20. The Proposal

Jai

I knelt in front of her, pulling out the velvet box from my pocket. The ring had been with me since the day we went ring shopping.

I popped the box open, and I could practically hear her gasp. "You got me THE ring?" she asked, tearing up.

"What my wife wants, she gets," I replied.

It's a fact – there's nothing on this planet I wouldn't buy for her. And that scared the hell out of me because there was absolutely no one else I could imagine living with other than Anika.

She was always on my mind, making me feel things I'd never felt before. I freaking have butterflies in my stomach every time she hugs me.

I cleared my throat before laying it all out. "Anika, from the moment I spotted you at your friend's wedding, I knew you were the one. And as we went on dates, I realized that – I want to spend every day of my life with you."

Taking a deep breath, I continued, "You make me the happiest man on the planet. Have you ever noticed how your eyes shine when you smile? I'll do anything to see that smile. I love how you care for everyone around you. I can't wait to make memories with you and cherish the ones we'd already made. I really, really like you, Anika. I want to give this marriage thing a real shot."

"Will you say yes to a lifetime of princess treatment?" I added.

As soon as I finished, she was also on her knees, hugging me tight. I could literally stay in her embrace all day. I held her, and she hugged me even tighter.

"You make me the happiest woman, too, Jai. It is obviously a Yes!" she replied, her voice breaking a bit.

She didn't like to show her emotions to me, but it was okay because I wanted to be the one with whom she didn't have to be strong. She didn't have to pretend to be someone else.

Then she stood up, and I placed the ring on her finger.

When I got up, I pulled her close to me, "You look so sexy today, you know?" still holding her waist.

"So do you. Especially when you kneel," she said with that sexy smile.

"Is that so?" I want to kiss her so bad. I really want to.

"Definitely!" she came even closer. Her arms around my neck, I bent a little..

I took her lips and in a slow sensual kiss. Her lips were so soft, and when she started moving them against mine, it felt better than I'd always imagined. Gradually, the kiss escalated from a gentle pace to an intense rhythm. When we stopped, both of us were panting.

I looked into the eyes of the girl I was falling for. I could see in her eyes that she felt exactly what I was feeling right now. My heart was so full at this moment.

"Better than I imagined," she said.

"You imagined?" I asked her, surprised.

"I'm a woman with needs, of course, I did," she replied. Of course, she did.

Have you seen the books she reads? She's basically reading adult movies on the name of romance.

I could see her smiling, bright and happy. Until my last breath, I wanted to see her like this.

And she was mine. All mine.

"Let's go feed you, my princess," I patted her ass.

"Let's go!" she said, looking just like a baby who got her favourite toy.

Then I carried her down the same way we came up, giving her a piggyback ride. I like having her around me.

I love touching her, whether it was simply holding hands or playing with her hair when she talks.

"We were going to get married anyway, right? Why did you propose?" she asked.

She really had low standards, even though she read high-level romance books. Why wouldn't I do anything for her? "Because I want to see you happy and ask if you want to give us a real shot."

"I want to," she replied with a smile and something in her eyes that I couldn't read.

And we talked about one thing or another the whole way.

Then I took her to 'Makau,' a place I recently discovered and liked. When we sat down, she came and sat next to me, unlike the other times. I was glad; I could keep her close.

A waiter came, and we ordered a pizza with our choice of drinks. "How did you know about the ring?" she asked.

"I saw the way you looked at the ring," I said. She looked at it like it was THE one, but I knew why she didn't say a word then. She thought about the price. She didn't have to worry when I was around, though.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked.

"It was way too expensive for a ring," she shrugged. The way she kept looking at the ring every now and then told me how much she liked it.

"Not for me, baby," I brought her closer.

"Okay mister I'm rich and I can buy anything for my future wife," she mocked me.

"Damn right I can" I winked at her.

Then she wrapped her arms around my left hand and placed her head on my shoulder.

"Thank you for today, Jai. You are such a sweetie, you know?" she told me.

"Don't let this word get out. I have a reputation to maintain." I pressed a kiss on her head. When I was outside my house, I was a guy with no emotions, just calm and collected. On the inside, so many feelings flowed through me that I didn't know how to handle them.

Our orders arrived, and then she started telling me about her friends and how they surprised her.

"On that note, I'll teach you self-defense after we get married."

"Why?" she looked into my eyes.

"Simply. It's better if you know."

"True," she put her head back on my shoulder. It felt so good having her close to me.

"What do I do with the other ring?" she asked me suddenly.

"You can keep both of them," I shrugged.

"Stop spoiling me. We aren't even married yet!"

"That's the main goal, princess, get used to it," I replied.

She was in her own world when I took a picture of her from my angle. Only half of her face was visible, and her hand was wrapped around my arm. Her smile was evident.

I had so many candid pictures of her on my phone. I barely clicked pictures, but I kept taking her pictures because I wanted to keep the memory locked.

I zoned out when she took the phone away from me.

"Hidden photographer?" she was happy about the picture.

"Just your personal photographer," I'd be that only for her.

"This is so good! Can I go through them?"

"You don't have to ask," I replied. I had nothing to hide from her. Except...

"Appointing you as my personal photographer right now. They are so good! Please share them with me."

"Sure, give me your phone, I'll airdrop," I told her.

"What's your password?" I asked her after taking the phone from her.

"1702," she replied.

"That- That's the day we met," I said. Don't ask me how I remember that. I just did.

"I know," was the only reply I got.

Then we had our lunch and took a few pictures. In the few days I'd known this tiny human, I'd realized she loved taking pictures but didn't post them.

She didn't take her pictures; she took them of the place, the people around her, her with her loved ones.

If I became one of them soon.

We headed towards the exit when I heard someone call "Anika." We turned, and I saw a guy approaching us looking towards Anika.

"Hey Varun!" she gave him a handshake.

"How have you been? You've changed a lot," he said, smiling a bit too much. It didn't seem like he had bad intentions though.

But still, she was my girl.

"I'm good. How are you?" I heard her ask.

"Better than ever." He gave her a grin.

"So wanna hang around for a bit?" he asked.

"She's busy with her wedding," I interjected, placing my hand over her hip.

"Really? I didn't know there was something going on between you two. Though I suspected it. Our entire batch did." He laughed.

Anika just smiled, and I had my neutral face in spite of me being curious.

"Let's go, baby?" I said to her, and she nodded.

"It's so good to see you; let's catch up soon," Anika said to him, and we left.

When we got into the car, Anika took my face in her palms and kissed the hell out of me. I gave in, obviously.

And when we parted, she said, "You look extra hot when you're jealous."

"You find me hot?"

"I have eyes. Of course, you are." And then she took a picture of me.

When she showed me the picture, I could see her lipstick stain on my lips and smeared a little here and there. My hair was messy because of her holding it when we kissed.

I look so different. I was a different version of myself when I was around her.

When we reached her apartment, she got down and said, "Thank you for today, Jai. Truly."

"You don't have to thank me for this, Princess," I replied softly.

"Can't wait to see you tomorrow." I said, and she left with a smile.

I started driving when I saw her getting into the lift.

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