As soon as the car trunk opened up, pastel blue and white balloons slowly floated into the air. The next moment, Jolly noticed the pink roses-filled car trunk that was decorated with twinkling fairy lights. Her gaze fell onto the only red rose among the pink roses, which was adorned with a sparkling diamond ring in the middle. Suddenly, Leroy, dressed casually in beige, walked out from the side. Because of his youthful disposition, his smile felt like a breath of spring.
“Jolly.”
“What is this?” She started whimpering while covering her face with her hands and took a step back. She pretended to sound like she disliked it, but her reactions gave her off as tears started welling up in her eyes, and her voice quivered.
Soon, everyone gathered around them. As Jolly looked around, she instantly realized why Rachel wanted her to get the children’s socks and shoes. Turned out that it was all planned out. She was so surprised that she didn’t know how to react.
“You guys! Since when did you prepare these?”
“Just now.” Rachel raised her hand and continued, “But I swear I’m not the one who asked Leroy to do this. He was the one who came to me and asked for my help. I never forced him to ask for your hand in marriage.”
“Really?”
“Of course,” Leroy chimed in. “I’d have planned a better one if I had more time, but since everyone is present today, I feel like this is the best time for it.”
The next moment, he retrieved the diamond ring on the rose and got down on one knee in front of everyone. Noticing that, Jolly covered her face with her hands and tried to calm herself down but to no avail. Her face was blushed red even before Leroy started proposing, which was unlike her since she had a brazen personality.
“Oh! Leroy is proposing!” Charlotte clapped her hands and exclaimed.
“Shh.” Rachel put her finger on her lips and signaled Charlotte to be quiet. Gloria immediately pulled Charlotte to her side, and everyone was quiet.
After that, Leroy lifted his head and looked at her with flickering eyes. “Jolly, the first time we met was by mistake, but I found out later on that we had actually met before that. However, in my memory, that particular meeting shook me.”
Everyone tried to hold their laughter upon hearing that. Only Rachel and Justin clearly knew that both of them officially first met for the first time on the yacht. Although events that happened there had left unpleasant memories for Rachel and the others, their acquaintance had made the unhappiness go away.
“At that time, I thought, how could there be such a reckless girl who’s domineering and adorable at the same time?”
“I doubt that you think I’m adorable at that time.” Jolly sniffed and refuted as she pursed her lips.
“Please don’t interrupt me. I’m very nervous right now.” Leroy looked at her earnestly.
Hearing that, Jolly bit her lip and kept quiet. From Rachel’s angle, she noticeably saw how Jolly’s clenched fists were trembling slightly. Being her long-time friend, Rachel knew very well that she was probably more nervous than Leroy at this moment.
Leroy then continued, “After that, we got to hang out more because of work, and we eventually ended up together. In the beginning, we hid things from each other unintentionally, but after going through so much with you, your determination has made me even more convinced that we are right for each other, and I will never let go again. ”
“Baby, let’s get married.”
Jolly’s eyes welled up when she heard his proposal. Just as she was about to stretch her hand out, she suddenly turned over and looked at her parents, as if asking for their opinion. Seeing that, Rachel held on tight to Justin’s hand.
She knew Jolly the best. In the past, Jolly acted willfully and recklessly by choosing to be with Ryan. She even decided on her own to run away before their wedding. In the end, she was scarred by the episode because of her refusal to listen to her parents’ advice. Although now that she had put the unpleasant past behind her and had met the right person, she was very concerned about whether her parents would bless their marriage. Only with their blessing would she be confident enough to trust him and marry him.
Marilyn had always been stubborn, especially toward her daughter, who had been brazen since she was a child. “You’re the one who’s getting married, so why are you looking at us?”
Jolly was relieved after hearing Marilyn’s words. Leroy then held onto her hand and put on the ring on her ring finger. She plunged into Leroy’s arms immediately after that and cried as she couldn’t hold her tears any longer. Everyone showered them with good wishes as they witnessed the heartwarming proposal at dusk.
After that, they had some delicious barbeque lamb skewers that were seasoned with cajun seasoning and chili flakes. The smoky aroma filled the air as everyone gathered to savor the lamb skewers.
“We are not planning to have a wedding since Leroy has been receiving a lot of attention, and it would be troublesome to have one.”
“For real? You’re willing to not have a wedding?”
“Why not? Initially, you were reluctant to have one too.”
“Although I refused a wedding, my siblings insisted on having one and even planned it for me. Well, I’m unlike you, stubborn like a mule. If no one planned the wedding for you, I bet you’ll be nagging us about it for the rest of our lives.” Gloria teased her.
“Jolly only said this because she was still all giddy from the proposal. If you believe her words, you’ll regret it in the future.” Gloria purposely told Leroy.
“Hey! I’m not that unreasonable.”
“I’m not too sure about that. I’ll have to ask Leroy about it.”
Jolly was speechless after hearing Gloria’s reply.
Meanwhile, Rachel and Justin were watching over the children by the lake.
“It must have been troublesome for Victor since he had to look after the kids whenever we were out.”
“We have confidence in him since he’s a teacher.”
“It seems like he and Ria don’t plan to have children.”
“He had to face so many children in school while she herself is like a playful child. That might be why they don’t plan on having children.”
“Sounds about right. Just go with the flow then.”
The conversation ended there and then.
Jolly and Leroy meant it when they decided not to have a wedding. Although Rachel couldn’t believe it at first, she had to when she saw Jolly persuading her parents about her decision.
“Trust me, it’s really troublesome. Even before we are married, many travel photography brands have looked for him, and if we get married, he will be bombarded with endorsements. On top of that, the troublesome reporters will be swarming us too.”
Jolly, who was wearing an oversized pajama, lounged on the couch as she complained about how troublesome it was to get married to a celebrity while she had her ice cream.
“You have a point, but you don’t plan to go to church at all?” Rachel, who had a sheet mask on, asked as she lay on the bed.
“Nah, we will just get registered for my parents to be at ease. I actually find it troublesome to have to get registered for marriage too.”
“Your thinking is so advanced that we can’t keep up with you.”
“What about you? When are you getting married?”
“Who told you I plan to get married?”
“Oh? Haven’t you thought of that?” Jolly turned around and looked at her intently. “Don’t tell me that you and Justin are still just friends?”
“Of course not. I’m comfortable with where we are now,” Rachel replied calmly.
“It would be a different story if someone intervened in your relationship,” Jolly blurted.
