The Heiress's Revenge - A Bloody Affair - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: [98 – The Proposal]
“Eli -” she called him by his nickname but Elijah did not look surprised until she asked, “Will you marry me?”

At first Elijah assumed that he must have not heard properly, he must have misunderstood the question that she wanted to ask. Perhaps, she was asking him about what he had brought for her, or why did he wake her up, or what was it that was smelling so delicious.

She certainly did not ask him to marry her, now did she? Of course not, there was no way that she would ask that question so early in their relationship. Agreed that they were quite close to each other and shared almost everything with each other but that is how the couples do right? This is how a relationship is.

Elijah shook his head, his lips curved up in a smile of disbelief that also reflected in his eyes, “What?” he asked followed by a hesitant chuckle, “What did you say?” he wanted to confirm that he did mishear her and there was something else that she wanted to ask him.

But that was not the case, as Seraphina repeated the question, “Will you marry me?” she asked him again with the same seriousness in her puffed up, red tinted eyes, rendering him speechless.

Not able to understand just what prompted this proposal Elijah could not help but stare at her face, search into her eyes for an explanation, for the answers to the questions that swirled in his mind regarding this spontaneous proposal that came out of nowhere.

He was just comforting her after the bad dream that made her cry, this was no reason for her asking him that big question, right?! This was not how people get married, this was not how he had planned his relationship with Seraphina.

He had always been a planner, always thinking about the major points and events in their relationship. Elijah had a complete journal about this that he thought Seraphina did not know but she did for she had seen him writing notes in that journal. What she did not know was what he was writing into it. The cameras that she had gotten installed in their mansions were definitely advanced than what are available in the market but they were not this advanced that she could read about what Elijah was writing in his journal.

As per his journal, Elijah had planned to propose to Seraphina for marriage after two years into their relationship. According to him, the 2nd year of the relationship should be the year of the two of them getting together officially and legally. It was the perfect time.

Wedding by the 2nd year anniversary, baby by 4th, and during those two years he planned on getting themselves a pet as well. The whole plan was uncomplicated and it was based on perfect logics and all the research that he had done after he felt that he was falling too fast and too hard for Seraphina.

But now, Seraphina just threw him a curveball that he had not anticipated. With that question that she just asked, she literally threw water on all the plans that he had made for the both of them and that, that gave rise to panic within him.

“What?” he asked, the pain visible on his face. It was not that he was scared of commitment. This was Seraphina, the woman he was madly, deeply, and unconditionally in love with. This kind of love was irrevocable and there was no end to it.

Seraphina was his one true love, his one and only so there was no way that he was scared of committing to her. It’s just that he believed that she was not ready for it. Her proposal, her decision sounded impulsive and impulsive actions are hardly ever right.

He did not want to give into her impulse and say yes to her proposal only to have her regret it later. This is why he had set the timeline for their marriage to be 2 years, for two years was long enough time for them to explore their relationship, get a good reading about each other and adjust to each others presence in their lives.

The period of two years was the perfect time to fully prepare oneself for this big commitment that marriage was. He was worried that Seraphina, perhaps, was not quite ready for it. He wanted her to be sure for he was ready but if she –

Elijah snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Seraphina’s laughter. She had cradled his face in her hands and was looking at him like one would look at something that is adorable and cute, “Oh, did I scare you?” she giggled and pecked him on the lips.

“That was not my intention, Elijah. I really did not mean to scare you by asking you the big question. It’s just that -” Seraphina’s smile faltered slightly and Elijah urged her to complete her sentence, “What’s that?” he looked at her unimpressed that she was not serious about the proposal.

He was a little disappointed by it as well but this was for the better for this was not the right time so he did not argue with her over that and waited for her to complete her sentence.

“Actually, I dreamt about my family, and you were there as well. It was such a happy dream, we were celebrating my birthday and everybody just looked so happy, without a care in the world. The dream seemed so real that I did not want to wake up but then then dream changed into the nightmare that had been plaguing me for years.” resting her head on his chest, Seraphina played with the neckline of the shirt that Elijah was wearing and continued.

“Everybody simply vanished, including you. And it hurt so much that I cannot even explain.” Elijah wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tighter against his body, assuring her that he was there.

The proximity made it possible for her to listen to the beats of the pure and innocent heart that resided inside this man. This man, Elijah Grayson, who was the son of one of her biggest enemies, his beating heart and the warmth of his embrace provided her with the comfort that had been missing from her life for so long.

The fact that she did not know how long would she have Elijah’s comforting presence in her life made it more special and desirable, “I have been seeing this nightmare for years now, and have formed this weird technique to distract myself from those horrible memories by thinking about or doing something absurd.” admitted Seraphina with a chuckle.

Rubbing her cheek against his chest and inhaling his comforting scent, Seraphina added, “I randomly asked you the first thing that popped in my mind. It was impulsive and it was absurd.” she pulled back slightly to look up at him but kept her arms wrapped around him and so did he.

“But I did not know that you would get scared.” she chuckled, “Do not worry, I am not going to ask you marry me like that. Especially not when I am in my night suit, with the bandage around my head, looking like a crazy witch with these bed hair, red and puffy eyes.”

Elijah relaxed.

The tension that had coiled up inside him vanished and he no longer felt that panic that had enveloped his senses earlier when Seraphina had asked him that question. He was right, she was not ready.

Fortunately, he did not tell her the answer that he was ringing in his head in response to her proposal. If Seraphina had asked him the same question again, with the same seriousness, he would have definitely said yes.

Without a second thought, without wasting any other second, Elijah would have said yes. He was ready to marry her and that was kind of scary. They had known each other for such a short period of time, and have been together for even a shorter time, his answer would have scared her and the thought she might have panicked because of this made him afraid of losing her.

What if she thought that is was crazy for saying yes to her random and impulsive proposal and thought of his as a red flag in this relationship. It would have been devastating for him if she would have distanced herself from him over this stupid thing. After all, he had read during his research that the man should not propose so soon and that women need time.

It was a crazy thought that Elijah tried to shake off but was distracted when Seraphina asked him, “By the way, how would you have replied if I truly had proposed to you. Like, if I say to you that Elijah, I want to marry you today, right now, what would your answer have been?”

“Do you really want to know?” he asked. He wanted to tell her the truth but hide it as well. The contradiction, creating a whirlpool of emotions within him.