Arwen stared ahead at the road. She still couldn’t believe it.
She didn’t lie when she said that she never signs the papers without reading them. But she forgot that there was once, she signed the papers without reading them.
How could she?
Just how desperate had she been on that one important day?
She turned to stare at the man who was driving with such nonchalance that she couldn’t believe he did what he did.
She opened her mouth to speak, but for a moment, she hesitated.
But after a while, she felt the need to confirm. Hence, she asked, "You mean you made me sign them at the Civil Affairs Bureau?" Her eyes fixed on him, waiting for him to respond.
But Aiden didn’t respond in a hurry. He took a moment to turn to her and then shook his head. "I didn’t make you sign them," he said as if there was a big difference. "You signed them yourself, along with our marriage certificates."
Arwen wanted to demand the difference. But keeping her calm, she asked with much patience. "But why would you keep them together. We were there to sign the marriage certificates, not discuss the properties."
"And wait," she suddenly halted realizing something that she almost forgot to notice before. "Why would you even keep those papers prepared?"
Their decision to get married was abrupt. They didn’t know each other. She met him at the Civil Affairs Bureau office by chance, and it was all a coincidence.
And if it was all a coincidence, then why would he keep those papers, prepared for her to sign?
"You were signing to be my wife," he suddenly spoke, pausing her from thinking more. "And even though our decision was abrupt, I made it clear from this very first moment that our relationship as a husband and wife would be as real as it should be."
Yes, he said that loud and clear.
It was his condition that she agreed all willingly.
But, how does that justify it?
Her brows furrowed, and she nodded, "Yes, I remember. But what does that prove?"
Aiden’s fingers of one hand splayed across the steering wheel as he manoeuvred it to take a turn. Arwen caught sight of it and for a moment, her thoughts drifted. She forgot they were talking about it until she heard him again —
"It proves that my words and my intentions align."
"Huh?"
Aiden looked at her, and she gave an expression of obviousness, spreading her hands out.
"You can’t be sure of the people you met for the first time? So, there always remains a what if."
"Then I would have come looking for you," he answered, his tone as sincere as it could be. "I have all the resources to find you, no matter wherever you run off to."
Arwen paused at that. She looked into his eyes. "Really?" her voice hinted at slight doubt. "But you said you wouldn’t look for me if I leave you ... if I am gone."
She might have let it pass, but she never forgot that he had said that he would let her go. That he wouldn’t try to keep her if she ever decided to leave him.
Although at some point that seemed right, she didn’t want him to do that. She wanted him to hold on to her even when she became adamant about leaving him. She always wants him to anchor her to himself so that they will never separate. Not even at the worst.
Aiden pulled the car to the side, and his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. It didn’t take him long to realize what she was talking about.
"You missed a detail there, Moon," he said, for once not turning to look at her. "I said that when you said you would forget me and everything about me. The scenarios are different and completely hypothetical."
Arwen pulled her lips in a smile, but it never made her eyes sparkle. Nodding, she simply hummed, "Yes, it’s hypothetical. It’s not like I am losing my memory and forgetting you tomorrow."
She cleared the lump she felt forming down her throat. "Well, it’s time we move on from this conversation. We are getting late." She brought her watch up to check. "Granna must be waiting for us. Let’s not delay her dinner time."
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