How could true love possibly resist telling her the answer? Waiting is the answer, the gaze is the answer, daily contact is the answer, taking the initiative is the answer, isn’t he already showing it clearly enough?
The faster the heartbeat, the hotter the face, but in the end, he still couldn’t wait for Hattie’s reply.
As his heart rate slowed down, his face turned cold, and his hands stiffened… he didn’t receive Hattie’s answer.
In the end, it ended in embarrassment, with Micah washing dishes. As he was halfway through, wiping away the foam on his hands, he took out his phone from his pocket, found a photo in his album. In the photo, Hattie was reaching out her hand, with a rainbow perfectly landing on her ring finger.
She always felt insecure about her hands looking ugly, scarred and flawed, but in this photo, all those concerns were overlooked, and her hands still looked beautiful.
Micah thought, maybe the preparation today wasn’t good enough, the timing and atmosphere weren’t quite right, rushed a bit, but it’s okay. He still had plenty of time to be with Hattie.
If one proposal doesn’t work, try two, three, four… countless times, different scenes, different flowers, different rings. Looking at the photo where the ring appeared on Hattie’s ring finger like a rainbow ring, Micah suddenly had an idea. He decided to personally customize a ring like this.
From friends to lovers, perhaps it’s a bit challenging, but as long as he doesn’t give up, there’s a saying, right? The so-called love can overcome any obstacle, there are boats on the sea, and roads on the mountains.
But what he didn’t know was: the sea and mountains can be overcome by human effort, what’s difficult to overcome is human hearts.
Maybe the exhaustion from traveling this week, or maybe drinking a bit tonight, Micah took a shower and went straight to bed, falling asleep with unprecedented speed.
Unlike him, Hattie hadn’t slept the whole night. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling until 1 a. m., then got up, neatly folded the blanket, smoothed out the sheets. Feeling a bit cold at night, she opened the closet and grabbed a thicker coat, checked the time on her phone, glanced at her messages. Seemingly having made a decision, she muted her phone and placed it in her pocket, carefully opening the bedroom door.
Her room was very close to Micah’s, just diagonally opposite. Fortunately, each room had soundproof panels, so even if there were any noises, they couldn’t be heard from the inside.
Hattie knew Micah had a precise routine, he valued health a lot, avoided staying up late if possible, slept and woke up early, with no unhealthy habits.
He enjoyed rock climbing and mountaineering, despite appearing quiet, he liked riding roller coasters in amusement parks, and skydiving.
When he felt down, he liked listening to music, and his favorite song was: “The truth that you leave,” a piano piece conveying a mix of sadness and a carefree farewell.
He also loved reading books, watching American TV series, and his favorite animal was a dog. He once mentioned that once he retired, he’d get a Samoyed because he liked white dogs.
But what Hattie didn’t know was that Micah loved her much more than all those things.
Standing at Micah’s door, placing her palm against it, it seemed like she could touch Micah through that door.
The question Micah asked her last night at the dinner table kept resonating in her mind, echoing in her ears.
“Doctors tend to lack romance, the timing may be off, but I can’t help but ask you this question. Would you be willing to go from a doctor’s gown to a white wedding dress with me? Will you marry me?”
She chose to remain silent. Her emotions told her to say yes if she liked him, not to miss the chance, but her rational side feared cleaning up the mess of emotions. She chose silence then but standing at the door now, she spoke her heart.
“Dr. Baker, I won’t marry you. If I die, other girls might not want to marry you knowing it’s a second marriage.”
With her body riddled with scars, how could she burden Micah? He should find someone better and more suitable than her.
Hattie let out a soft sigh, trying to put on a smile of acceptance, but that smile was nowhere to be found, even if she looked in the mirror, she’d see a smile on her face uglier than tears.
Hattie didn’t bring anything, just took her phone and left. No one knew where she went.
The next day, Micah woke up early. He had to prepare breakfast as Hattie’s stomach wasn’t good, she had to eat a good breakfast. She didn’t like soy milk or milk, and the porridge from outside never seemed as comforting as the one made by Micah.
He woke up early to cook porridge, simmering it until it was soft and mushy, adding minced chicken and some dietary fiber vegetables.
Micah had to start work early at 8 a. m., waking up at 6:30 a. m., the porridge and dishes were ready by 7 a. m. Usually, Hattie would be up by then, but today, even after preparing the food, she hadn’t come down yet. Maybe she was too tired these past few days? Was she catching up on sleep?