Chapter 23

Twenty–Three: At Villa Palace

I moved closer to him and held him in a warm embrace before he could even say a word.

“You look so…”

“Shh, you don’t have to say anything.” I held his lips, cutting him off before he could complete his sentence. He pecked me on the cheek before he moved towards the seat in front of me, pulling the chair out for me, and soon we were seated.

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“I feel so honored to sit with a multi–billionaire and an aspiring mayor.”

“Oh no, I’ve been disqualified.”

“You finally did it, Regina, speaking out for yourself after so You’ve given a lot of women hope. You are a hero.”

“It’s been all you, . I need to say this to you. You have been really good to me. Even when I had no hope for anything, You funded most of the campaigns. I owe you a lot.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I did what I did from the place of love even if you don’t feel the same way.”

“Don’t say that; you know that I do.”

“But in your text,

“I didn’t send that text, Evans, believe me. There is clearly something going on that I don’t know about. Someone is doing this to .”

“But why would someone want to do that to you?”

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“To hurt me, I suppose. I thought it was Thomas, but I have this feeling that it’s not him.

“Then who could be doing this ”

“I don’t know yet, and I don’t want to talk about this ri

now. I want to talk about you. I was scared when I didn’t hear from for so long. I thought I would never hear from you again.”

“I’m so sorry for not reaching out to you; I have missed you.” He reached out for my hands across the

table.

Just then a guy walked towards us in a white T–shirt and black trousers with a booklet and a pen, whom we presume was a waiter. He walked toward our table and interrupted Evans.

“Good evening. Would you like to place an order?” He asked.

“Yes, please, get us a bottle of your best wine.” Evans said it with a smile growing on his face.

“I’m really sorry about the other day; there is so much I need to tell you. I know I should have told you since, but I was scared, and I’m still scared you might choose to leave.” Evans continued.

Chia Tay These At a Palace

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“Choose to leave, why did you say that?”

1 had become restless and a bit scared, pondering what could be so daring that he felt reluctant to tell

mhe.

“I really do love you; from the very first time I met you at that club that night, I have never stopped. thinking about you.” Evans said. I could see the sincerity in his eyes. He retrieved a small red box from inside his suit pocket. On one knee, he removed a diamond ring from the box and showed it to

her.

“Miss Regina, I know this might come as a surprise to you because even if it has been a year since we met, it still feels like yesterday. I know you have been through a lot of hurdles in your previous relationship. But I want to go through all these hurdles with you. I want to share in your pain and in your laughter. To make you feel like the woman that you are take you to places and grow old with . I want to be by your side every morning and every night. Don’t worry, would sign the prenuptial agreement just to prove to you that it’s not about the wealth. It’s . Will you marry me?” He asked, still his knees.

I stood with my on my lips.

am still staring at what was before me. Evans had caught me unaware; clearly, I did not see this coming. As much as I wanted to deny it, every being in wanted

this man.

“Yes, I will marry you.”

I didn’t know when those words fell from my lips; the question came quickly. I wasn’t sure of what wanted at that particular moment. Even if there was still so much to know about him, one thing I was sure of was that I was in love with Evans in a way that I had never felt for anyone, not even Thomas.

“Oh my God! You just said yes! I can’t believe this right now.” He was overjoyed as he jumped on his feet. We had become center of attention as everyone brought out their phones to film the moment.

“That’s the best word I have heard all day!” He admitted quickly putting the ring on my finger and kissing me on my lips, which left a stain of red lipstick on his lips. Although I was still unsure of what had just happened, I knew I was happy, and being happy was what was important to me.

The rest of the evening was filled with joy and bliss. I noticed how happy Evans , and it made me happier. From time to time, I stole glances at my diamond ring; it was indeed a priceless piece.

“This is for you.” I handed him the box that contained the Rolex watch I gotten for him.

dropped me off at Angela’s apartment after a long goodbye kiss. I lay on the bed with thoughts. of what had happened earlier that evening. I had just been engaged, and she was getting married to one of the most charming men she had ever met. That night, I thought a lot about how everyone would react to the news that she was getting married. Of course Angela will be overly excited that found happiness again after so long. And then the thought of not knowing anything about him resurfaced, which brought chills, and then got up from where I lay, turning off the air conditioner. But the thoughts kept coming: this would surely be in the it’s been months since Thomas and I were finally divorced; I deserved this. I thought about what kids would look like if we had any and how Jayden would feel about it; he wouldn’t mind, and gradually my eyelids felt close to drifting into

A Villa Parks

sleep.

I awoke at 7:45 in the morning to my phone’s music. It was Jane.

“Hello ma’am, you aren’t at work, we were worried about you; I thought I should call.”

“Oh, that’s so thoughtful, but I’m taking the day off today.”

“Okay, ma’am, congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thank you; you know about that already.”

“It’s all over the internet. He is such a lucky man ”

“Thanks Jane.”

How news flies

My phone rang again; it was Angela this time.

“Hello, Angie.” I already had my smile.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

3/3

Chapter Twenty–Four: 1 am only looking out for you.