Chapter 249

Chapter 249 Official Announcement

Imogen was momentarily surprised, and for an instant, she felt utterly bewildered and at a loss. There was only shock and embarrassment in her heart, with no room for anything else.

The crowd of onlookers grew larger and louder.

Erik held a bouquet, his youthful face radiating deep affection. His clear eyes reflected Imogen’s image, and he earnestly said, “Imogen, can you be my girlfriend?”

Imogen composed herself, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts as she quickly made a decision.

Suppressing any reluctance, she put on a perfectly polished smile. With the public as witness, she nodded gently. “Yes.”

The smile on Erik’s lips widened in an instant, revealing his neat, white teeth. His eyes shimmered with a mix of surprise and joy.

He hadn’t expected Imogen to agree directly. The best outcome he had envisioned was that Imogen wouldn’t immediately refuse and would take some time to consider.

“Wow!”

The surrounding crowd erupted in congratulatory cheers.

In the presence of everyone’s earnest glances, Erik placed the bouquet into Imogen’s arms. As he leaned closer, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he said softly, “Thank you, Imogen.”

Taking the bouquet, Imogen curved her lips into a smile. “What are you thanking me for?”

Passersby noticed their interaction and began to cheer again.

A man sitting nearby yelled, “Kiss! Give her a kiss!”

Upon hearing him, other customers followed suit, chanting, “Kiss! Kiss!”

Erik’s ears turned red, and his eyes gleamed with a watery shine. He gazed closely at Imogen, his palm damp with sweat. Summoning his courage, he asked, “Imogen, may I?”

Imogen hesitated for a moment, forcing a smile with all her might before lifting her hand and gently tapping on her cheek.

“Thank you, Imogen.”

Erik’s eyes sparkled with joy. As he leaned in slowly, his warm breath brushed against Imogen’s cheek.

Amidst the laughter, whistling, and hollering from the crowd, Imogen felt tense, closing her eyes stiffly.

Being close to someone she didn’t like intimately was a bit challenging.

Her mind wandered, and she couldn’t help but wonder how Troy managed to be affectionate with Sarah if he truly didn’t like her,

“Were all men like this?” she wondered. “And why did I suddenly think of Troy again?”

Lost in her thoughts, she felt the warm and soft touch of Erik’s lips graze her cheek.

Erik must have sensed her tension. He only pecked on her cheek, effectively soothing the stress in Imogen’s heart.

Imogen opened her eyes and exhaled slowly, placing the bouquet she held on the corner of the

table.

“All right, thank you all for witnessing and blessing us. Anyone who wants cake can come and take a piece. I won’t serve it to each of you individually,” Erik announced.

The cake was beautifully decorated, adorned with creamy frills and a layer of fruit, with the words “I love you” spelled out in white chocolate.

Erik cut out a substantial portion that had the words “I love you” decorated on it and placed it on a plate, setting it in front of Imogen.

“Thank you.”

“Imogen, why are you still saying thank you to me?”

“I’m not used to it yet.”

Erik cut the cake into smaller pieces and proactively delivered them to the tables with children. After he initiated it, more people came to take the cake.

With her head low, Imogen tasted the cake.

She scooped a piece mechanically and put it into her mouth, her thoughts already wandering far

away.

The sudden confession from Erik was unexpected.

All she could say was that it came out of nowhere, and she was being forced into a corner. However, it was to her benefit that they established their relationship, for it provided her with a legitimate reason to inquire about the matters concerning the Hale family.

She could sense that Erik was just a child back then, and Blake had concealed everything from him. Erik placed great trust in Blake, his father. If she were to ask about it directly, she would likely receive information that had been filtered and transmitted to Erik by Blake.

The challenge was to make Erik reveal useful information without arousing suspicion. That was a matter that required careful consideration.

She had used Erik, but his feelings for her seemed to be growing beyond control. She would inevitably hurt him, and she hadn’t figured out how to deal with it.

“Do you want more cake, Imogen?” Erik asked as he noticed Imogen’s empty plate.

Imogen put down her fork. “No thanks. Eating too much cake would make me greasy.”

“Then shall we go? It’s still early. Want to take a stroll by the river?” Erik smiled.

Imogen observed that Erik seemed unusually happy that night and didn’t want to be apart from

her.

She smiled gently. “Sure.”

They arrived at the parking lot, where Erik walked toward the door on the driver’s side. “Imogen, I’ve got my driver’s license now. Let me drive.”

Imogen handed him the car keys and got into the passenger seat.

The air conditioning was blowing warm air, quickly heating up the interior of the car.

Leaning against the backrest, Imogen gazed out of the window at the receding street view.

All the while, Erik focused on driving.

Having just established their relationship, neither of them spoke as if they were still adjusting to the sudden closeness.

The atmosphere inside the car was quiet.

After a while, while waiting at a traffic light, Erik suddenly asked, “Imogen, can we announce our relationship on Instagram?”

Imogen thought seriously for a moment and adopted a professional tone as she replied, “We can, but I hope you’ll block your older relatives from seeing it for now. Also, ensure your friends on Instagram won’t leak this information to the media or other users. I don’t like my private life being scrutinized by the public.”

She was Troy’s ex–wife, which would naturally attract attention.

She was afraid that some unscrupulous users might disclose her relationship with Erik for the sake of gaining views and popularity, which would indirectly inform Blake of her relationship with Erik.

After listening to Imogen’s clear analysis, Erik felt slightly empty in his heart. It was as though Imogen had never been close to him. Still, he nodded in agreement. “I understand.”

They had just established their relationship. If he let his parents know, they would likely try to intervene. So, he figured it would be better to wait until their relationship was more stable. Besides, he could also understand Imogen’s need to keep her private life out of the limelight. After finding out about Imogen’s identity, he had specifically looked into the news at that time and had seen the countless insults under her Instagram posts. It only made him feel even more sorry for

her.

After some thought, Erik suggested, “How about this? We post a picture of us holding hands without revealing your identity. What do you think?”

Imogen hesitated for a moment, pinched her fingers, and then whispered in response, “Okay.” They parked the car at a public parking lot by the river.

As soon as Imogen stepped out of the car, a wave of cold air hit her.

She thought perhaps something was wrong with her mind to stroll by the river on a chilly winter night.

She wanted to return to the car, but Erik, who had just confirmed their relationship, was excited. The warmth in his heart made him completely disregard the cold outside.

Imogen could only resign herself to keeping him company, walking side by side with him along the riverside.

Erik took the initiative to hold Imogen’s hand, his warm hand enveloping hers completely.

Under the neon lights, his eyes sparkled even more. “Imogen, I can finally hold your hand openly.”

Imogen’s heart skipped a beat when she met his bright gaze. “Do you want to take a picture?”

At the same time, she couldn’t help thinking about how Erik would be impacted once everything was revealed.

First, he would learn that his beloved father was a kidnapper and had possibly been involved in other illegal activities.

Second, his loved one had ulterior motives for approaching him and never truly loved him.

Imogen felt bad and unconsciously averted her gaze.

“Yes!” Erik nodded.

Five minutes later, a new post appeared on Erik’s Instagram.

Chapter 249 Official Announcement

Erik hadn’t typed anything. He had just used two red heart emojis, with a picture below.

The picture showed two hands, one large and one small, fingers intertwined affectionately and tenderly.