Scorched

Tristan Moreno and I are asked when we're getting married when we attend a class reunion.

"We're undecided."

"1st of October."

Our answers come simultaneously. His head shoots up, and he looks at me with anger and disbelief. I ignore him and explain to my classmates, "I'm getting married on the 1st of October. You're all invited."

I know what Tristan wants to ask me. He and I have dated for eight years, but he's never discussed marriage with me.

He drags me to a corner, looking furious. "Didn't we agree to put marriage on hold? Do you take pleasure in forcing me into this?"

I pry his fingers off my wrist and say, "You can put it on hold for as long as you want. That doesn't stop me from getting married."

He's long since gotten bored of me—he's found a younger woman but thinks he's done well in keeping it a secret.

Fortunately, he's not the man I'm marrying.

When I came home after the New Year, my college classmates organized a reunion. A lot of them were already married. Some even brought their kids along.

When they found out that Tristan Moreno and I still hadn't tied the knot, our class president, Mason Hopkins, looked less than pleased. He pressed us for a wedding date.

"We're undecided."

"1st of October."

Tristan and I spoke simultaneously.

He turned to me sharply, his frown creasing his brows. His expression darkened as he stared at me, and confusion and irritation flickered in his gaze.

I knew exactly what he wanted to ask because we had never once discussed the wedding date.

I had brought our marriage up two years ago, but back then, his career was taking off. He told me he didn't want any distractions and that he'd marry me once things settled down.

I never mentioned it again after that, and he was perfectly content to let it slip from memory.

Our completely different answers left the whole table bewildered. Everyone exchanged glances, unsure of what was going on.

"Looks like you two haven't talked this through. Tristan, you're the man here. You should take the lead." Mason chuckled, trying to smooth things over.

Ignoring Tristan's stare, I turned to Mason and the others and said clearly, "I'm getting married on the 1st of October. You're all invited."

Mason froze for a moment. His gaze shifted between Tristan and me. Then, he offered his congratulations before teasing Tristan, "Man, you're so secretive. You had a date set and didn't tell anyone?"

"Yeah, Tristan. Aren't we friends? Are you trying to keep us off the guest list?"

A few of the guys laughed and teased him.

Suppressing his anger, Tristan forced a smile. Meanwhile, I sat upright, catching glimpses of him turning to look at me again and again as if he had something to ask.

I knew he was brimming with questions. But I didn't feel like explaining because I didn't have to.

As the night went on, everyone kept reminiscing about college, especially our relationship.

"I still remember that freshman welcome party," one of the guys said. "Esther walked in wearing that red dress. Man, she looked like a blooming rose. Every guy in the room was staring."

"But Tristan was the boldest. He said right then and there that he was gonna pursue her and that he had to make her his wife."

"Yeah, we all helped him out back then." One of Tristan's dormmates laughed.

"It took years, but you two are finally making it official. We're all happy for you."

They were all excited, caught up in nostalgia.

Tristan, on the other hand, barely reacted. He seemed lost in thought, opening his mouth a few times like he wanted to say something but never going through with it.

After a few rounds of drinks, when no one was paying attention, Tristan suddenly grabbed my wrist and yanked me out of the private room. He pinned me against the wall.

"Didn't we agree to put marriage on hold? Do you take pleasure in forcing me into this?"

Tristan's face was filled with anger as he gripped my wrist tightly, as if he were about to break it.

"You can put it on hold for as long as you want. That doesn't stop me from getting married."

He let out a mocking laugh, and his expression was full of disdain. "I'm not interested in getting married. No matter what tricks you pull, you're not gonna change that."

Biting down on the pain, I pried his fingers off my wrist. "Let go of me, Tristan!"

"Oh, I'll let go. But only after you go back in there and tell them you were joking about the wedding."

"You've got it all wrong," I said. "I am getting married. It just has nothing to do with you."