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That morning, I was awakened by a sweet yet deep voice whispering in my ear and fingers trailing soothingly up and down my arm. I squirmed as goose-bumps erupted all over my skin with the movement, but smiled, regardless.
"Morning, sleepyhead~." I could hear the grin in her voice when she spoke.
Lisa's smile widened. "Morning~..." I murmured, before rolling over onto my back.
"I brought you something~." Lisa declared, handing me a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea. I pushed myself into a sitting position. "Careful, it's hot~."
"Thank you~." I whispered, before wrapping both hands around the warm mug and bringing it to my mouth. It tasted exactly the way I preferred—hot and not overly sweet.
Lisa climbed in bed with her own cup of tea in her hand and pulled me to her chest, smiling as she pressed a kiss to the side of my neck. "Sleep well?"
I smiled. "Yes~." I answered. "What time is it?"
Lisa shrugged. "Around ten~."
Blinking, I turned to look at her. "And why is it that Riley hasn't caused a ruckus yet?"
Lisa laughed and took a sip of her tea. "I think he's tired, he was sound asleep when I went to see him. If you ask me, we won't have to worry about making food for at least two more hours."
I mirrored her grin and turned my head to press my lips to her in a sweet, chaste kiss. "That sounds good~..." I whispered once we pulled away, and when we did, my eyes were instantly drawn to the large window, where I could see fat snowflakes dancing in the air. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's still snowing?" I asked, almost incredulously.
The snow had begun its descent while we were having dinner and had continued well into the night, until we fell asleep.
"Yep~..." Lisa answered. "I don't think it stopped. And you know what it reminds me of? That time when Chaepmunk~ invited us to her sky-lodge. Remember?"
I huffed, amused. "How could I forget?"
Lisa laughed. "Yeah, that was a pretty crazy week."
"You mean you all were crazy~." I supplied, making her laugh harder. A moment passed, before I shifted, changing my position so that I was now sitting Turkish-style on the bed facing her. Reaching out, I placed my half-empty mug on the nightstand. "You know..." I started, tucking a lock of khaki hair behind my ear. "Maybe it's time for you to get in touch with everybody again. I'm sure you miss them."
Lisa hesitated in answering; she frowned, swallowed, and reached up to scratch the back of her head. "I do, but..."
"I don't think they'll reject you." I continued. "Not if they're real friends—which I know they are. And I'm not talking about them only. I'm also talking about your family. About your mother..."
"She never did forgive me for letting you walk out of my life~..." Lisa admitted, wrapping a khaki lock around her finger lovingly.
My hand came to cover her. "She was never mad at you for that. She was disappointed. And, if anything, she was trying to open your eyes. But you are her daughter. Don't think for a moment that she could possibly care more about me."
"I know, but..."
"She would like to know that she has a grandson, Lisa. Your father would love to know that the Manoban line doesn't end with you. And since I've hidden this for six years..." I shrugged. "That would put us on equal footing, don't you think?"
Lisa laughed. Placing her mug aside, next to mine, she wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me into her lap, forcing me to straddle her. Gazing up at me with a gentle look in her eyes, she moved a lock of hair behind my ear. "I made a lot of mistakes, Nini~" She confessed. "I said a lot of things I shouldn't have."
"I know, Lili~" I told her, softly caressing her cheek. "We all do."
Lisa swallowed, meeting my eyes. "Did you forgive me?"
"A long time ago~..." I answered without hesitation. A pause followed, before I returned her question with prodding eyes. "Did you?"
Lisa grinned, and her gaze suddenly turned mischievous. "I think you might still have some making up to do~..." Lisa drawled as she grasped my hips and lowered me to the bed, before following suit on top of me.
I could only laugh.
[A/N: Sorry. No smut details. LOL.]
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[A/N: I would like to ask for y'all to please listen to the video while reading the remaining parts of the story. Thank you.]
"Be careful~..." I heard her voice warning me and almost groaned out loud as I pawned at the hands that covered my eyes.
"How am I supposed to be careful when I can't even see where I'm going?" I complained.
"That's why I'm telling you when to be careful, because you can't see~..." Lisa replied cheerfully.
I would have rolled my eyes if they had not been closed.
Up until now, only two things were clear to me: one, Lisa had taken me to a restaurant that served delicious food; and two, Lisa had covered my eyes and claimed she had a surprise. We might have also ridden an elevator up to somewhere.
"Two more steps..." Lisa announced.
"You could have carried me at least~." I muttered under my breath as I followed her instructions.
A door opened and a cold blast of air hit my body, sending khaki hair flying away from my face.
"Nope~..." Lisa said at the same time. "Because then you would have peeked."
"Of course I would have." I retorted, letting her lead me into what seemed to be open air. "You forced me to dress fancy when I hadn't packed anything fancy. Then you forced me to leave Riley alone with a dog in the middle of nowhere so I could go eat with you—as if we didn't have food in the house. And then you made me climb stairs with my eyes closed. Of course I would have peeked."
Lisa laughed—a sound so joyful that everything inside me melted in an instant.
"I left my Manager- oppa~ with Riley..." Lisa said, soothing the small part inside of me that, she knew, would always worry about our child. "Nothing will happen to him." Lisa pressed her cheek against mine, and I could feel her grin as she spoke... "Ready?"
"Yes!" I exclaimed, and she laughed softly once more.
"Alright~..." Lisa whispered, and removed her hands from my eyes.
I blinked. Once, twice, until my sight accommodated, then I gasped.
We were on top of a building, clearly the tallest in the small town, overlooking the whole surroundings. It was nighttime, the snow was sparkling and the city was twinkling.
I took a step forward, and then another, until I reached the metal railing that marked the edge of the building. "I may consider forgiving you~..." I announced, turning my head to see a grinning Lisa approaching me.
"That's nice~." Lisa joked.
"So, what was it about this place that Riley couldn't see?" I asked as she came to stand beside me.
"It's not about the place~..."Lisa denied, and leaned with her forearms against the railing." It's about what I'm about to tell you."
Frowning, almost amused, I mirrored her position. "What are you about to tell me?"
"That I've been thinking..."
"That's a nice surprise~."
Lisa grinned, but continued. "About all the things that we've done wrong in our past relationship."
"Go figure~..." I said, rolling my eyes. "It's all you ever think about—when you do."
"That may be true." Lisa admitted with a shrug. "On my part, though, I came up with quite a list. But aside from being an asshole and never letting you speak and pushing you away and blaming you for almost everything and—and a lot more, really... I also never gave you an engagement ring. And I never proposed to you in the real sense of the word."
My eyes widened once her words registered in my mind. Lisa straightened and turned to face me; I did the same, the teasing glint gone from my eyes as I watched her warily. She slid her hand into the pocket of her pants and then pulled it out, holding a little velvet box.
I covered my mouth with my hand—and Lisa smiled.
"I'm not going to get down on one knee because I know you wouldn't like that~..." Lisa announced.
I resorted to nodding, unable to speak.
Lisa opened the black box and moved it so that I could see the small piece of jewelry. It was made of precious diamond that twinkled in the faint light, but it was delicate and so elegant – and more than what I could have ever imagined.
"Jennie~... From the day I laid my eyes on you, I knew that you were incredibly unique. I made many mistakes, I didn't realize it then, but I recognize that you are God's extraordinary gift of love and answer to my very abnormal and twisting life. Every sound of your aegyo and savage voice is like music to my ears, a serene love song that lulls me into sweet daydreams. When I gaze into your soulful catlike eyes, I can always see a brighter tomorrow. So..." Lisa paused; her loving yet nervous form never lost focus. "I was going to quote some famous author or tell you a story that epitomizes our fated tale. However, I couldn't because everything I found gave no justice to the way I feel when I'm with you. None of them live up to the way my skin shivers when you show me your gummy smile or how you... life-threateningly glared at me with your infamous 'Resting Bitch Face' façade when I make jokes that you find meanly not humorous at all. I can't promise not to burn every food I would try to cook for you, so I could serve your well-deserved breakfast in bed, but I'm sure as hell to promise to eat everything you cook because it's really delicious. I promised to kill every spider and everything else that Nini deems creepy or gross. But mostly, I promised to keep your sex life exciting and make you the happiest and most satisfied woman in the world." Lisa said, as she kept chuckling. "Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings – like the two of us. It's the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all. You found parts of me I didn't know existed, and in you I found a loved, no longer believed were real."
We were both absorbed at that moment. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she smiled genuinely, shivering from the cold but I knew her well enough – it was all because she was worried.
"What I am going to do is ask you if you like it~..." Lisa said, coaxing my gaze to meet her further. "Because Riley said you would, but I'm not sure..."
I blinked and a tear escaped my eye, trailing down my cheek. My heart seemed to beat at a thousand miles per hour.
I hurried to nod. "I do~..." I whispered.
∞
The thought that there was a chance, that in the future, Jennie would never be part of my life, flooded my anxious mind. It was terrifying: I felt vulnerable and emotionally worn out. Needless to say, being without her, even for a small period of time, was torture: pure, unadulterated torture. I gathered all the courage I could perceive at that instant and showed her what I wanted out and loud.
I sincerely smiled. "So... Will you marry me?" As much as I had worried about the moment when I would ask the question basically my entire life depended on, the words felt natural as they rolled past my lips. Everything with Jennie was natural, simple, and right; there was no other woman for me.
Jennie's own smile broke through as she let her hand fall from her mouth.
"Again?" Jennie teased.
I pulled the ring out and gently took her left hand in me. "Forever, this time?" I asked, holding her gaze.
A moment passed, and another tear slipped down her puffy cheek.
"Yes~..." Jennie eventually said, calmly and quietly, but firmly.
I grinned. The ring slid effortlessly over her finger and came to rest perfectly at its base.
Then Jennie was in my arms, and the world seemed to resume its circular movement around us, picking up from where it had left six years before.
There was no better feeling to be experienced.
The story of our love is only beginning. Let's write our own happy ending.