"Are you ready?" Klay asked as he smiled at Stephen.
"I've been waiting for this, Klay. I can't tell you how excited I am to make that girl my wife. I can't live without her."
~
As time went on, things seemed to be falling back into routine for the couple. Stephen was able to nurse his ankle back to health in order for him to be ready for the season that was approaching rather quickly. &, Heart got back on her feet after the passing of her aunt, regularly attending school and work.
Before the season could begin & take over Steph's life once more, he figured he needed to ask his lady to be his forever more and plan the wedding. He remembers Heart clearly saying she wanted a small wedding.
A cute, small wedding.
A cute, "first dance under some string lights surrounded by nature like Twilight or A Cinderella Story" wedding.
He was ready.
Without saying much to her throughout the day, he prepared for the big moment & made sure everything was where it needed to be and how it needed to be. Of course, Heart wondered where he was and why he had been so MIA all day, but she also understood that sometimes, you just get busy. She wasn't going to question it because one, it's Stephen.
And two, it's Stephen.
She sighed as she walked down the halls and into Christen's office. "What's wrong?" Christen tilted her head to the side as she examined Heart's body language as she continued to look down at her phone.
"It's just, Stephen's been so busy all day that I'm not really sure what he's doing anymore." Heart chuckled as she kept her eyes on her phone. Christen silently smirked as she knew what that boy was up to, but she had to keep her mouth shout until further notice.
"I'm sure he's just busy with the team, don't worry about it Heart."
"You're right." She nodded before she looked up to meet Christen's eyes. "Did you need me for something?"
"Yeah, actually I did. I need you to head to the 'High Fashion' showcase down by SOMA. They just need some extra hands on deck. You'll be all free to go when they're done with you." She smiled as she saw the glow in Heart's eyes.
"Oh shoot, yeah I can do that. That'd be fun." She squealed in excitement.
"I knew I could count on you. Thank you, Heart."
"No problem. I'll see you later." Heart winked as she left the office. Beyond excited to help out with more fashion shows, she ran to her car and happily drove off to her destination. She wasn't too far out, but getting around the city at this time, she wasn't sure if she'd make it there right away. She turned up the radio and sang along to the songs that came on, occasionally looking left & right, seeing people looking at her weird at the stoplights.
But frankly, she could care less.
She was in a rather good mood even though she hadn't heart much from her man. She knew once she was home, he'd be all hers and that's all that mattered.
Nothing beats getting chances that'll bring you a step closer to your dreams.
Finally getting to the venue, she found that the parking garage was rather empty. And that there were barely any people around.
"I guess I'm earlier than I thought." She said to herself as she looked at her watch. She shrugged it off as she made her way to the elevator and took it up to the main floor. She opened the doors with a huge smile, only to see an empty venue.
But she stood there in awe.
The stage/runway was illuminated with a light, lavender pastel color. Which was one of her favorite colors that she always made such a big deal about around Steph.
There were pictures hung with clothespins on some tweed, hung by fake lightposts surrounding parts of the runway, but Heart couldn't see what they were from the distance. The runway was also lined with rose petals and candles:
She made her way to the runway, and slowly examined the pictures that hung before her. The pictures were of her and Steph. On their good and bad days. Through everything and anything. Heart slowly walked down the runway, grabbing each picture and reading each caption on it. She began to cry and laugh at the same time, unsure of what was coming next.
She wasn't sure what this was for, but at least now, she understood why Stephen had been missing all day.
The very last picture at the end of the runway was their favorite picture. Steph was holding her from behind as she smiled from ear to ear while he laid a kiss on her cheek. They were at Twin Peaks, so the background consisted of San Francisco as a whole.
The caption: I'm always ready to conquer the world with you, & I plan to do it until the very end.
She scrunched her forehead at what that could mean, but before she could interpret it, she was startled by a figure who made his presence known by clearing his throat.
Stephen.
"Hey babygirl." He smiled, making her smile from ear to ear. She jumped down from the runway to throw her arms around him and hug him tightly. "Aw." He said as he chuckled and rubbed her back.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too, beautiful."
"So, this is why you've been busy all day!" She looked at him up and down, noticing he was in a dress shirt, tie, dress pants and shoes. "You're dressed rather formal. What's this about? Am I missing an occasion? Please tell me I'm not." Heart slightly frowned as she rambled on.
"No, baby. Don't worry." He laughed. "I just wanted to do something special for you because I love you."
"You're so sweet, Wardell." She quickly kissed him on the lips. "But really, are you lying? What are you up to?"
"Just because? Are you not going to let me off the hook?"
"Why? Why are you answering my questions with questions?"
"Playing 21 questions here, are we?" He laughed.
"Yeah, I guess so!" She playfully knudged him.
"Well since we are playing that game, I need to ask you something myself."
"Go on." She giggled as he sighed and looked her in the eyes.
"Babygirl, you've been everything to me. You've been my guardian angel, my blessing in disguise, my bestfriend, my soulmate. Just.. everything. When I say that, I really mean it. I love you more than anything. I love being around you. I love seeing your face, waking up to it and falling asleep to it. I love watching you achieve your dreams while I achieve mine. I love being able to do what I do every day and come home to you, feeling like things never change. You always remain the same goodhearted, loving & warm person throughout everything. You make the bad days go away completely." He scratched his head as he chuckled. "Well, I'm really starting to believe they don't exist when you're around. Which is amazing. You do everything with such grace and passion and everyday, I continue to fall more in love with you. I can't see my life without you." He took a breath. "Honestly, I could go on and on about you, but I'm terrible at these things. I start to stutter and repeat myself, but you know how it is. So I wanted to ask you.." He shyly said as he paused & looked at her with the cutest smile she's ever seen. She quickly wiped her tears away as she watched him get down on one knee and pull out a small box from his pocket. "Will you marry me?"
Heart covered her mouth in awe again as she began to cry. She couldn't formulate her response in words, so all she could do was nod.
Yes, yes, yes.
Stephen's eyes lit up as he stood up, carried her and swung her around. He placed her back down on her feet as he placed the ring on her finger and kissed her passionately and deeply on the lips.
"I love you, sweetheart." He whispered as he pulled away, keeping his forehead against his as he caressed her cheeks with his thumbs.
"I love you too, Wardell."
"You're a queen. & I promise I'll take care of that heart in every way possible until the very end." He lightly tapped her chest before kissing her once more. "Ain't nobody in the world but you & I."
~
(The Love We Got - Karina Pasian)
hello my lovely readers! i hope you enjoyed this cute, little chapter i pulled before going to sleep. what did you think?!
also, please tell me what your predictions are! i'm sad to say that this book will be coming to an end soon, but im not too sure you guys will like the ending. idk, im not positive about it yet, still reworking some things. but. yes. that's all im going to say.
just be ready for some really big emotional rollercoasters.
and i mean it.
lol. ily guys!