Marry me
908 Words
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Nomadlozi got home and dropped her keys onto the hallway table with a tired sigh. The house was still and quiet—too quiet for her racing thoughts.
It hadn’t even been a hectic day at work, but her mind felt like it had been dragged through gravel.
Adam.
The coffee shop.
The ring in his eyes when he said, “I’m serious.”
She sighed and headed straight to the shower. Maybe after some food and sleep, her brain would calm down.
As she dried off and threw on an oversized T-shirt, her phone buzzed.
INCOMING TEXT — Adam:
> Come outside. I have something for you.
She stared at the message and then tossed the phone aside.
“Every single time,” she muttered.
Every time she saw him, she was reminded of why she shouldn’t.
And yet... she always ended up seeing him again.
“Not tonight. I want peace. Just tonight.”
Another buzz.
Adam:
> If you don’t come down now, I’m calling your dad and telling him what happened to his vintage car.
“Sh*t.”
Josh would kill her. She didn't even want to picture the look on his face if he found out what she did.
No time to think—she dragged herself down the stairs barefoot.
Outside, Adam was leaning against the passenger side of his car, legs casually crossed, hands in his pockets. That damn smirk.
She could smell his cologne from where she stood.
It made her throat tighten. She didn’t want to get closer. She couldn’t afford to.
But her feet stayed where they were.
“Are you going to talk, or should I go back inside?” she snapped, arms folded across her chest.
Adam didn’t move. His eyes just studied her—deep, unreadable, steady.
“This is not a Bollywood movie, you know,” she scoffed, irritated by the silence.
Still nothing.
Then suddenly—he walked toward her.
Every step made her heart drum faster. She wanted to run. Her body wouldn’t move.
He stopped right in front of her. Their eyes met—and locked.
She hated how breathless she felt.
Then—without warning—he pulled her into his chest.
Tightly.
Like she was the air, and he hadn’t breathed in years.
“Adam!” she gasped, trying to pull away.
“Just a bit,” he whispered.
He wasn’t letting go.
His scent… warm and earthy. It filled her lungs. Calmed her nerves.
Dammit, why does this feel so... safe?
“You don’t know how long I waited for this,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.
“To hold you in my arms like this again.”
She stiffened.
“What do you mean again?” she wanted to ask.
But she didn’t. Instead—
“Stop being so intense and let go of me.”
Her voice cracked as she shoved him back.
Those weren’t the words she meant to say. But they were safer.
Adam stepped back slowly, like she’d knocked the wind out of him.
“Oh,” he muttered.
Then, from the pocket of his track pants, he pulled out a small velvet box.
He flipped it open.
A silver ring caught the light.
“Since you don’t want to date me,” he said, gaze locked on hers, “I figured you want to marry.”
He reached for her hand.
Nomadlozi snatched it away like she’d been burned.
“You must really be crazy.”
Her voice shook.
Even with the open sky above her, she felt like the walls were closing in. Her chest grew tight. If she didn’t breathe soon, she might scream.
Adam stayed calm. Too calm.
“About you?” he shrugged.
“Yes.”
She paced the driveway like it might burn under her feet.
Her eyes darted to him again. Disbelief.
What the hell is he doing?
“You can’t just show up, kiss my forehead, and toss a ring at me like this is a romcom.”
Her voice rose with every word.
“Yesterday, you thought I was getting married. Now you're proposing?”
“Nomafu and I—” he began, voice suddenly heavy.
“—are over, yes! She has a child, yes! But I’m her sister, Adam. Her sister!”
The words pierced the air.
Adam closed his eyes. His jaw clenched.
“I tried to move on,” he said softly.
“I did. But every time I looked at someone else, they weren’t you.”
Nomadlozi’s heart betrayed her again. It lurched.
Her voice came out quieter now.
“Why didn’t you say something before?”
“I was scared.”
He looked down at the ring.
“I didn’t want to ruin what we had. What we could have. But now... I’d rather ruin everything than pretend I don’t want you.”
Silence.
Wind blew gently between them, but neither moved.
Finally, she turned her back on him. Her voice was barely a whisper—
“You’re too late.”
Adam opened his mouth to speak—
But the door slammed behind her.
As she closed it, a voice exploded from the stairwell above.
“Why were you cozy with Adam!?”
Nomafu’s angry voice echoed down like thunder.
Nomadlozi froze, one hand still on the doorknob.
She looked up slowly and caught her sister’s glare from the top of the staircase.
A storm was brewing.
- Writer
