Chapter 22: A Proposal
Chapter 22: A Proposal
The music and the beautiful couple attracted the attention of the customers in the restaurant, including
Henry and Emily.
The navy blue figure on the stage caught his eye. When he saw her smile as she was twirled across
the stage, his eyes darkened suddenly, as if there was a huge storm brewing in them.
After he put down his order, Henry whispered something to the waiter. He nodded and left with the
menus.
"These two are really a good match," Emily said with a smile. She glanced at Henry out of the corner of
her eyes. His face was blank as he lit a cigarette, much to her relief.
As long as that woman had nothing to do with Henry.
As the dance gradually came to an end, Logan dug out something from his pocket and ran onto the
stage.
Declan took the little box from Logan and knelt down on one knee in front of Luz, then opened the box.
His eyes were sparkling with deep affection. "Luz, can you give me a chance to take care of you and NôvelDrama.Org © 2024.
Logan?"
"It's a proposal, how romantic!"
"Hurry up and marry him. I wish you happiness!"
Some guests were calling out playfully while Luz stood there frozen, dumbfounded. She fidgeted with
the hem of her dress. "Declan, I..."
Suddenly, all the lights in the restaurant went out. It was dark.
"Luz!" Declan hurriedly stood up and reached out to grab Luz.
A hand appeared out of the darkness with a gust of wind and grabbed Luz's wrist. Luz stumbled slightly
as she was pulled backwards and fell into an embrace. The man kissed her.
The kiss smelt faintly of tobacco.
Henry Maynard?
Luz struggled and hit Henry's chest repeatedly, afraid that Declan would find out, but Henry grabbed
the back of her head and deepened the kiss.
It was not until her toes were numb and she was almost out of breath that he showed mercy. He turned
his head and bit her shoulder hard.
"Luz Boone, don't you dare marry Declan Carver!" he said fiercely.
He hated this woman, so she should not have a happy life.
Another warm hand grabbed her wrist and the smell of tobacco dissipated. Luz held her hands to her
chest and tried to calm her beating heart before the lights came back on.
When the lights came back on, they were not bright, but she still narrowed her eyes reflexively. She
saw Declan's concerned expression in front of her.
"Luz, are you okay?"
There was a hint of nervousness underlying his gentle question. The lights had gone out so suddenly
that he had a bad feeling about it.
"I'm fine, just a little startled when it went dark suddenly."
She took a deep breath and forced a smile, but she still felt a little uncomfortable. She glanced at
Henry's table out of the corner of her eye and saw him sneering at them with a wine glass in his hand.
His fingers threatened to break the thin glass at a moment's notice. She recalled his fierce threat from
just now and shuddered.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Declan noticed the change in her behaviour. He took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders,
but she turned to the side to avoid it hastily. His hands brushed over her shoulder awkwardly, which
aggravated the wound. Luz frowned. "Henry Maynard is a complete animal," she thought to herself.
...
Declan's gaze fell to her shoulder and he frowned. There was a lipstick mark and some moisture on her
shoulder. What had happened in those short moments of darkness?
He turned his head to look at Henry, who was elegantly eating his steak at his table. He was slightly
annoyed because he could not understand the relationship between him and Luz.
"Mommy, you haven't agreed to Uncle Declan's proposal yet."
Just as the atmosphere fell into awkwardness, Logan licked his ice cream spoon clean and called out
from the side. However, he suddenly felt a blast of cold air from beside him as he said that. He
swallowed and thought, "Is ice cream supposed to be that cold?"
The crowd had regained their composure after the initial panic from the electrical shortage and had
turned to look at the couple on the stage to continue calling out encouragements.
"Marry him!"
Luz looked a little embarrassed. She had thought that Declan's proposal would just end there after the
electrical shortage, but the crowd's enthusiasm was unexpected. She pursed her lips and could only
pin her hopes on Declan, hoping that he would not ask the question she did not know how to answer.
However, Declan insisted on the proposal. Once again, he knelt on one knee and said with a doting
and expectant look, "Luz, give me a chance to take care of you and Logan. Marry me. I swear I will be
good to you and your son for the rest of my life."
"..."
She lowered her head and looked at the diamond ring in his hand. The diamond was cut in the shape
of a heart and sparkled under the lights in the restaurant. Before, when she was still naive and had
hoped for a good marriage, she had told Declan that she wanted a heart-shaped engagement ring so
that she could wear his heart on her finger for the rest of her life.
...
She did not expect him to remember that casual joke after all this time.
She fidgeted with the hem of the dress again. Mia had told her that any woman who married Declan
would be happy. She believed so, too, because Declan was a good and loyal man. He would be a
faithful husband.
If she gave up this opportunity, she would probably never meet another man like Declan. But why was
she hesitating? Why was she looking for excuses to reject the proposal?
"Luz, we grew up together. When we were in middle school, I told myself that you are the only woman I
want to marry in my life. I love you."
Declan raised the ring in his hand again in front of her. He believed in his childhood sweetheart's
feelings and was willing to take care of her for the rest of his life.
The rest of the restaurant was enjoying the romantic scene. Some people even whistled in
encouragement.
Luz was blushing, but she did not hesitate to answer him this time. "Declan, I... I can't."
After saying that, she lowered her head awkwardly and did not dare to look into Declan's eyes. She
really did not know why Declan would suddenly propose to her today. If she had known, she would not
have brought Logan to see him.
The smile on Declan's lips froze, but it came back again quickly. He stood up. "It's okay, I know it was
too sudden and you did not have a chance to prepare yourself. I can wait. You can reject me a hundred
times, and I will keep proposing because I know you will accept me one day."
He put the ring box back into his pocket and hid his disappointment so that she would not feel bad for
rejecting him.