Chapter 3
This was the third time I'd suggested we go get our marriage license.
There was a long silence on the other end.
I slowly calmed down, about to tell him I was kidding.
He laughed again, that forced, awkward laugh people use to break the tension. "Sure, no problem. You caught me off guard with that. See you at the courthouse tomorrow."
He hurriedly hung up before I could say anything else.
And because he said yes, I finally let out the breath I'd been holding.
But sadly, for the third time, he stood me up again.
The courthouse lobby was bustling with people coming and going.
New beginnings always filled people with endless hope for the future.
Even if in the end, they ended up going their separate ways.
After Alex hung up, I sat there in the lobby, not moving.
It was like my mind was blank, but at the same time, my thoughts were all over the place.
'The only thing I knew for sure was that Alex wasn't really into getting married.
'Maybe it wasn't that he didn't want to marry me.
'Maybe he didn't want to get married at all.
'And what about me?
'Did I really need marriage that badly?
'Maybe my whole hang-up about marriage was really about what my mom expected of me,' I thought.
'I wanted to be the person she hoped I'd become, so she wouldn't have to worry about me anymore,' I told myself.
But honestly, I was doing pretty well on my own.
I had a steady job.
I had like-minded colleagues.
I had friends I could really count on.
Plus, my mom left me a house and a good amount of savings.
And now, my real dad was about to give me a fortune.
I could live perfectly fine on my own.
But here I was again, practically jumping at the chance to talk about getting married to Alex.
Honestly, I was lost about what to do with all this unexpected money.
And maybe I was trying to win him over.
His family was not poor, but never wealthy.
His parents were college professors, respectable, but not exactly wealthy.
He also had a younger sister.
His dream was to do legal aid work.
But he couldn't ignore the practical side of money.
Now that I had money, I was practically itching to do something for him.
Getting married felt like the simplest way to make that happen.
But after I cooled off, I realized I had another problem to deal with: One never really knows what's in someone's heart. Would his original intentions stay the same?
As the sun began to set, the lobby finally quieted down.
A staff member called out to me, "We're closing up. Are you still waiting?"
I stood up and smiled. "No, thanks."
Then I strode out of the lobby.
The golden light of the setting sun spilled over the cars speeding by.
The whole scene was brilliant and unforgettable.
I took a cab to Alex's place.
His mom answered the door.
When she saw me, her smile was a bit strained. "Emmy, what are you doing here? Alex isn't home."
"Mrs. Carter, I have to go out of town tomorrow and won't be back for quite a while. I came by to say hi to Alex. Could you let him know not to move into my place yet?" I said.
She took the gift box from me and tried to pull me inside. "Come on in, have dinner with us before you go."
I gently pulled my hand away. "No, Mrs. Carter, I have something else to take care of. I'll visit you next time."
From the corner of my eye, I noticed the screen of Alex's phone lighting up on the coffee table in the living room.
Sure enough, he hadn't gone on a business trip after all. He was right here at home.
He had no idea I knew about his secret blog account.
The location on his latest post was right in his apartment complex.