CHAPTER 5
1656 Words
Next morning.
Ethan's POV
The clinking of cutlery was the only sound in the kitchen.
Lilly sat across from me, stirring her coffee without drinking it. Her eyes were dull, distant—still carrying last night's storm.
I cleared my throat.
"You're quiet."
She didn't look up.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
I leaned forward.
"What's going on?"
She inhaled shakily.
"Eth... I don't know why, but I'm feeling insecure about something. Like something bad is waiting to happen."
My chest tightened.
"Lilly—"
"Do you really love me?"
Her voice was soft, small... almost like she was afraid of the answer.
"Yes," I said immediately.
"I do."
She finally raised her head.
Her eyes glistened.
"Then... assure me."
I blinked.
"Assure you how?"
Lilly dropped her spoon.
"Engage with me."
The words hit the table like thunder.
"Lilly..."
I rubbed my forehead.
"That's not how this works. We can't just—"
"Why not?" she snapped, her insecurity turning into fear.
"If you love me, prove it. Put a ring on my finger."
"We're not ready," I said calmly.
"We still fight about the same things—"
"Because of her," she whispered.
"Because I feel like she's always between us. Even when she's gone."
My heart froze.
Lilly's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm scared, Eth. I'm scared you'll go back to her if she ever returns. I don't want to lose you."
I swallowed hard.
"You won't."
"Then say yes," she pushed.
"Say you'll marry me."
"Lilly..."
I sighed.
"We shouldn't make important decisions like this. Not when you're emotional."
"I'm emotional because I love you!" she cried.
"Why is that wrong? Why is asking for security wrong? Why does it feel like you don't want to marry me?"
"It's not that—"
"Then what is it?!"
Her voice cracked.
"Tell me you want me. Tell me I'm the one."
The pressure...
the guilt...
the unspoken truth...
It all crushed against my ribs.
We argued for long, exhausting minutes—her desperation rising, my patience thinning, both of us circling around the same wound.
Finally, she whispered the words that broke me:
"Please, Eth. I can't keep feeling like this. I need you to choose me."
Silence.
I exhaled, long and heavy.
"Okay," I said quietly.
"Fine. We'll get engaged."
Lilly froze—eyes wide, lips trembling.
"You... you mean it?"
Her voice shook violently.
"Yes."
The lie tasted bitter in my mouth.
"If that's what you want... then okay."
She covered her face with her hands and burst into tears—relief, happiness, fear tangled together.
I stood up and hugged her gently.
"It's okay," I whispered.
"I'm here."
But deep inside... something twisted.
A whisper, a warning, a truth I kept drowning:
This isn't love.
This is fear.
And one day, it will explode.
Lilly sniffled one last time, wiping her cheeks.
She looked fragile... but determined.
"Eth?" she said softly.
"Hmm?"
"Tonight... let's video-call our parents together."
She swallowed.
"And tell them. About the engagement."
My heart skipped, then dropped.
"Tonight?" I repeated.
She nodded fast, afraid I'd decline.
"Yes. Together. I want them to hear it from both of us."
I forced a smile.
"Okay. Tonight."
Her face lit—like she'd won something valuable.
But inside me, a cold, hollow ache spread.
"Then..."
she stood from her chair, finally eating a small piece of toast,
"...let's get ready. We're both getting late for work."
"Right," I murmured.
We left the apartment, holding hands—
but mine felt stiff, like I was holding a promise I wasn't supposed to make.
---
Willston Entertainment Practice Room
The guys were already there when I walked in.
Jake was stretching, Ryan scrolling through his phone, Mason laughing at something Noah said.
I walked in with a heavy silence surrounding me.
"Yo, man," Jake smirked.
"You look like you didn't sleep."
"I didn't," I muttered.
Ryan stopped scrolling.
His eyes lifted slowly—sharp, already knowing.
"What happened?" Mason asked.
I inhaled deeply.
"I'm getting engaged."
The whole room froze.
Mason's smile disappeared.
Noah's brows furrowed.
Lucas looked up sharply.
Jake choked on air.
And Ryan...
Ryan stood up so fast his chair screeched.
"You're what?" he hissed.
"I said—"
"I heard what you said," Ryan snapped.
"I'm asking why."
"Because I want to—"
"No, you don't," Ryan cut me off.
"You're doing it because she forced you into it."
My jaw tightened.
"Don't talk about her like that."
"I'll talk however I want," Ryan shot back.
"You think this is love? You think rushing into something because she's insecure is love?"
"Stop," I warned.
"No."
Ryan grabbed his bag.
"I'm done.
You do whatever you want.
If ruining your life makes you feel like a man, go ahead."
"Ryan—"
He walked straight out of the practice room, slamming the door so hard the mirrors shook.
Noah sighed heavily.
"Eth... are you sure about this? Really sure?"
"Yes," I forced the lie again.
"I'm sure."
Lucas scoffed quietly.
"Keep saying it.
Maybe one day you'll even believe it."
Their disappointment hung in the air like smoke.
I looked down at my hands.
The same hands that had once held someone else.
Someone who didn't need assurances.
Someone who didn't beg.
And for a second—
a single, sharp second—
I heard her sob again in my head.
---
Same Time — Girl Group Practice Studio
Author's POV
She burst into the studio, excitement glowing on her face.
But the atmosphere immediately shifted the moment she said the words:
"Girls, I think I'm getting engaged soon!"
Emma froze mid-dance step.
Sophia blinked.
Chloe stopped the music with trembling fingers.
Charlotte was the first to speak.
"Lilly... are you serious?"
"Yes!"
Lilly smiled.
"He said yes this morning."
Chloe exchanged a glance with Sophia—uncomfortable, suspicious.
"Lil," Sophia approached,
"are you doing this because you really want to? Or because you're afraid of something?"
"I'm doing it because I love him," Lilly defended.
Chloe stepped forward.
"Or because you're trying to hold onto him too tightly?"
Lilly stiffened.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Emma said quietly,
"except... think clearly.
Marriage isn't a bandage for fear."
"I'm not afraid!" she snapped.
"I know what I'm doing!"
Chloe sighed.
"Do you though?
Because it feels like you're rushing.
And rushing into marriage because you're scared of losing him... that never ends well."
Lilly's expression darkened.
Her voice dropped.
"I don't need approval.
From anyone.
Not from you.
Not from them.
Not from her."
The room tensed—Chloe's lip twitched, Sophia flinched.
Emma said softly,
"Lilly... she's not here anymore."
"And yet she's still in everyone's mind," Lilly whispered bitterly.
"You think I don't know?
You think I don't see it?
Everyone comparing.
Everyone waiting for her return."
Sophia sighed and took her hand gently.
"Lil, no one is comparing—"
Lilly pulled her hand away harshly.
"I'm marrying him," she said firmly.
"And nothing—no one—is going to stop me."
The girls exchanged a slow, worried look.
Because they all knew one thing Lilly refused to accept:
When love starts in fear, it never ends peacefully.
---
Ryan's POV
I slammed the door of Willston Entertainment so hard the security guard flinched.
My breath came out uneven, sharp, burning with the kind of anger that made my hands shake.
By the time I reached my car, the rage had climbed all the way to my throat.
I yanked the door open, dropped into the driver's seat, and hit the steering wheel with both fists.
"F**k, Ethan!" I shouted into the empty car.
My voice cracked.
My vision blurred.
The key trembled in my hand, but I didn't start the car.
I just sat there—
—boiling.
—hurting.
—shaking.
I dragged both hands through my hair and leaned back, breathing hard.
"What the hell is he doing?" I whispered, almost choking.
"Engaged? ENGAGED?!"
A bitter laugh escaped me.
"He's insane.
Absolutely insane."
The anger wasn't just anger.
It was fear.
It was grief.
It was the memory of someone whose entire world had been destroyed... because of him.
I stared ahead with burning eyes.
"He's thinking about rings and promises," I spat,
"like she never existed in his life.
Like her tears meant nothing.
Like her begging meant nothing.
Like he didn't ruin her."
I gripped the gear handle so tight my knuckles turned white.
"He's acting like he didn't break someone's soul at eighteen.
Like he didn't walk away laughing with someone else while she cried on the goddamn floor."
My voice cracked at the end.
The image hit me again—
that trembling girl on the cold school tiles,
her sobs echoing,
her hands reaching out for him...
...and Ethan turning his back.
I slammed my fist again.
"He's a fool," I hissed.
"A selfish, blind fool.
He has no idea what he's inviting into his future.
No idea what's coming for him."
My breath hitched.
A tear slipped down.
I wiped it with shaking fingers, but more followed.
"I shouldn't care this much," I whispered.
"I should let him fall.
Let him taste the pain he gave."
But I did care.
Because of her.
Because she wasn't just someone from the past.
She wasn't just a ghost.
She wasn't just a mistake.
She was—
"...my soulmate," I whispered, voice breaking completely.
"My other half.
My friend.
My everything..."
And Ethan Willston destroyed her.
"He's getting engaged?" I scoffed darkly.
"Fine.
Let him.
But he won't escape what he did.
Karma doesn't forget.
And she..."
I clenched my jaw.
"She won't forget either."
I wiped my face again.
"She's coming back," I whispered.
"I know she is.
She promised she would."
A shiver ran through me.
"And when she does...
God help him."
I leaned my head back against the seat, breathing shakily.
"Because I won't."
- Writer
