37. Anthony
CHAPTER 37
anthony
Shoua’s eyes widened in shock, and the confidence in me drained.
“I-I know it’s a bit p-premature. But I honestly can’t see myself spending the rest of my life with anyone else,” I said as I started to ramble due to nervousness settling in. “I love you, Shoua, and I want a home with you. I . . . I just thought I’d tell you straight from the start that I want this with you. If you don’t want it, then it’s fine.”
I watched as she blinked and swallowed, practically gulping. “A-Anthony, I—Are you sure about this?”
“Of course I am. I have never been more certain of anything before in my life, aside from confessing my feelings for you.”
“My mom wants me to marry you.” Her voice was firm.
“I know. I overheard.”
“Actually, both of my parents want me to marry you.”
I blinked, surprised. “They do?”
“Yeah, because they think you’re rich. They think you, your brother, and your parents are all rich too.” Her voice was all breathy.
“But I’m not. Our family is essentially middle class. We’re comfortable, but not rich. Why should that even matter, though?” Where was she going with this?
“Anthony, I don’t think owning a multimillion-dollar company is exactly middle class,” Shoua pointed out.
“Okay, true. It isn’t. We’re well-off, and I’ll admit to that but . . . Money isn’t important between you and me, right?” Then I gulped down my worry. “Unless whatever money I have is one of the reasons you’d ever consider being with me . . .”
She shook her head. “No, silly. What I’m trying to say is that whatever my parents comment on or whatever my mom gossips about, that’s not the reason why I—” She came to an abrupt halt and took a breath. She sniffed and I could see her eyes mist over again. “That’s not the reason I want this with you too, Anthony. I’d love to do this with you immensely, in fact. I want a life with you as much as you want one with me.”
My heart leapt a beat. “You can cry again if you want, Shoua.”
The tears welling in her eyes glimmered under the streetlights like little jewels as she let out a shaky breath. I reached out to catch her tears as I had in the garage. “Are you sure you’re all right with being a Mrs. Hughes?” I could barely breathe. “I don’t want you to feel pressured into saying yes.”
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
I didn’t realize how hard I was smiling until my cheeks ached. I pulled her against my chest as our hearts rapidly beat in unison.
“W-we don’t have to get this specific lot. And we don’t have to get it right now. Not until we’re ready,” I murmured into the spot behind her ear. I inhaled her sweet scent and she shuddered against me. “Even if we don’t build a home here, I will always want it all with you.”
She pulled away just far enough to look up at me. Her brown eyes were intensely bright, making me smile harder. I reached out and smoothed my fingers against her silky skin.
She lazily craned into it and hummed, practically purring. “Me too, gorgeous.”
“Let’s go home. I don’t want to go back to that stupid party,” I said.
I pulled her back into me and grazed my teeth against her earlobe, causing her to let out a light gasp. “Anthony.”
“All I want to do is spend time alone with you. Like we always do during summer nights,” I whispered.
She let out a muffled laugh into my chest. “You mean watch Scream or Jurassic Park while gorging on a box of popsicles with bowls of chips and popcorn?”
I tightened my hold around her as she laughed again—the sweetest sound. “Lame, I know.”
“Sounds perfect to me. But I thought you were going to suggest something else.”
Suddenly, I felt her teeth through my shirt as she lightly nipped my nipple. I groaned, shamelessly. Another laugh slipped out of her lips, and I laughed with her. I pulled away to find her face flushed a deep crimson red.
“We can do that too, baby. But first, I just want to spend quality time alone with you.” I kissed her temple and pulled her back into a tight hug. “We haven’t had that at all these last few days, and I’m tired of seeing everyone.”
“Fine,” she said and laughed.
We walked back to my parents’ place in a comfortable silence. I was ready to pull Shoua into the house to tell my parents we were leaving, but I noticed Sai’s sports car parked haphazardly in my parents’ driveway, and I knew something was wrong.
As far as I was aware, he wasn’t here earlier. We walked to the front door and saw Sai in the living room with Jonathan, Kelvin, and Evelyn. His brows were creased deeply together as his lips moved in a rapid fire.
“What’s going on?” I demanded as I pushed the front door open.
The loud chattering and music from the backyard party probably drowned out most of their conversation, which was clearly heated. Sai’s face was red as he rolled his eyes childishly. Jonathan turned to me.
“Sai’s demanding Evelyn explain herself,” he said with a frown. He looked back at Sai. “To be honest, man, you should just let it go. It’s obvious she only wanted a fling, not a relationship like I told you back at the lake house.”
I glanced at Kelvin and Evelyn, who quickly averted their eyes. Sai let out a frustrated groan.
“You don’t understand! Evelyn told me after we had sex that first night at the lake house that we could work it out! She said she wanted a long-distance relationship,” he exclaimed with a scowl. He looked her in the eyes. I expected him to start yelling, but instead his voice lowered and he sounded defeated. “Why did you lie to me? You made me believe we can be something great together.”
Evelyn’s mouth opened and closed, and her brows furrowed deeply as she frowned. Her eyes were watery and they never wavered from his. “I-I’m sorry, Sai,” she said. “I-I?—”
“Just say it,” he demanded angrily. “Say whatever you have to say to me.”
She started crying, her bottom lip quivering.
“Sai, you need to stop. You’re making her cry,” I said.
“No, Anthony, it’s okay.” She sniffed. “He’s right. I should’ve been honest.”
Sai’s jaw tensed as his lips pursed into a thin line. “Well?”
“I’m sorry. I care a lot about you, Sai, but I can’t be with you under the circumstances we’re in. My mom would oppose our relationship,” Evelyn explained through her sniffles and cries. She quickly glanced to me. “She wants me to marry Anthony, who she thinks is a better fit for me.”
Sai nodded stiffly as his head hung low. “Is it because I’m not good enough?” he asked.
“You’re good enough for me,” Evelyn said softly.
Sai grimaced as his lips pulled into a frown. “Do you like me or Anthony then?” he asked.
“Of course it’s you,” she said tearfully. She glanced at Shoua and me with trembling lips. “I’m sorry for being such an annoying bitch to you two this whole time, Anthony and Shoua. My mom’s been pressuring me to break you two up every day since we’ve arrived, which was why I’ve been horrible to you both. I’m so sorry for every single thing I’ve done. My mom thought that you two were faking your relationship and that’s why I’ve behaved the way I did and said all that mean shit to you both. I’ve known from the beginning that wasn’t true.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to this apology, so my lips stayed sealed tight. I hesitated, completely dumbfounded by the turn of events.
“It’s all right,” Shoua said, slowly.. “I just hope you’re able to stay true to yourself instead of doing what your mom wants.”
Evelyn nodded. “I hope so too.”
Sai continued to look at her wistfully. “Do you want to make your mom happy or are you going to choose your own life?”
Evelyn hesitated before she answered. “I should be asking you the same. You dropped out of college because you were majoring in something your parents wanted you to, and because of that, you’re choosing not to work or have a career.”
Sai shuffled on his feet for a moment and then bolted for the door. His face was as red as the setting sun. “Wait, Sai!” Evelyn shouted as she followed him.
Jonathan, Shoua, and I looked at each other in awe. None of us expected this to come to a head this way. Then Kelvin suddenly cleared his throat. For the first time since the incident with him, he looked at me. His eyes quickly darted to Shoua for a moment before looking back at me shyly.
He faltered before saying, “I’m sorry.” He looked back to Shoua. “I’m sorry, Shoua.”
I raised a brow at him as my girlfriend let out a long breath. “For what exactly?” she asked.
“For everything. I was stupid enough to believe you were interested in me and . . . even harassed you.” The corner of his lips twitched into a plastered wince. His voice was hardly sincere as he let out a long sigh. The deep furrow in between his brows almost looked believable. He continued to glance at me in feigned shame.
“And what exactly were you planning to do with my girlfriend trapped in that bathroom with you?” I pressured, but Kelvin stayed silent. I nodded slowly. “That’s what I thought.”
I turned to leave, tired from this shitstorm. I was about to tug on Shoua’s hand, when she spoke up. “I know it was a misunderstanding,” she said firmly. “But I think it’s best if this is the last time you and I ever meet, Kelvin.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he nodded slowly. I wrapped my arms around Shoua’s shoulders and protectively pulled her to my side. I led the way out of the house with Jonathan trailing behind us. I paused for a moment by the front door, hoping Kelvin would say something about what Shoua said. But he didn’t utter a single word back as we walked out.