19
A glimmer of hope flashed in Miguel’s eyes. “Miss Pearson?”
The voice on the other end replied hastily, “Just come quickly!”
He couldn’t help imagining that maybe after I had been thrown into the sea, a fishing boat had rescued me.
Maybe I was still alive.
The car engine roared as Miguel sped toward the hospital, heart pounding with a dangerous mix of dread and hope.
Outside the hospital room, his steps slowed. His palms were cold.
“Belle, could it be you?”
Miguel took a deep breath and pushed open the door, but the figure lying in the hospital bed was Saoirse.
Her face was drained of color, her wrists wrapped in thick white gauze, blood seeping through.
“Miguel, you finally came.”
The light in his eyes vanished instantly.
He had forgotten that “Miss Pearson” could mean her, too. And maybe the disappointment in his eyes was too cruel because Saoirse’s pitiful expression faltered for a second.
Still unwilling to admit defeat, she bit her lip and whimpered, “My wrist… it hurts so much…”
In the past, Miguel would have rushed to her side, held her tightly, and whispered sweet nothings to soothe the pain.
But now, he merely glanced at her, cold and indifferent.
‘If it hurts, see a doctor. I’m not one.”
‘Don’t call me again for things this trivial.”
Saoirse’s mask finally cracked. Her expression crumbled inch by inch as she clenched her jaw and slammed the nurse call button.
The day she was discharged, Miguel drove her back to the Pearson residence.
Facing Armani and Giselle’s darkened faces, his voice came out numb and hollow.
‘I’m sorry, Uncle, Auntie. I’ve decided to call off the engagement.”
‘The one I still love… is Belle.”
Armani’s fury burned through his stare. “What’s so great about Belle? How can she even compare to Saoirse? We raised Saoirse like she was our treasure!”
Tension hung thick in the air until footsteps suddenly echoed from the entrance.
Three days earlier, I had agreed to Marcus’s proposal.
That night at dinner, I accepted the old childhood betrothal contract, and just like that, our lifelong friendship turned into something more.
2:04 pm
Maybe because we knew each other so well, being lovers didn’t feel all that different.
Marcus suggested we take a break at the amusement park. At the entrance, he bought a pouch full of tokens and handed it to me with a warm smile.
“From now on, the wife manages the money.”
It was the first time I heard him call me “wife.” My ears flushed red, and I turned away, avoiding his gaze.
“Don’t talk nonsense… we’re not married yet.”
After a few rounds of games, we bumped into a rabbit mascot on the street.
The rabbit looked at us with pitiful eyes. “Please buy a flower, or I won’t eat today.”
Thinking it was part of the park’s gimmick, I handed my tokens to Marcus, hinting at him to buy
one.
It was a handmade flower, red, plush, and adorably round.
Then, like a magician revealing a trick, Marcus pulled out a diamond ring from the flower’s
center.
“Will you marry me?”
I stared at the ring, then at Marcus kneeling before me. Slowly, I nodded. “I will.”
From that moment on, my life stepped into a brand-new chapter.
After the proposal, we returned to the US together, out of courtesy, to follow proper etiquette.
Since my mother’s memorial tablet was still placed at the Pearson residence, I couldn’t avoic seeing Armani and Saoirse.
The moment I walked in, the room fell silent with complicated expressions.
“Belle?!”
Miguel’s voice cracked with disbelief. He stumbled forward a few steps, eyes wide with trembling hope.
“You’re… still alive…
I frowned slightly, unsure why he was speaking that way.
Something in my gut told me the Pearson household must’ve been in utter chaos.
Still holding Marcus’s hand, I stepped forward, facing Armani head-on.
My voice was calm, almost indifferent. “Father.”
“I’ve decided to marry Marcus. I came today just to tell you in person.”
