They Made Me Confess To A Bricklayer, Then I Saw The Comments Chapter 12
The day Rowan was discharged, I was right there with him.
His arm was still in a cast, but he was in good spirits.
I walked him out through the front doors. The sunlight hit our faces, warm and easy.
He stopped.
“Serena.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s something I need to ask you.”
“What?”
He pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it.
Inside was a diamond ring, not huge, but bright enough to catch the light.
[A PROPOSAL?!]
[AHHHHHHH.]
I froze. “When did you get this?”
“Your mom fronted me the money.”
“My mom?”
“She said if I want to marry you, I need to buy the ring first, and she’d deduct it from my cut of the investment.”
I laughed through my tears.
“Rowan, are you proposing?”
He thought about it for a second, then dropped to one knee. Everyone at the hospital entrance stopped to watch.
His ears were the reddest I’d ever seen them, but his voice didn’t waver.
“Serena, I never proposed to you properly in my last life.”
“This time, I want to do it right.”
“Will you marry me?”
Phones came out all around us. Someone started cheering.
I looked into his eyes, and I could see everything: the nerves, the hope, the fear that I might say no.
The same look he’d had that very first night.
I held out my hand.
“Yes.”
He slid the ring onto my finger. His hands were shaking.
He pressed his lips to my hand, hard, then stood and pulled me into his arms.
The cast dug into my back, but I didn’t push him away.
“Rowan.”
“Yeah.”
“If you ever scare me like that again…”
“I won’t. Because you’re here this time.”
The reader feed flickered one last time.
[They say this time, neither of them lets go.]
Three years later, Rowan’s company went public. He became the youngest CEO of a publicly traded company in our city.
On our wedding day, he wore that same black suit. He looked older now, sharper, but his ears still turned red.
My mom was waiting by the limo, yelling. “Hurry up, the guests are waiting!”
I got in the car, and he held my hand.
“Are you nervous?”
“About what?”
“We have to give a speech up there later.”
I smiled. “What’s there to be nervous about?”
He didn’t answer. He just held my hand tighter.
The reception was packed.
My dad had too much wine, threw an arm around Rowan, and said, “Take care of my girl, son.”
My mom rolled her eyes from across the table. “That’s enough wine.”
The reader feed had been gone for a while now. I didn’t know when exactly it had vanished.
Maybe it was the night he said okay. Maybe it was the day he looked my mom in the eye and promised to take care of me for the rest of his life.
Or maybe it was just some ordinary morning. I woke up, saw his face next to mine, and realized I hadn’t thought about the comments in weeks. Because every answer I ever needed was already right beside me.
After the reception, I stood on the hotel balcony, still in my dress.
His arms circled me from behind.
“What are you thinking about?”
“What would’ve happened if there’d never been that game of truth or dare?”
He thought about it. “I still would’ve fallen for you.”
“It just would’ve taken a little longer.”
I smiled and turned to face him.
“Rowan.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for coming back.”
He leaned down and kissed my forehead.
“Thank you for choosing me.”
In the distance, fireworks lit up the night.