Conrad
Our hike took longer than planned—two hours longer than it should have. We got lost, but we found our way. We had arrived at the waterfall. It is stunning. The photos didn’t do it any justice. It is beautiful and clear.
“Oh my god, it is so pretty, Conrad. Worth getting lost for.” She laughs.
“It is better than I could have imagined. Yes, totally worth it.”
We will definitely feel it tomorrow. Our legs will be aching since we aren’t used to such hikes, but we can worry about that tomorrow. I had something more important to do today—something I hope goes the way I want and doesn’t mess everything up.
“I am exhausted.” She laughs, sitting down next to the water.
“Me too, but we can rest for a couple of hours before heading back.” I smile and sit next to her.
She scoots over, snuggling into my side and rests her head on my shoulder. I slip my arm around, “It is something else, isn’t it?”
“It is. We need to get some photos. I wish we could swim it.” She huffs.
“We can take some photos after we rest. I wish we could, too.”
It clearly states no swimming in it, which is disappointing, but I will find us somewhere for another time where we can swim in it. For now, the view and the sounds will need to do.
“We can add it to the list for another time.” She says.
I swear she can read my mind sometimes. I softly kissed her forehead, “Yes, we can. Are you hungry?”
“No, I am okay for now. I am happy to sit here with you, enjoying the view.” She smiles, looking up at me.
I take some water from the bag and hand it to her, “You should drink something. It is warm out, and we have been walking for a while. I don’t want you to get hydrated, sweetness.”
She takes it from me, “Yes, Sir.” She teases me and takes a drink, handing it to me.
“Don’t be a smartass.” I chuckle, taking one, too, before putting it away.
“Or what?” she challenges.
“I will spank your pretty little ass later until it is red raw,” I answer with a smirk.
She squeezes her thighs together, “Is that supposed to be a threat?”
I shake my head, “No, it is a promise.” I wink.
Her cheeks flush, and she chews on her lower lip, “Hmm, I may need to be a smartass all day.” She smirks.
I groan and squeeze her thigh, “If you want, but I will make you regret it later.”
“Even better.” She snickers and kisses my cheek.
I chuckle and shake my head, “Behave.”
“I will, for now.”
She is in one of her teasing moods. I don’t mind. It has been a while since she has been this way. I love it when she teases me. I will give as good as I get, but I can’t get too distracted today.
I reach down, pecking her lips, and we return to enjoying the breathtaking scenery. Maya takes her cell out, snapping some photos of the view, and then we pose for a couple of selfies.
“I should have brought a camera with me.”
“We will remember one for the next time,” I reply.
“Yes. The phones take great ones, but there is something different about using a proper camera, you know?”
“Yes, I understand what you mean.”
I will get her one. She does have one, but it is old and small. I can get her a proper one for her birthday coming up next month, and we can document more memories. Hmm, maybe I can find a class she could attend. It would be good for her to have something to do until she starts working again.
She is desperate to get back to work, but to be honest, I would prefer she put it off for longer until he is out of the way. It is unfair of me to want it for her, but she is safer not working at the moment. It would give him another place to get to her. He seems to have found out everything, and her new job wouldn’t be any different.
When she is happy enough, she puts her cell away again. She stands up and heads down to stand at the edge of it, “Why do you think you can’t swim in it?”
“I am not sure. They maybe want to protect it or certain chemicals in the water, or it could be something as simple as it being too deep, even if it doesn’t look like that.”
“It is tempting to dive in, but I wouldn’t put myself at risk.” She says, coming back to sit next to me again.
“We will swim in one, one day soon,” I promise.
I will need to do some research because there are many that don’t allow swimming. She smiles and cuddles back in. Moments like these are what I want to have with her for the rest of my life.
****
Maya and I had a lovely lunch with some champagne. Now, she is walking along the waterfront, snapping more photos. I smile as I watch her. It is the perfect time to do what I came here for, well, the main reason. I am nervous.
She is distracted, which works in my favour. I take a few deep breaths and take the small box for the bag. I hid it in one of the small compartments, which I knew she wouldn’t look in. I take another few deep breaths before I jump to my feet. I can do this!
My heart is racing, and my palms are sweating, but it is a natural reaction. I slowly walk down towards her.
“Maya?”
I try to speak confidently, but it doesn’t work. It comes out in more of a whisper, one which she doesn’t hear. Try again, Conrad. I close my eyes and try to prepare myself better.
“Maya?” I say, louder and clearer this time.
She turns around, “Yes, babe?” she smiles.
I ignore all the nervousness, open the small box in my hand, and drop to one knee. Maya’s eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open. I was going to wait to do this, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised I didn’t want to waste any more time. I don’t want Callum ruining anything for us. We shouldn’t have to stop living our lives because of that bastard.
“Maya, I know things are still rough, and there is a lot we still need to fix, but I don’t want to wait any longer. I love you so much. You are my entire life. My entire world. I couldn’t imagine a single day without you. I want nothing more than to make you my wife and, someday in the future, the mother of my children. I know things are scary right now, but it doesn’t matter. You and I are supposed to be. Maya, will you do me the honours of becoming my wife?”
I finally breath after finishing what I wanted to say. She stills in position, not saying a word. My first thought is fuck, she isn’t ready for me to do this.
“C-C-Conrad, are you positive this is what you want? After everything I have put you through?” she whispers.
“Yes. I don’t have a single doubt in my mind. Please answer me, Maya. Have I made a mistake? Will you marry me?” I stammer out.
Tears roll down her cheeks, and her lips curl into a smile, “Yes. Oh my god, yes. I love you so much, Conrad. Nothing would make me happier than becoming your wife.” She squeals.
I am a little taken aback by the quick change, but after a second, nothing but happiness takes over me, and I slip the ring onto her finger. I get to my feet and pull her tightly to my chest.
“You have made me the happiest man alive, Maya.” I cry.
She hugs me tightly. “I love you more than words can ever explain. You changed my life, Conrad. You have given me a life I never dreamt of or one I believed I didn’t deserve,” she says between her sobs.
She pulls away from the hug and smiles up at me. I wipe the tears away and kiss her lips repeatedly.
“Sweetheart, you deserve the world and all the love in it. I want to give you it all.”
“You are my everything, Conrad. Even with all the bad things, I know everything will be okay as long as I have you.”
“You will always have me. The ring was my grandma’s. If you don’t like it, I can get you another one.” I say softly.
She glances at the ring, “I love it. I don’t want another one. It is perfect. It means more because it belonged to someone you loved deeply. My love, I wouldn’t have any other ring on my hand.”
It is a eighteen karat white gold ring with a beautiful diamond in the middle and smaller red ruby stones on each side of the diamond. It is such a stunning, unique ring. My grandfather got it made for my grandmother.
“I am so glad you love. The ring means a lot to me. I hoped you would like it.” I say honestly.
“I promise to cherish it with my life. It is the most beautiful ring I have seen. It is even more special because you gave it to me.” She gushes and kisses all over my face.
“I can’t wait for the day when we get married. Please, don’t make me wait too long, okay?”
Maya nods, “I promise not to make you wait too long. Once things have calmed down, we can start to plan.”
“I will hold out for the day when I can call you Mrs Maya Ackley.”
I will proudly call her it every day for the rest of my life.
Maya wraps her arms around my neck, “I like the sound of it.”
I hold her tightly to me, “Me too.”
She claims my lips in her in a sweet, passionate kiss. I moan into the kiss, and she does the same. I was terrified she would have said no. I thought it would be too much for her. I have never been happier to be wrong about something.
“When did you decide to do this?” she asks as we part from the kiss.
“I have been thinking about it for a while. I got the ring from my mom the day after dinner because I wanted to get it cleaned and sized for when I was ready to propose. But then, a couple of days before we left, I realised I didn’t want to wait and chose to set this trip up and do it. Were you expecting it?” I ask, stroking the hair away from her face.
She shakes her head, “No, I was not expecting it. It was a lovely surprise. The best one ever.”
“I am happy you said yes. I wasn’t sure if I was moving too fast.”
“I would never have said no to you, no matter when you asked.” She replies.
We still have a lot of hurdles to get by, but we will manage if we stick together. Hopefully, it won’t take long, and we can start to plan our wedding. I believe Maya will only want a small one since she has no family or friends. I would be fine. I will happily do whatever she wants. If she wanted to elope, I would do that too. My mom would be disappointed and sad, but if it were what Maya wanted, she would accept it.
I don’t mind how, when or where we get married. All that matters to me is that we do it when we are ready.