Chapter 176: Chapter 176: The Proposal
Kenneth Yates had been frowning, a restless feeling nagging at him. He couldn’t shake the uncomfortable sensation that someone was watching him.
That evening, under the beautiful lights of an open-air restaurant, a picture-perfect couple danced gracefully. Julian Jennings watched Melody Donovan, a satisfied and happy smile gracing his lips. He had never been so excited in his life.
A smile graced Melody Donovan’s face. ’Perhaps this is the happiness I’ve always longed for,’ she thought, ’having someone who dotes on me by my side.’ And yet, her heart still felt a nagging emptiness.
Even so, she refused to think about that other man anymore. ’He’ll forget me sooner or later,’ she told herself. ’Dominic Thorne will get over me and become infatuated with another woman. I’ll just be a fleeting glimpse, another passerby in his life.’
’The man before me will protect and cherish me for a lifetime,’ she thought. ’He sees me as his whole world!’
The song ended, and they returned to their table to eat. Julian Jennings handed her a glass of red wine with a mysterious smile, then dropped to one knee. Melody Donovan jumped in surprise. She glanced at the wine glass—wasn’t that a sparkling diamond ring at the bottom?
"Melody, will you marry me?" Julian Jennings’s eyes were filled with anticipation. He took the ring from the glass, held it aloft, and awaited her answer. Melody Donovan hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she could commit to spending the rest of her life with him. Although he loved her, she wasn’t as wholehearted in her feelings. Her heart didn’t truly belong to him.
Melody Donovan shot to her feet, sending her chair crashing to the floor. Panicked, she just wanted to escape. ’I thought we could just stay like this forever,’ she agonized. ’Why did we have to talk about marriage?’
Seeing this, Julian Jennings lost his calm composure. He stood up and rushed to block Melody’s path. "Melody, what are you still hesitating about? I’ll give you the life you want, a happy life! He doesn’t love you, I’m the one who loves you!" Julian Jennings gripped her arm forcefully, and red marks quickly appeared on her skin.
"Julian, can you give me some time to think? I haven’t even considered getting married yet!" Melody clutched her dress, desperate to leave, but Julian’s unyielding grip wouldn’t allow her to move an inch.
"Melody, believe me, I will never betray you." Julian’s sincere gaze moved Melody. ’Maybe this would be a good thing,’ she thought, but she just couldn’t bring herself to accept it.
In a corner, a slightly tipsy woman watched everything unfold with hazy eyes. Her wine glass was already empty. The woman picked up the bottle, poured herself more red wine, then took out her phone and dialed someone’s number.
"Sary, what’s up?" Dominic Thorne was still at the office working overtime. It wasn’t like he had anyone to go home to anyway.
A wicked smile played on Sary’s lips. "Guess what I just saw?"
"What?" Dominic Thorne didn’t pay her much mind. She usually only called him to complain or to amuse herself when she was utterly bored. That was the nature of their relationship. Dominic had made it crystal clear last time that they could never become what their families hoped for. Sary understood this perfectly well; his heart and his eyes had never once lingered on her.
"What is it? Don’t tell me you found another man who looks like me and fell hopelessly in love with him?" Dominic asked, uncapping his pen with one hand as he prepared to write.
"Hah, I’m over you. Even your narcissism should have its limits," Sary scoffed. His jokes were sometimes so random that one might mistake them for genuine interest, but she knew he was only kidding. She’d figured that out not long after they first met.
"So, what did you see?" Dominic asked nonchalantly, continuing with the task at hand.
"A marriage proposal. Romantic, touching, beautiful, and extravagant!" A deep envy was evident in Sary’s eyes.
"Mm," Dominic replied perfunctorily. ’Does she really think I have nothing better to do?’ he thought. ’That I’m so bored I need a report on every little thing happening around her?’
"Aren’t you going to ask whose proposal it is?" Sary took a small sip of her red wine, a smile playing on her lips. ’Would he still be this calm if he knew whose proposal it was?’ she wondered.
"I’m not interested. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up. I’m busy. Who has the time to be as idle as you every day!" Dominic said, about to hang up the phone, but Sary desperately urged him to let her finish first.
"Then spit it out!" Dominic brought the phone back to his ear, his patience wearing thin.
"Melody Donovan!"
Time seemed to stop. The man froze, rendered speechless.
"What did you say?" He moved with such force that his chair toppled over. His brow was furrowed, his hand tightly clenching a piece of paper.
"Melody Donovan. It looks like she’s being proposed to!"
"Where are you." The man struggled to suppress the rage boiling inside him, but his voice had lost all of its earlier calm.
"Heh, no need to be so tense. Where did that calm, collected man from a moment ago disappear to?"
"I asked, where are you!" Dominic Thorne roared, his temper flaring. All he wanted now was to get to her side and tell her how he truly felt. If her heart still leaned toward Julian Jennings after that, he could let her go with a clear conscience. But he would not allow her to marry someone else under these circumstances.
Sary was taken aback. No matter what major crisis occurred, she had never seen him this anxious or short-tempered.
「Twenty minutes later」
A red sports car screeched to a halt in front of the open-air restaurant. The man took long strides up to the second floor. It wasn’t very crowded, so Dominic Thorne immediately spotted Melody Donovan and Julian Jennings. They appeared to be in some kind of struggle—Julian was gripping Melody’s arm, and she looked completely unwilling.
BAM!
Dominic Thorne strode forward and sent Julian Jennings sprawling to the ground. A shocked Melody Donovan rushed to help Julian up.
"Dominic Thorne? What are you doing here?" Melody watched him warily. The man was radiating hostility, exuding a demonic aura like some savage beast.
"I was afraid you’d marry the wrong person!" Dominic Thorne’s anger flared. ’I helped her, and she still takes his side,’ he thought bitterly. ’She’s still on guard against me.’
Melody frowned. "Who I marry has nothing to do with you! I wouldn’t be making the wrong choice if you just hadn’t come here to cause trouble!"
Julian Jennings got to his feet, glaring at Dominic Thorne with a murderous look in his eyes. ’Why does he always have to interfere at the most critical moment?’ he fumed silently. ’Melody was on the verge of being moved, of accepting my proposal. We would have had a happy life, and everyone would have gradually forgotten the name ’Dominic Thorne.’ That was what I wanted. I just wanted to give Melody a happy future, to take her far away from his world.’
"Dominic Thorne, in what capacity are you hitting me? What right do you have to lay a hand on me?" Julian raised his arm to retaliate but was held back firmly by Melody.
Julian frowned at Melody, and she awkwardly lowered her head. It was just a reflex, an instinct to protect Dominic Thorne, an action she had taken without a single thought.
Dominic Thorne sneered. "This is my right!"
"Shut up, Dominic Thorne! I thought I made myself perfectly clear. We were supposed to go our separate ways. What do you think you’re doing, interfering with my life again? If you hadn’t said—" Melody’s eyes flew wide. In front of everyone, Dominic Thorne was kissing her. And most importantly, Julian was still standing right there.
Dominic Thorne took Melody’s hand, pulled her into his embrace, and slowly parted from her lips. He gazed at her crimson cheeks. "I’m only just now realizing it," he said. "The one I want most is you. I love you!"
Melody’s mind went blank. ’What did he just say? Love? Could this belated confession be enough to salvage their long and complicated history?’
Too stunned to move, Melody just stared at Dominic Thorne. "What did you say?" She could hardly believe her ears. ’Weren’t those the words I’ve waited years to hear?’ And yet, it felt like a dream. She was afraid that when she woke up, she would be back in reality, and he would once again be saying, "I can give you anything... except for love."
Dominic Thorne swept her up into his arms. "I said, I’ve fallen in love with you, Melody. Maybe it was destiny. From the very first time we met, it was fated that we would be together, that we would love and understand one another. Now, I finally recognize my own heart! Melody, marry me!"
An ecstatic Melody finally realized this was real. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she wrapped her arms around Dominic Thorne’s neck and kissed him.
Julian stood to the side, at a complete loss, watching the happiness that should have been his. She had found the love she wanted, but he was now heartbroken. It was as if he had lost before he’d even truly begun. ’This kind of love?’ he thought. ’How laughable!’
The two of them kissed passionately, lost in their own world. In the corner, the woman’s lonely figure and bitter smile only served to highlight their sweet reunion. She stood up, put on her coat, and left the restaurant, a solitary and dejected silhouette. All she could offer now was her blessing.
"Julian, I’m sorry. This is my fault. I apologize," Melody said, filled with deep self-reproach. The guilt was overwhelming. In a way, she had toyed with Julian’s feelings. At the beginning, though, she had been sincere, truly wanting to forget her past relationship and start a new Chapter. But it seemed she couldn’t escape the past.
"Melody, I just want to ask you one thing," Julian said, his sorrowful gaze piercing Melody’s heart. "In all the time we were together, was there ever a single moment you actually liked me?"
"I did," she replied. "I liked your sense of responsibility, how you were always so accepting of me. But that feeling... it was more like the affection for an older brother, not romantic love."
"Alright. I understand," Julian said. He hugged Melody. "Remember, I’ll always be your big brother." Then, he turned and left the restaurant alone. They had arrived together, happy and cheerful, but now he was leaving by himself, lonely and desolate.
Dominic Thorne immediately swept Melody up in a princess carry, holding her all the way to the car, unwilling to let her go.
"Dominic Thorne, if you had just told me sooner that you’d fallen in love with me, I never would have dated Julian!"
Dominic Thorne leaned in close, stopping just short of her lips. "Because I knew your heart." His finger pointed to her chest, right over her heart. "It has always belonged to me!"
Melody pushed his hand away. "That’s not necessarily true," she said proudly, tilting her chin up. "A woman’s heart is a fickle thing!"
"Then, what about now? Do your lips belong to me?"
