered to her.
"I love you, too. But, I still kind of hate you for pulling that stunt." She said and I just hugged her close to me again, hoping that made up for the 'stunt'. I knew I wasn't going to hear the end of it for the rest of my life. And, I'd have it no other way.
Suddenly, a very familiar scream interrupted us. A scream I had already been anticipating.
"Charlotte!" Vanessa's loud voice echoed through the beach.
I looked at Char's face and she looked shocked to see them.
"Yeah, they were obviously in on it. As if she would miss out seeing me propose to you. She'd kill me." I laughed.
Soon, Vanessa and Aiden were both standing in front of us. Vanessa didn't waste a second and hugged Charlotte and screamed at the world how happy she was.
"Congrats, Char," Aiden said to Charlotte as he gave her quick hug before coming to me.
He hugged me and patted my back.
"Dude, you did it! Congratulations!" He said and I laughed, still not believing it myself.
"I can't wait! This is so exciting. I can't believe that the two people I have been rooting for since high school are actually going to get married. Aiden never believed me." Vanessa squealed with so much excitement, it surprised us all.
"Yeah, I know, babe. You remind me of that every day." Aiden replied and slapped my back. I didn't doubt it one bit.
"You better not do anything to hurt my best friend," Vanessa looked at me with a threatening glint in her eyes. Man, her kids must have been scared to death of her because I sure as hell was in that moment.
"Same goes to you, Char. You have him wrapped around your finger so don't hurt my boy." Aiden smirked in my direction and I groaned when I felt myself blush. Everyone knew I was whipped. It did hurt my ego a little but I would take a million hits for her.
"Aw, how cute," Charlotte said as she reached forward to my blushing cheek. But, I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me before she could do anything.
"I'm so happy right now that it feels unreal," I said to her not even trying to contain my huge ass smile anymore.
She grinned. Fuck, she was so beautiful.
"Me too," She replied and I brushed my lips across hers.
Vanessa coughed and let us know that they were still there and I rolled my eyes at the same time Charlotte did. We were probably thinking the same thing— they were worse than us.
"Let's go celebrate!" Vanessa exclaimed tugging on Aiden's arm.
I really hoped she didn't mean that we would all be celebrating together because I knew how I wanted to celebrate. And, it only involved Charlotte, me, and a huge bed.
But, Charlotte confirmed my suspicions when she shook her head once she saw the expression on my face. She could tell what I was thinking. She took my hand and we started walking.
Oh, well. Later then, I guess.
We were all walking away before Vanessa stopped and turned to the crowd that was watching us.
"Oh, and you're all invited to my best friend's wedding!" She said, and we all laughed.
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