chapter 23

Chapter 23. I acceptRosie opens the door and Aria runs in hyperventilating, she had just come back from Oliver`s house after he had proposed marriage to her. She ran into the inner bedroom and sat on the bed, breathing heavily.Rosie locks the door and goes in to check on her. “What is wrong Aria, why are you breathing like you just ran five kilometers to get here,”“It`s… it`s Oliver,” she muttered, trying to regulate her breath pace.“Oliver? What did he do? Did he try to hurt you?” Rosie queried with an aggressive look on her face.“No… No relax, he did not try to hurt me, he… he asked me to marry him,” Rosie confessed.“What?”“Yeah, I know right? I was not expecting that.” She yelled.“So, what was your reply,” Rosie queried, her gaze falling on Aria`s fingers, in search of a ring.“Well, I was scared and not thinking straight, so I ran away without giving him a reply,” she replied.“You ran away?” Rosie asked and giggled.“This is not funny at all,” Aria retorted with a stern face.“Okay I am sorry. Let me ask you, do you love him?”Arianna crumpled her face like she did not understand, “huh?”“Yes, that is a question Aria; do you love Mr. Stark Oliver Gomez?”Arianna was silent; she turned to the window and away from her best friend. She thought of all the moments she had spent with Oliver, the times he was all that she thought about. Her feelings for him were not deep but yes it was there.“Yes sis, I … I do love him, I mean I think so,” she replied and sighed, then lay back on the bed.“If you are sure that you love him, and that he cares about you, then I would advise you to say yes to his proposal, marry him Aria.” Rosie advised in a soft tone.Aria stared at the ceiling in thought, marriage was no child play, it was a lifelong commitment. Would she be making the right choice by saying yes to his proposal?It's true that everything looks like roses and rainbows right now, but would it be like that forever? What if Oliver changes and becomes like the other wealthy people that she despises? What if he goes back to his old ways, what if he gets tired of her and decides to have her replaced?“Listen Aria, you are going to be a mother in a month and you would handle it better with Oliver`s help, both his financial and physical support. Also think about your child and how her life would be if she is born out of wedlock, people would call her illegitimate, they will also refer to you as a worthless woman, do you want that?” Rosie queried.Aria sat up and waved her head, “Rosie, I don’t care if people call me names, but you are right about my daughter, I don’t want her to face the mockery or humiliation that I faced, neither do I want her to suffer in poverty.”“Good, now you are starting to get it, so you should call Oliver and tell him that you accept his proposal,” Rosie advised.“Um… I don’t think that would be necessary,” Aria replied, while looking out of the window“Why not?” Rosie queried.“Because Oliver is here already,” she answered and turned to Rosie with a nervous look on her face.“Oh… well stay here, I will talk to him first, I need to make something clear to him.” Rosie instructed and she nodded.Rosie walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind, then she went to the door just in time to open it for Oliver.“Hey Rose, is Aria here?” He asked and walked into the sitting room.“Yes, she came back a few minutes ago and she told me what happened at your house,” Rosie replied.“Look Rose, I didn't mean to offend her or say anything wrong. I just want her to be mine forever, I want her to be my wife,” Oliver explained“Yeah about that, I want to make something clear, but before that, tell me… Do you love Aria?” Rosie queried.Oliver was silent for a while, and then he sighed. “I don’t know how I can prove it to you, but I love her with my life. These past few weeks with her have been the best in my life. I can’t go to bed without seeing her in my dreams and in the daytime, I imagine her everywhere around me.I am not saying this because she has my child, I don’t want to marry her just because she is the mother of my unborn child. I want to marry her because I am in love with her.You know when I asked Aria if we could be friends, I was only doing that to reconcile with my conscience, I just wanted to do what was right, I wanted to be on good terms with my child and her mother, even if we don’t end up together.At that time, I had no thoughts of marriage between us, all I wanted was friendship because I believed it was the best relationship to share with her, but then I fell in love with her, she became my world.The moment I always lose concentration at work, thinking about her, when I couldn’t go to bed without hearing her voice, when I couldn’t fight the impulse to hug and kiss her at any given time, I was sure this was more than just friendship, this was love, I love Aria.” He stated in finality“Alright, I believe you but let me make this clear. Aria is like a sister to me, if you ever try to hurt her, I would find you and I would kill you, that is not a bluff, that is a promise,” Rosie stated in a cold voice.“I promise you Rosie, I would protect her with my life, I won’t let any harm come to her, or let her face any more problems in life,” Oliver replied“Good, because I won’t mind spending the rest of my life in jail as long as I kill the one who hurts my best friend.”Just then the interconnecting door opens and Arianna walks out, she approaches Oliver with her face bowed down.“I… I am sorry for my reaction earlier and I am ready now, I would marry you,” Aria replied and looked up.Oliver held her chin and raised her face up, and then he cupped her cheeks.“You don’t have to apologize Aria, you don’t know how happy I am to hear this, I really love you Aria, I know I don’t deserve your love after everything I did to you in the past.”“That was in the past Oliver, we have to let go of the past in order to move forward, so I suggest we start doing that now.” She smiled“You are right, henceforth, I promise to give you all the love in the world, literally all the love.” He chuckled and Aria laughed.Then he went down on a knee and brought out the ring. “Just to confirm, Arianna Joanna McQueen, do you agree to be my wife, my soul mate, the mother of my children?”“Yes you fool, don’t make me change my mind,” she laughed softly as tears rolled down her eyes.Oliver chuckled and slid the ring onto her finger, then he stood up and kissed her belly on the way up, then her lips softly, after which he hugged her.“Um… guys, I am still here you know?” Rosie yelled and they ignored her, kissing each other hungrily.“Hellooo!!” she yelled again, but no one was paying attention to her. “Oh, fine… I would just leave you two,” she gave up and went into the bedroom.