Three hundred and seventy days after the wedding.

> PAPER RINGS <

"Oh My darling, Harry! It's been so long! Mr. Tomlinson always says you're too busy to come around, and I know, it must be very true because I watched your movies and those interviews you did, and Oh! that incredible red carpet, the Oscars! Unbelievable! Oh, my Goodness, darling, you both looked amazing! I was thrilled. I'm so happy that you're together again. I've been dying for you to come by so I could congratulate you for what you did!
It was so romantic, so movie-like! Just what I expected from you. Confessing your love at his wedding! Incredible! Mr. Tomlinson told me everything! Well, you know he's not much of a talker, so he only told me a few things. But I can imagine it perfectly! My darling Harry, you two are meant to be together!" - Mabel gasped for air for the first time since I crossed the entrance of the building. - "When I told my husband he was thrilled too. He's such a fan of yours now, you should see him. He knows every line of your movies! He has such a great memory." - She laughed. - "Now, the question is, when are you getting married? I bet soon! Oh, My goodness, you better invite me." - Mabel threatened with her pointing finger as she finally finished her long monologue.

"Actually..." - I laughed, shaking my head. - "I'm about to ask him today. If he wants to marry me, that's it."

"Oh my God! Really? Does he know?" - She asked and I shook my head. - "Oh! Is it a surprise? Oh my goodness! I'll call him to get down here asap, oh this is so good! I can't wait to see it!" - She screamed as she picked the phone. - "Oh, Mr. Tomlinson? You have a visitor." - She said, trying to sound mysterious, then she winked at me. - "Oh, no. I can't reveal his identity. But you should come down here." - She giggled. - "No, nobody said it was darling Harry, no. Fine, okay. Yes. He's here. Just come down to see your future husband, Mr. Tomlinson." - She laughed again and hung up. She looked up at me again. - "Oh, I'm so excited! He'll be here in a second."

"Okay, thank you Mabel." - I nodded. - "Just, can I ask you not to say anything... uhm, suspicious? I have my proposal planned and I don't want him to suspect anything before time."

"Oh, please! Of course. I'm great with secrets." - She winked at me.

"Alright." - I nodded, not very sure.

"Are you nervous, my darling?"

I smiled.

"Not really." - I chuckled. - "I know he's as sure as I am."

"Oh, Darling! You don't know how happy this makes me!"

I laughed.

"That makes two of us."

The doors of the elevator opened, and Louis walked out, smiling widely.

"What a wonderful surprise." - He walked to me, his hand immediately sliding around my waist, leaning up to peck my lips. - "Hey babe."

"Hey." - I smiled, pecking his lips once again.

"Oh! You two are so cute!" - Mabel squeaked.

"Thanks, Mabel." - Louis laughed.

I nodded, pressing another kiss to Louis' cheek and making him blush.

"Anyways, we better go." - I said, waving at Mabel and pulling Louis' hand to guide him to the door.

"Oh, Mr. Tomlinson! You better say yes!" - Mabel shouted as we were leaving.

Louis stopped in his tracks.

"Yes to what?" - He frowned.

"To Harry's proposal! Of course."

"What? What proposal?" - He turned to me with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh my God!" - Mabel covered her mouth. - "I'm sorry my darling Harry! I know I wasn't supposed to say anything!"

I sighed, stopping her with a gesture. Then, I turned to Louis, shaking my head.

"We were supposed to get to the bar first." - I chuckled. - "But I guess..." - I reached inside my pocket and pulled the box with the ring in it.

"Baby..." - Louis smiled, shaking his head.

I shrugged, intertwining our fingers together and opening the box with my free hand, showing the ring to him.

"I just wanted to ask you if you were ready for the next step. With me, that is. Because I'm ready, and nothing would make me happier than to be yours in every single way that exists." - I said, looking right into his eyes.

Louis looked down at the ring between us and then up to my eyes with a tiny, flushed smile.

He rested his forehead against my cheek, kissing lightly over my jaw as his free hand wrapped around my waist, squeezing me in a hug.

"Yes." - He whispered only for me to hear. - "I'm ready for every adventure next to you. Always next to you."

I chuckled, hugging him completely and kissing the top of his head.

"Okay. Do you want the ring?"

Louis laughed.

"I'm feeling really observed by Mabel." - He whispered. - "Can we head to the bar and get a table away from everyone so we can be more... you know?"

"Coupley?" - I smirked.

"Yeah, coupley." - He chuckled, separating from the hug and taking the ring box from my hands. - "I'm keeping this." - He shoved the box in his pocket and reached for my hand again, not even sparing another glance to Mabel as he pulled me to the main door.

"Did he say yes?!" - We heard her shout after us.

I laughed and nodded, waving goodbye as Louis closed the door after us.

"Damn, that woman!" - Louis laughed. - "What the fuck just happened?"

"She rushed me into my proposal." - I shook my head. - "Unbelievable."

Louis laughed again, pulling my arm to rest around his shoulders as he snuggled close to me while we walked.

"And you proposed." - He said in a playful tone. - "The most random way I've ever seen."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not beat your first proposal?" - I asked, joking.

Louis pinched my stomach over the shirt.

"I didn't say that. Besides, what makes it... special is the person, babe." - He shrugged. - "And you're it for me."

"You're still not wearing the ring though." - I said, pinching his shoulder. - "And I should tell you I've decided to not invite Niall to our wedding. Just in case."

"Ugh, no. Please." - Louis joked, laughing. - "I was embarrassed enough the first time."

I laughed too.

We reached the door of the bar and Louis pulled it open, letting me go in first.
We headed for our regular table at the back of the place and Louis took seat first, pulling me down to sit on his lap.

I looked down at him, inquiringly.

"I told you I wanted to be all coupley, don't look at me like that." - He poked my nose and I snorted. - "Now, let's see this ring."

As the waiter came by, I quickly ordered for the both of us our usuals, then just for the sake of sealing our engagement, I also asked for a bottle of champagne.

Louis pulled the ring box out once again and his eyes glittered with excitement when he slid the silver ring on his finger.

"Do you like it?"

Louis looked up at me with a big smile, cupping my cheeks with his now ringed hand, and kissed me deeply.

"I always thought I'd propose to you." - He whispered. - "But this feels so right." - He pecked my lips again. - "I love it just as much as I love you." - He looked at the ring on his finger again. - "But I'd have married you even if it was a damn plastic ring, or a piece of paper, or even without a ring. I waited my whole life for this moment. You're the one I want, H."

I tangled my hands on the back of his neck, still seated sideways on his lap, and I kissed him once, twice, three times for good measure.

"I'm never letting you get away from me again."

"I won't leave you." - He whispered, burying his face on my neck and kissing his way up to my jaw. - "But we have to admit, that all we went through, made us stronger. And at least in my case, made me value you even more than ever before. Without all that, we wouldn't be here." - He sighed. - "I needed to understand you better, my love." - He smiled softly. - "Now, get ready because I'll marry the shit out of you."

I cackled, my head falling backwards.

"I'm ready." - I continued laughing as he stole another kiss from me.

As our drinks arrived, I climbed off his lap, sitting next to him instead, one hand on his thigh as I sipped on my drink.

"H..." - He said, turning to me. - "I got an email from... uh, Eric this morning."

"An email?" - I frowned. - "What did he say?"

"Just..." - He shrugged. - "You can read it." - He pulled his phone out and opened the email, handing it to me.

"He better not be proposing again." - I said, giving Louis a pointed look. - "Because I won't be as nice as he was if he's coming after my man."

Louis laughed, shaking his head.

"Just read it." - He bumped my shoulder. - "You'll see there's nothing to be jealous about."

I nodded and turned my face to the screen, scrolling down the email that said:

Louis

It's incredible that it's already been a year since the last time I saw you.
Let me say that even if at first, I felt hurt for what happened and how everything ended up catastrophically, now I feel relieved.

There just wasn't enough spark between us, and as time went by and healed my pain, I could analyze deeper into what our relationship had been.

We did not only rush into marriage, but we also did it for the wrong reasons.

We were very different, Louis. And as much as I would have liked it to be different, we were not meant to be. I wasn't happy with you.
I've seen pictures of you with Harry over the internet, and that's what you deserve.

That's what I deserve.

I'm still looking for it, not all of us meet the love of our lives at eighteen years old.
But I will not commit the same mistake I did with you again.

I will be loyal to myself from now on.
This is a thank you for making the call on ending our engagement on our wedding night.

I hadn't been brave enough to do it myself before.
So thank you for that, Louis.

I wish you the best.

"Wow." - I said, looking back at Louis.

"I know!" - He laughed. - "Can you believe it? He wasn't happy with me." - He huffed. - "The fucker." - He shook his head. - "I'm the best. Everybody should be thrilled to be with me."

I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, Lou." - I patted his thigh. - "Anyways, I think it is pretty brave of him to reach out and say this. Also, I didn't know you were the one calling off the wedding that night."

Louis shrugged.

"You literally told me you loved me in front of the wedding officiant, H. When Eric and I went outside to talk, my heart was not with Eric anymore, it was with you on the other side of that door. I couldn't do it. And I told him the truth."

I smiled down at my hands as I handed the phone back to him.

"And the truth was?"

"Fishing for love confessions, aren't we?" - Louis smirked.

I bumped his shoulder.

"Just the usual."

Louis laughed.

"Right. Well, I don't remember the exact words of course, but I know I said I had had the marriage fantasy for a long time and that the only person I could see in the fantasy was you. Not him. So it felt weird to continue with the ceremony if I still had so much love for you. He just said 'okay' and I left. It wasn't the best goodbye or break up, and sometimes I feel guilty about it. Because really, he is such a good man, and I wasn't..." - He sighed and I rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. - "I was shit. And he didn't deserve it. So I guess this email was a better closure. And I'm glad he realized he deserved better than a poor guy that was still deeply in love with his movie-star-ex and didn't have enough space for him in his life."

I rested my head on his shoulder, sliding an arm around his torso and snuggling close to him.

"He knew, Lou. I'm sure he did." - I said, softly.

Louis chuckled.

"Probably, yeah. I'm not exactly subtle when it comes to you."

I smiled.

"Exactly."

Louis leaned down and found my lips, kissing me softly.

"And now I'm marrying you." - He mumbled, smiling into my lips. - "Who would have thought?"

"Everyone, baby. Literally everyone." - I said and he laughed.

And there was something about his laugh. Hearing it from this close, his eyes shining and crinkling, that was completely hypnotizing to me, fulfilling.

I was falling in love all over again right there and then.
And for the look in his eyes, I knew it was reciprocated.

The whole world could vanish as long as we two remained, as long as the peace in his eyes endured, as long as his glorious laughter and his kisses of pure love were mine, I would be happy.

And even if in the future our wedding is not the fanciest, or we don't wear matching golden bow ties, or we prefer only doing a small ceremony with all our loved ones and away from the public eye and the press, then it's fine.
Because we don't need any of that.

We know that what actually matters is that we keep fighting for each other.

And really there's not much else I can say.
There isn't really a final chapter in our story. I only know that whenever you want to put an ending, be it now or in fifty years, it wouldn't be of much difference.

It'd be a happy one.