Chapter 50 - We Are Engaged

Finally arriving home, Alex felt a little tired and it was written all over her face. She had dark circles under her beautiful eyes, dry lips, her body was heavy and all she wanted was to lie down and close her eyes to meet her fantasies in her dream. 

In the morning she thought everything was fine, after eating Eliott's breakfast she felt really good. But now she was regretting a little her decision to walk around all day.

When she entered her room, she went straight to her terrace as if by habit, and as she had hoped, Eliott was standing there like a Michelangelo sculpture, looking peacefully at the moon.

Eliott had been standing there for a few minutes now, waiting for her to return. He was a little worried about her health, he knew she would be tired when she got back so he wanted to make sure she was okay, but when he put his gaze on her he could see how tired she was. 

"Are you regretting going out now?" He could see that Alex had big bags under her eyes, she looked so cute.

"A little..." Alex could not help but look down at the ground, feeling a bit like a kid who was told not to do something by his parents but did not listen. "But it was fun, I spent a good time with your sister, she's so funny." 

"Yeah, she can be pretty interesting sometimes! You look really tired honey, maybe you should go to sleep!" Eliott didn't want to add to her tiredness.

Alex was a little surprised that Eliott could tell she was tired after just one look. Apparently, he was more alert than she was. She was glad he actually cared about her. 

Eliott, for his part, enjoyed her shyness. She was a bit of an enigma to him. Sometimes she seemed like a strong woman and sometimes when they were just together she could get really shy, it was a little weird.

He reminded himself that he still had not had a chance to tell her that they were engaged and that she was his future wife. He thought if he didn't tell her now he would miss another chance, but she seemed really tired so he hesitated a bit, but seeing that she was still standing there he finally decided to close the subject.

"Do you remember what we talked about when we first met?"

"We talk about that particular scene in the movie?"

"I am talking about the first time you talk to Eliott, not Ethan. Is it so hard to make a distinction between us?" he chuckled at her confused face.

"No, no, it's just that I am sure that even though you are playing Ethan, you always show the real you when you talk to me."

"You are right, since the second day we met, I have always been myself with you. But I was talking about the marriage thing." 

Alex's heart jumped a little, she was a little afraid of what he was going to tell her. "Yes, you talked about finding a wife, or your parents will have to find one of their own."

"They did indeed! They had a promise with the girl's parents and since they have already given their word, I'll have to honour that promise and marry the woman." He informed Alex, looking at her with a smile.

Alex's heart started beating wildly, her head unable to process what Eliott had just said and what he meant by it. All of her emotions were on her face and Eliott could easily guess what she was thinking.

It seems she has already forgotten that he called her his wife this morning. Her face darkened by the second, but Eliott decided not to say much and wait to see how she really felt about him.

"So what do you expect me to say when you tell me this? If you already knew you were getting married, why did you continue to act this way towards me? Do you want me to remind you that you kissed me just a few hours ago? What is this all about? After all, you are no different than those damn cheating bastards!!!

She was really angry and seemed deeply hurt, feeling a pain she had never felt before. Tears threatened to flow, but she clenched her fist as tightly as she could, there was no way she wanted him to see her tears!

Eliott realised he had gone a little too far. He didn't think she would buy it and thought he was joking, and now he had almost made her cry. It was breaking his heart to see that sad look on her stubborn face. He just jumped onto Alex's patio and tried to give her a hug. But Alex backed away a step before he could reach her.

"I am sorry honey, I didn't make myself clear and honestly I didn't think you would react so strongly. Don't close things so quickly and please give me a chance to finish what I was going to say.

"I don't want to hear any more from you, please go back". 

"I even call you my wife this morning, can't you tie it all together? I am talking about you, Alex." A soft smile appeared on Eliott's face as he saw Alex's eyes growing larger by the second.

" Me!!! How can I be the girl in your story? Did our family know each other?" Alex was a little confused. How could she be connected to this wealthy family?

"Well, it seems our mothers were best friends," Eliott smiled even wider, while Alex was even more confused. Her mother had never told her she had a best friend.

Understanding the little qui pro quo, she remembered her reaction from earlier and felt very embarrassed. Truth be told, she didn't even know why she had reacted that way. She only knew that the thought of not being able to see him again, or the thought of him smiling with another woman, made her heart hurt. 

" I am sorry for what I said earlier, I..." she sighed, " I don't even know why myself"

"Don't worry about it, I am the one making you say all those things." He took her small body in his strong and warm arms and hugged her tightly. "Actually, it made me realise how deep your feelings for me already are."

"Well..." She couldn't agree nor disagree so she just decide not to comment on that sentence.

They stood like that for a while. The comfort and solace Eliott's arms gave Alex did her so much good that her tiredness from earlier had disappeared. She just wanted to stay like that and never leave his arms again.

"Are you okay with this? I know you have a problem with the institution of marriage, so I decided to talk to you about it before, for example, Mr. Porter comes and tries to force you into a marriage. If you don't agree with that, just tell me and I'll take care of it." Eliott was the one who broke the peaceful silence between them. He wanted to know what she thought about all this.

"If you are, I think it will be okay." said Alex quietly and automatically. It was her heart that spoke and not her head. She regretted it as soon as the sentence left her mouth, but it was already too late.

Seeing how she reacted when they talked, Eliott already had the feeling that she reacted so violently because she was afraid of losing him. Somehow he felt that she would be fine, but knowing that she was still struggling with the trauma of her past, he thought that maybe he was moving too fast, so he didn't want to pressure her about it.

"I understand... I am really glad to hear that, sweetie, and don't worry, we will take things slow, I promise."

It was only after a moment that Alex noticed they were on her balcony and turned her face to see the distance between them.

Her mouth dropped and her eyes shot out as she realised the distance he had jumped from! He could have actually fallen. Seeing her looking dazedly at the other balcony, Eliott chuckled, "Don't worry, the distance is not very big, so I won't fall!", Alex was not really convinced and looked at the balcony again, "Just do not do that again!". She forbade

Eliott was pleased that she was starting to show her feelings for him. "Um," he replied, trying to reassure her as he thought, "If she's worried about that, it will be a big shock when she sees me on set."

That night, the two could not really sleep.. Alex was having a hard time coping with the fact that she had just accepted being Eliott's wife and would soon be married to someone, and Eliott, for his part, was happy because he would soon be able to be with the person he has loved all his life.