Chapter 255 Are you about to pass out?
Chapter 255 Are you about to pass out?
CHAPTER 255
Are you about to pass out?
MILLY
“Where are we going?” I ask him as he leads me to the end of the hotel.
This is one of the biggest hotels in New York. I’ve always seen it from afar and kept counting down the moments until I could come here. I’d planned to bring my siblings here for a date. Now, I'm here, with my boyfriend.
My mouth parts in surprise as I see how truly big the hotel is. It spans far and wide. There’s a large lake and beautiful trees. Romeo holds my hand firmly as he leads me by the water. My gaze fixes on the willow tree ahead, and the candles under it.
“Romeo?” I whisper, stunned.
He finally lets me go and walks to the tree. There are candles arranged in a circle, with lilies, dahlias and white roses. I stand there, shocked. He picks up a bouquet of lilies and pulls out a picture frame from behind the tree.
His face is flushed when he turns to me. I can feel my heart in my throat, slamming hard against my ribcage.
“H – hi.” He says nervously.
“Hi?” I blink at him, inhaling slowly. We are so far away from everyone, and I am glad this moment belongs to only us because I am losing my mind. I knew he was planning my promposal, but this feels like a proposal.
“Are you about to pass out?” He asks, brows knitting in worry.
“No,” I shake my head, biting my lip, and add. “Maybe.”
“Can you move closer then, so I can catch you if you do?” He urges, and I take a step closer to him.
He hands me the bouquet of lilies, and I hold on to it tightly.
“I love you.” He begins, and my eyes sting at the edges. “I love you so much. I do. My love for you is bigger than the whole sky. I think I was made to love you, Milly, and here’s something else I am very certain about – we would have met one way or the other. I am very sure of it. If you had been born on the other side of the world, we would have found our way back to each other. I am not one for destiny, but you make me find religion; you make me believe in the impossible.”
I nod slowly, head spinning.
“I’m not asking you to marry me.”
Relief floods me. I don’t want to get married now. We are still young, too young.
“Yet.”
My mouth twitches with a smile. He's so overconfident.
“Soon, we will marry, but right now, I have a gift for you.” He hands me the picture frame.
Except it is not a picture frame. It is the painting from the Gallery, the one I wanted, the one I’d planned on getting when I leave for Oxford. He could have gotten me anything, a new dress, a book, or worse, an expensive necklace, but he got me this; he got me art.
“There is a note attached to it. Don’t worry, you can remove it. It doesn’t affect the painting.” He assures me.
I find the note safely tucked away at the edge of the painting. I remove it, open it and read it – Will you go to Prom with me, Millicent Stark?
I stare at it for a moment, shoulders shaking as I exhale and look at him. He is watching me, waiting.
“A promposal is meant to be cheesy, Sinclair,” I whisper, catching my breath.
“Oh, really?” He raises his brow, eyes filled with mirth.
“You’re supposed to write it with Cheetos, or ask me in bed, or on the board in school, not stage a whole proposal and get me a painting I’ve always wanted,” I mumble, heart filled with love.
He takes a step towards me, takes the bouquet from my hand and reminds me. “I’m not going to give you a half-assed proposal. I am going to give you the best, what you deserve, which is the best. I love you, and I want to love you forever. Come to Prom with me, stay by my side, let me love you in the open. You are going to dazzle in your dress, and I will bask in your light. I want to forever bask in your light.”
I drop the painting carefully, wrap my arms around him and kiss him firmly on the lips. “I’ll go to prom with you.”
__
“You weren’t going to reject him either way, so what was the fuss all about?” Pandora asks, styling my hair.
It is Prom night.
“You unromantic toad. It wasn’t fussy. It was beautiful, and so was yours.” Darcy shoos her out of the way.
Pandora flushes hard. Kai asked her to Prom through a science experiment. I have forgotten the basis of it, but it was cute. Jordan took Darcy on a hot-air balloon ride, knowing how much she loves the thrill. I am glad we got the promposals we enjoyed. And now, we are getting ready for Prom.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My brown eyes stare back at me. I have simple makeup on. My beautiful brown hair has been carefully styled in a messy bun, which is funny, because it was perfectly constructed to look messy. How oxymoronic. Curls fall on either side of my face. A gorgeous pendant earring dangles from each ear.
“You’re ready," Pandora says, putting the finishing touch on my hair.
I get up and walk to the full-length mirror. My dress is snug against my body. Darcy is dazzling in hers, and so is Pandora.
This is my first prom, my only prom, and it is every bit of what I expected, beating my expectations. Heat explodes in my belly and spreads to my chest. This is what it means to be happy because I am deliriously happy. I finally have everything I have always wanted. I have my best friends, a good boyfriend, and a happy family. I am also going to Oxford on a fully funded scholarship in a few months. What else do I want? I have it all.
We take a few pictures before making our way out of the room.