Ginelle's pov
"Babe, why is the line so long?"
For a usual week day, there were so many people visiting the aquarium since we had been waiting for over fifteen minutes now.
With us still in our post anniversary mood, we had organized this aquarium date as our activity of the day.
It however didn't look like a good day to be here because of the large crowd pushing behind us but I was still glad that my man was with me.
"I didn't know it would get this crowded," he gently tugged me by my waist so that I was closer and slightly hidden before him.
"Maybe we should have gone hiking," Grey attempted to joke but I pulled on a long face that made him chuckle lightly.
I'd rather sleep all day than get my whole body sore just by walking up a steep mountain out of breath and with a dry throat.
"It'll be our turn soon," my fingers coiled around the edge of his jacket as I shuffled closer to him so that I wouldn't get lost.
We eventually reached the front and after Grey spoke to the person in charge, we were let in after filling out a small form.
Grey held my hand as soon as we got in and I smiled as I swung both of our linked hands to and fro.
The inside wasn't as crowded as the outside. I noticed a few children who were accompanied by their families.
Grey letting me take lead of whichever direction I wanted to take first, I pointed towards the left and he agreed.
The hallways were somewhat darker but after adjusting to the lighting there, I walked excitedly in the look out for any life underwater.
I skipped towards the first fish I saw, Grey following closely though my pace didn't seem to affect him.
"They look so small," I leaned into the glass to see one them swimming closer and squealed when it did a small flip.
"Did you see that?" I excitedly pointed at the next batch that swam by and giggled at the pattern they made.
I really did love fish.
We walked to the next set, my smile so wide as I stared at their beautiful scales. They were of a yellow shade, almost golden in colour.
I didn't know of their breeds or even their names but I loved admiring their beauty as they swam in groups.
Tapping my fingers at the screen, they didn't seem disturbed at the movement as they swam closer to where I was standing.
"You're that excited, baby?" Grey leaned his head to the glass just as I had done and we watched the fish together.
"Yes, I really wanted to come here." My eyes followed a young orange-scaled fish and I noticed it swim closer to a larger grey one.
Smiling and giggling, I nudged Grey to look at them. They were so adorable that I took out my phone to snap a picture of them.
"You're smiling so much at them," I heard Grey grumble beside me after I'd taken a few pictures.
"What was that?" I pretended not to hear as I took more pictures but when a whale swam by us so suddenly, I jumped in fright.
I held onto Grey while hiding into his chest until it went past us and then sheepishly looked up at him.
Blinking up at him, I smiled brightly, giving him that smile he so wanted as I let him hold me to himself.
He shook his head stubbornly so I stood on my toes and lightly pecked his lips three times.
Seeming relieved at the affection, he stopped to grumble so we continued to the next areas together.
I took very many pictures, Grey taking some of mine with his phone when I was unaware and from the few he'd shown me, they did actually look good.
"Sweetheart, look over here." I turned towards Grey to catch sight of him holding his phone towards me and I smiled as he took more pictures of me.
I also took pictures of him, his poses so natural that you'd think he was a model but I still had to remind him to smile.
He was still had that passive mask while in public but after knowing him, I knew how to unravel that so I ended up taking most of the pictures with him smiling.
We must have walked around two to three times but at the end of it, I was so happy that we had visited the aquarium.
Grey led me to a bench outside and took out a bottle of water from my small bag that he'd been carrying for me.
Opening the bottle top, he gave me the bottle and then squatted to adjust the side of my dress that had crinkled and slightly risen.
I ruffled his hair after I was done drinking and gave him the bottle to have a drink too. I watched him take large gulps, his free hand still on my thigh.
"You're mine?" Sometimes I wondered if this was really my man. He was so attractive to the point where it felt otherworldly.
"Always, tulip." He took my hands and assured me as his hands rubbed over my own in a comforting warmth.
"I'm also yours," I cupped his face and smiled reassuringly at him just like he'd done for me.
He broke our eye contact first and looked at the ground beside him then asked, "Are you tired, my tulip?"
I shook my head immediately, his change of facial expressions so foreign, something I hadn't seen before.
"I-I would like to show you something awesome," he appeared unsure of the words he was saying.
"Really! You have something else planned?" I asked excitedly and watched him slowly nod.
"I'm really having so much fun today. Let's go, I'm excited." I made a move to rise but when he didn't stand up, I held his arm.
"Grey, I love all your surprises." he was usually the planner in our relationship and seeing all the things he had done for me, there was none that didn't amaze me.
He stood up at my assurance but still appeared unsettled so I cupped his face, "Is there something else?"
He swiftly shook his head and attempted a smile. It wasn't like his usual but I was slightly relieved when he took my hand.
We drove in his car towards our next surprise stop and I couldn't help but peek at him each passing second.
One hand was on the wheel but the other wasn't on my thigh like it usually was. He kept pulling the hand into and out of his pockets.
Seeing that he was still anxious, I placed my hand over his knee hoping that he would tell me what he was really thinking about.
He had been good just an hour before, I couldn't think of what could have happened in such a short time to bring this significant change in him.
"I'm okay sweetheart, just having something in mind." He placed his hand over my own on his knee and smiled.
"Is it about work?" I noticed that even his hands were sweaty, they usually were rough and warm.
"Not exactly, I'll tell you later." He ended the conversation before I could even ask further and I decided to let it go for now.
I stroked his knee softly, wondering what this was all about. I had never seen him so anxious, not about work and not even that time when he woke up at the hospital.
I thought perhaps our destination was the reason of his anxiety but the moment I got out of the car, I exclaimed at the sight before me.
It was a garden, a very big one at that. The size of it was like that of a field or a plantation, it didn't matter. The place was so huge.
Flowers of all kinds and colours grew on neat rows, their scent so lovely that it made the whole place feel heavenly.
I noticed Grey's eyes on me and I smiled widely, hugging him tight as I gushed over how amazing the place was.
He was being anxious over nothing, the place was so lovely that I was awe and already loved it.
"This is so beautiful, when did you find this place?" I let him take my hand as we walked through the spaces between the flowers, my eyes stuck on each one of them.
"Just a few days ago," I saw him check his phone as he replied, slightly swiping his screen then locking it again.
"It is so amazing, you didn't have to be nervous." I looped my hands around his arms and smiled at him telling him that I loved his surprise.
We walked through a few rows before we came to the part where tulips grew and I rushed over excitedly, feeling their petals with my hands.
They were so pretty mixed together, the red tulips, yellow tulips, pink tulips and white tulips growing next to each other.
"Will take a picture of me?" I blinked up at him severally in my most convincing expression to which he instantly agreed.
I stood in front of each colour of tulips and let Grey take pictures of me, so excited that he had let me see this lovely view.
He took a couple of pictures of me and after I was satisfied, I went to get a look of how I appeared in those pictures.
I was content with most of them however some of them appeared so blurry that one would have thought that Grey's hands were shaking.
I appreciated him for taking good pictures and just when I was about to ask him if something was wrong, he blurted out.
"T-The owner of this place wanted us to give him a review about this place online," he explained and then placed his phone into my hands.
Still confused, I unlocked his screen and clicked on the link I saw about adventure gardens.
With the suns ray's directly hitting my forehead, I turned around with squinted eyes to look at this website stuff.
The page loaded easily but what came up wasn't about gardens or anything close to that.
There were pictures of myself at the top of the page then slowly those of Grey followed next.
Scrolling down, there were pictures of us together and then a small video came up that I quickly pressed the play arrow.
It was a short animated clip of a penguin and I laughed lightly till the end where four words popped up.
Look at me, sweetheart.
At first I was confused then I suddenly seemed to remember that Grey was still with me.
I slowly turned around and the sight of him on one knee before me had my vision blurring for a second.
Grey Marshal was in front of me on one knee and on his right hand was a small open orange box that had a bright diamond ring.
"Will you marry me?" His grey eyes looked into my brown ones as he softly asked.
I stumbled over my own foot.
Was I really seeing things clearly?
"You've been my anchor, my shield and my strongest motivator. Without you, I wouldn't have seen any worth in myself."
"Before you came into my life, I was only concerned about work. I was living my life just working but there came that day when work wasn't the priority anymore."
"Remember when I told you that I fell in love with you at first sight?"
I nodded briefly, his words still so fresh in my mind.
"That night when you held onto me like no one had ever, I felt a longing I'd never known before come up to me."
"The deep urge to protect you, to take care of you, to love you with every fiber of my body. This is the urge you aroused in me."
"My world right now literally revolves around you. I look forward to seeing you everytime we part, it's like you're my life."
"I look forward to your attention. When I get home, it's your face I want to see first, it's your smile I constantly want to see."
"You constantly tell me that I am the best, do you know how much strength those words give me?"
I shook my head, moving my feet closer to him as he continued.
"You are the only one that sees that much in me. I have been reserved and quiet but when I'm with you, I feel the strongest."
"I usually want to express myself more when I am with you and I forever want to remain that way with you."
"I want to spent the rest of my life with you. I want you as my light, my woman, my love, my future."
"I want you with me, always and forever." He swallowed thickly and continued.
"Will you stick to my right side just like I have chosen to stick to your left?"
I didn't even get the chance to nod before he asked again.
"My tulip, will you marry me?"
Tears of joy trickled down my cheeks as I listened to the words of the man I had given my heart to.
He was an angel.
What more sincere words would I ever want to hear?
I watched his eager expression fixed on my face, his knee bouncing slightly though he attempted to play it off.
"I will be your bride,"
His mouth opened, his knee twitched and there was a magnificent glow in his eyes.
"Really?"
His voice was normally deep but right now it sounded so pitched like he had received the biggest surprise of his life.
"Yes,"
I stretched out my hand so that he'd slip the ring in but Grey just continued to gaze up at me like I was a miracle.
After seconds of just gazing at each other, he eventually slipped the ring into my ring finger where it fit perfectly.
He looked up at me once more, his lips twitching and he asked again, "You really want a future with me?"
I assured him that this was something I'd dreamed of having with him and finally giving in, he wrapped his hands around my waist, his head resting on my tummy.
"I love you so much, Ginelle." He leaned into me as I stroked his hair in a comforting manner.
"You will always be my tulip." I smiled at his sweet words, the new ring addition on my fingers feeling so extraordinary.
I was now engaged to this man and I wouldn't want it any other way.
We smiled, our eyes shone, our joy tripled, our hands held onto each other as we rejoiced into this moment.
So happy about our new level, I never realized that Grey was still on his knee until five minutes later.
"Grey stand up, you're hurting your knee." I held his arms to lift him up despite his strength but he shook his head and hugged me tighter.
"I feel like wonderful," I heard him say as he rested his head sideways, a content sigh escaping him.
"I feel wonderful too," my hands lay in his hair as I softly ran my fingers through.
We both felt wonderful.
✪ ✪ ✪
The long awaited chapter is finally here. Did anyone see this coming?
I had originally planned to write this chapter in Grey's pov but I felt that some expressions would not fully be captured.
However, I can still post an exclusive chapter in his pov if you guys are interested.
Sadly, when you see this part in books you know that the story's about to end.
(๑˙❥˙๑)