Marry me with flowers

CHAPTER | 1

MILES

My heart raced as I looked at her. Her wide eyes were round, confused and filled with unshed tears. Her pale skin had a slight blush – I couldn't tell if it was because of cold, embarrassment or both. She looked at me and the ring in my hand alternatively, wondering if we would both vanish together if she ever blinked.

I bit my lips together from smiling. Megan was everything that I imagined to be. Her quirks got me high and once I had fallen there was no turning back. I had imagined myself at this position way more times than I could ever remember. I had had this ring in my pocket for the past three years and it was time it belonged to its rightful owner.

Megan was just an experiment of mine, at least in the beginning of our relationship. A way to check if she was worthy of me. A boost to my ego. But she had demolished everything that I believed was true and showed me a world that was brand new. And in the process, we had broken each other's hearts and sulked in the dark to realize that we in the end always belonged together.

I loved her right when she showed up in that awful dress at the hotel to discuss her friend's wedding. I loved her when she tolerated the media circus that hovered around me. I loved her when she stood up for me when my ex tried to disrupt my life. I loved her when she burnt the pancakes. I loved her.

Now, as I kneeled in front of her to say something, I grasped that I had everything right in front of me. And it was her – in any form she would let me have her.

"Darling, what do you say?" I prodded hoping that she would save me from this torture of mortifying anticipation.

My heart bet like it would burst open and shatter into thousand shards. I wanted to make her mine and I wanted the world to know it. Amber was the first one who caught me with the ring the other day. And ever since, she had this idea of me proposing her best friend in her wedding. It was ridiculous idea, but then again, it was Amber we were talking about and she always had a way to make me say yes.

Now? It didn't seem like a good idea at all. What if Megan was overwhelmed with the audience we had? What if she wanted the cliched proposal of putting the ring in the glass of wine? Or better yet, in a chocolate cake that she loved?

Megan looked at me and then at the spectators around us. An unendurable trace of panic zoomed past her eyes and that unshed tear slowly trickled down her exquisite face.

I had the sudden urge to run towards her and hold her tight till those tears stopped. It was a pure natural instinct. Ever since we opened our hearts to each other, I had become a little more concerned and over protective when it came to Megan. I didn't want any harm in her way. She had already suffered enough in my name and I completely hated that she had to go through a lot more when I was there with her. The last panic attack knocked me out completely. There was only one thought after that – I couldn't lose her.

Megan's lower lip trembled and I started to wonder if it was because of excitement or because she was caught like a deer in the headlights. Her big blue eyes landed on me – a silent plea. But what was wrong? Didn't she need this as much as I did?

Another tear leaked through as she shook her head sideways as if she heard my lingering questions. Her nose had turned pink as she shook her head once more with utter finality. "I'm sorry." It was just a whisper, but it hit me hard. Harder than I ever anticipated.

Megan looked around once more before taking another step away... away from me. For a second, I was puzzled. Did I hear her right? Did she really step away from me?

She loved me. I knew it. Ever since she broke down that morning in her house, confessing everything that happened after we broke up, she had told me. She told me she loved me. She had held me tight, scared that I might just vanish into thin air. She had kissed me right after like her life depended on it. Since then, we had been inseparable – proclaiming our love for each other every chance we got.