Fenella’s POV
“Fenella.”
“Yes, Laird.”
Laird called me right after I arrived at the apartment.
“Where are you right now?”
“I’m at the apartment,” I replied quickly as I grabbed a glass of mineral water from the dispenser.
“Oh, thank goodness. I’m on my way home,” he said.
The apartment door opened, and I immediately saw Laird’s figure enter. My mouth was slightly agape, with my eyes widening. My forehead wrinkled as I watched him walk in. I glanced at the clock on the table and realized it was 2 p. m.
“Fenella,” he called in his distinctively low voice.
He stepped inside and met me in the kitchen. I hurriedly set my water glass down on the dining table. For some reason, Laird’s face looked different. There was a hint of a happy smile on his face, though the look in his eyes was dark, and I couldn’t describe the meaning behind it.
“You’re home? One second you’re calling me, the next you’re standing in front of me,” I chuckled.
Suddenly, he let down his backpack on the floor. Then he hugged my body tightly. His body towering mine, then he enveloped me completely in the warmth of his embrace. My eyes blink, but I kept my arms wrapped tightly around his back.
“What’s wrong?” I asked in a whisper in his ear.
Because now I knew he would hug me in a tight embrace if he was facing something in his day. Whether it was good news or bad news, he would seek comfort from the warm embrace we created. Hugs trigger happiness hormones, he used to say.
Without answering me, he slowly released my embrace. His eyes gleamed, looking at me intently with his hands still resting gently on my arms. Then he asked in a low voice.
“Did you eat the lunch course?”
I sighed with a small snort. “Yeah, technically I ate the lunch, but I only had a piece of canape and a bite of meat.”
“That’s it?” asked Laird with a furrowed brow.
“Now that you mention it, I’m hungry. Have you eaten lunch?”
I don’t know why we didn’t discuss the topic of the afternoon at all. We didn’t say a word about Hugo Evans. I knew the incident was quite shocking, but I was sure Laird didn’t want to talk about it yet. As usual, everything about him, I chose to wait for him to bring it up first.
“How about we go out to eat?”
“What do you have in mind?” I asked, looking up to meet his eyes.
“How about…?” Laird cupped his hands around my face and looked me straight in the eyes.
“We buy some Turkish kebabs down the street and then eat them in the park.”
“Oh, that’s a fantastic idea. I love it.” I kissed him quickly on the lips.
Both his hands still lingered on my face. His lips were still attached to mine with no intention of letting me go. We just stood in the kitchen, giving each other a warm peck with our full lips.
My hands were now resting on his firm chest. I could feel Laird’s heart beating through my hand on his left chest. Oh, how grateful I am that his heart is still beating fast in sync with my own, which flutters every time Laird sucks on my lower lip.
I’m grateful we’re alive.
“Laird,” I whispered, pulling my face back slightly.
“Hm?”
“Will you take me to my room now?” I asked between our ragged breaths.
“Hm…, no.”
“Why?”
“I want to eat in the park with you. That’s why,” he whispered as he then kissed my cheek and inhaled deeply. “Come on,” Laird leaned back and took my hand to walk out of the apartment.
***
Laird and I sat under one of the shady trees in the park. We were always happy when we saw how the dry grass was starting to turn green, a sign that spring would soon arrive. A sign of hope.
The air was still quite cold and windy, but we were lucky that it wasn’t raining this afternoon, even though it had rained heavily last night.
Our food is all gone, leaving wads of paper kebab wrappers beside us. Of course we’ll throw it away later when we leave the park, but we don’t want to leave yet. We still wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of the park in the afternoon.
In the distance, I could see how small children started to arrive at the small field in front of us. They were practicing throwing and catching the ball before their Little League coach arrived.
“You really like it here. Is it because you get to see Little League practice?” I asked.
“Yup. They remind me of the fun, relaxing days of our childhood.” Laird put his arm around my waist while I rested my back on his chest.
“Yeah, it’s weird how those days feel like yesterday. If you had the chance to turn back time, would you go back to that time?” I asked as I looked up to gaze at the side of his face.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to see you in that horrible thick makeup anymore.”
“What a brat! I told you not to bring it up again!”
I sulked, slapped his chest lightly, and got up to straighten my body away from him. I could hear how Laird chuckled, and I imagined his grin widening. I folded my arms in front of my chest and turned my face away from Laird.
“Aren’t you still childish too? Annoyed just because of a little teasing.”
Laird smiled from the right side of my face. Then I turned my face to the left with my lips pursed spoilingly. I still didn’t want to talk to him. Well, just kidding really, because I’m sure I’d smile right away if he kept persuading me.
“Come on, just admit that it was pretty funny,” Laird once again engaged me from the left side of my face.
“I’m not happy when you keep bringing up someone’s disgrace,” I snapped at him, still with my face turned to the right.
“Oh, so it’s a disgrace to you. Well, that’s too bad. I guess you’ll have to face the fact that I’m going to use that disgrace against you every day for the rest of our lives.”
“What the hell are…,”
I didn’t finish expressing my annoyance. My eyes blinked, and my breath caught in an instant. My heart sank, and I instantly felt my pulse speed up.
“Laird?” I called softly.
Laird was holding a small black velvet box right in front of my face. It was closed, but I recognized the box. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, so now I knew what was inside a box of that shape.
“Fenella,” Laird whispered in my ear.
Then he backed away and moved next to me. I could now look into his green eyes that reflected the afternoon sun.
“Will you marry me?”
I covered my mouth with both hands. My eyes widened as Laird opened the box and revealed a diamond ring embedded inside.
“I’ve never done anything this impulsive in my life. You know, I quit the law firm today.”
“What?!” I scrunched up my face with a stifled sigh. “You quit from the firm?”
“Yes. Then I ran to the jewelry store and bought whichever diamond ring had your finger size in ready stock. Now, here we are.”
“Laird,” I shut my mouth again.
My chest rumbled and I was at a loss for words.
“I know it’s probably too soon for you, but right now the only thing on my mind is that I’m finally free to decide everything on my own without my father’s interference. You are the symbol of my freedom, my Lady Liberty.”
“So, please, Fenella, tell me that I wasn’t wrong to trust my instincts to impulsively jump into a new life with you.”
“No planning at all?” I asked softly.
“No.” Laird shook his head quickly.
“Oh, Laird,” I let out a long sigh.
“What say you?” asked Laird with a smile on his face.
Without realizing it, my eyes heated up, and my vision immediately blurred. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I threw my arms around Laird’s neck. Our lips quickly kissed each other.
“Yes! What more can I say? Yes!” I squealed in joy and laughter.
“Thank God.” Laird said softly, and his lips immediately locked onto mine again.
I tightened my body against his. We embraced tightly and no longer cared about the surroundings or the eyes of the people watching us from afar with smiles on their faces.
The only thing I cared about right now was how warm Laird’s kiss would bring all the happiness into my days after this.
“I love you, Fenella.”
“I love you more, Laird.”