LOVING THE REJECTED BILLIONAIRE

“Andy?” I whisper, a whisper that can only be heard by me and maybe the components of the air surrounding me not more than a centimetre away.

Andy?

My greek beauty god, my prince charming, my knight in shining armour, the apple of my eye, my rib, my sweet beloved Andy is right in front of me. I won’t say he is standing before me because he is not standing. He is down on one knee, a shining precious jewel dazzling in one hand, his gorgeous dark brown eyes on me, a half-smile on his lips. I am in dreamland, right? I believe I am, and that is why I have to take slow weak steps, driven by confusion towards this man in front of me to confirm whether this is a fairytale. Or a sweet dream. If it is, then I want to live in this moment forever. But if this is real, I will treasure this moment my entire life.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I take slow calculated steps forward, my eyes full of questions and uncertainty, not leaving his. I want him to give me a sign that I am not dreaming, but he seems lost in my eyes. Perhaps we are both dreaming. We are just in this dream together. About four steps away from him, I hear some commotion at the door that I walked in through, and I turn back.

Angel?

Her smile wants me to want to believe that this is real. And Rita? Ambrose? And most of these other people, I have come across them in Andy’s office. So, does this mean…

“Tania, my love.” That sweet voice that makes every bone in me tremble, calms my every nerve and yet sets my entire being ablaze in just a single word speaks, echoing through the entire hall with the help of a small microphone. I forget about the people who just walked in and turn to face him, as the corners of his mouth curve up to let words out of his mouth, uttering the most heart-staring words I have ever heard in my entire life. “Life has not been fair to me from the start. I came across so many people. But they left as soon as they came into my life. Before I decided to stay off what sounded like an overrated, nonexistent love, I asked myself, what is so wrong with me that drives everybody away? I didn’t find the answer right away, and until I realized what that was, I swore never to love again, that was if love really existed. The only person I was able to love and care for was the precious jewel that life brought me – my beautiful daughter. But then you came in, and now I know what the problem was. I had not found the right person – the one who was born for me. The one who could love me like one else can, and that’s you, Ania. I am sorry if I can not explain when, how, or why I started falling for you, because truth is, I also don’t know. By the time I realized it, I had already fallen deep into you. I am sorry if I acted like a broken silly jerk at some point, but that helped me realize how much I love you. How much I want you. And how much I need you. Thank you for coming into my and my daughter’s lives. You mean the entire universe to me, Tania. I love you, with everything that I have. My remaining days in this world will be useless without you by my side, mi amor. Please, do me the honour of making me the happiest man in the world. Be the woman I will share my dreams with, the person I wake up with by my side every single morning because, without you, I am incomplete. Will you marry me, Tania Lawson?”My belly rumbles. My throat runs dry. His heart-stirring words turn me into a statue, but a crying statue. I cover my mouth with my palms to prevent the sobs from escaping too loud albeit them being the only sound in this hall.

I know the answer. There is nothing I want more in this world than being his wife. Making him happy. But my voice seems to have abandoned me. I can’t find my voice, so I just stand here like a statue, looking at him like a ghost. This took me by surprise. We never talked about this, even joking about it. It never crossed my mind that he would think of such a beautiful thing, so allow me to cry just for today because this was so unexpected by me. The great billionaire Adrian Ashton, asking me to marry him? I must have thought so low of him then because I never imagined him doing this. I thought ours would be like, let’s just settle down, and boom, that’s it. Or maybe our romantic sessions will just yield some results and then he will be like, what? We are going to be parents? Anything, but this? I didn’t see it didn’t…

“Well, babe? My knee kinda hurts. I need an answer. Don’t punish me by making me kneel here all night, please? Will you be my wife, please?”He repeats his question, pleading with me for an answer when all I did was stand here trying to control my sobs. I look at him again. My knight in shining armour.

Mrs Ashton! Does that name fit or suit me? I don’t know about the name, but this man right here, he is for me. I want him all for myself. I love him so much. If he was a meal, I wouldn’t want anybody else to know the recipe. Like him, I am incomplete without him. He is my missing rip, my better half, and I thank whatever fate, destiny, or circumstance that made our paths cross. I will love him my whole life – him, Angel, and the other kids we are gonna have.