Chapter Sixty-6

I couldn't suppress the smile threatening to spread across my face "You think so?" "Yeah, you just haven't realized your true potential due to the circumstances you're in right now. Dig deeper within yourself and try to recognize what you want, so once the day that all of this is over, you wouldn't have to feel so directionless. It's not a bad thing to prioritize your needs." Feeling quite sentimental, I reached out to grab his hand and squeezed it "Evan was right when he said that you talk like a motivational speaker." We laughed for a moment but stopped when we heard the door of the balcony open, swiveling around as we were met by the sight of Evan walking in on us. "Hey there," he said as he made his way in our direction "It's almost midnight," Jasper gave my hand one last squeeze before pulling away "I'll leave you guys be." With that, he walked out of the balcony so that it was only Evan and I standing here out here, all the while as he walked up to me "Only five minutes left before the New Year starts, are you ready?" he asked me. "I am, you?" he nodded in return "How was it back there? Had fun at the party?" He shrugged "It was exhausting, to be honest. Trying to make conversation and making it seem like I knew what the hell I was talking about was a goddamn handful. But I had no other choice considering my parents forced this on me and I just felt so suffocated." Feeling my stomach sink at his confession, I caressed the side of his face with my palm, eyes boring into his "I'm so sorry, I should've been there by your side, at least." He shook his head "It's okay, it's not your job to babysit me, you're my girlfriend. But not gonna lie, when I found it hard to maintain conversation I just kept thinking about you and how you probably feel proud that I'm engaging with future colleagues, that pushed me to keep going." My heart melted at his words, realizing that as much as I felt incompetent and suffocated not being able to be as sociable as Evan, he too was also feeling the same way I was. But he kept going anyway because he wanted to make me and his parents proud. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my forehead against his "Can I ask you a question?" he nodded "What happens when the contract ends and you don't need me anymore?" His eyebrows furrowed, perplexed by my question "Maggie, even if all of this ends I'm still going to want to have you around. I know we got together because of business, but we helped each other grow out of our own free will. We got into a relationship because we both wanted to and you're more than just someone who my parents forced me to be engaged to for financial reasons. You're... you're worth so much more to me than that." My throat knotted at what he said as I gulped, unable to get the words out of my mouth. To say something, anything, just to tell him how much his words matter to me. How much he matters to me. All the while as we began to hear the people inside the party start to chant, fireworks bursting into the sky and horns blasting into the night, indicating that midnight was nearing. "Ten!" "Thank you for making this year something I'll never forget." "Nine!" "Same goes to you." "Eight!" "I may be afraid of what the future holds, and I may not know what's in store for us but..." I trailed off, looking deeply into his eyes. "Seven!" "I'm just glad I get to end this year with you." "Six!" He smiled, his voice being drowned out in the thunderous noise surrounding us, but even so, I was only fixated on him and what he was saying. "Five!" He tightened his hold on me as he closed his eyes "I'm glad I got to end this year with you as well." "Four!" "I love you, Evan," I whispered, shutting my eyes as I leaned into him. "Three!" I felt his lips brush against my own, goosebumps rising on my skin as I shut off the entire world around me, as we were once again transported into our own little world, just us, nobody else. "Two!" "I love you too, Maggie." "One!" He sealed his lips against mine and kissed me as soon as the clock hit midnight, with people's cheers roaring into the atmosphere and the fireworks going off like crazy into the night sky, I tuned all of it out as I only focused on the sparks being ignited inside of me. With tingles, shivers, and an electrifying wave of adrenaline rushing through my bones, I pulled away as I stared back at him, seeing the different vibrant hues of exploding fireworks reflect themselves back into his gaze.  As if he too was bursting with color. At least, in my eyes, he was. "Happy New Year, Carter." ".... Happy New Year, Williams."