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No.
He opens it.
A stunning diamond ring sparkles under the lights.
A barely audible gasp escapes my throat as my hands jump to cover my mouth. A soft murmur spreads through the crowd.
“I know we’ve only been together for four months, but I feel as though I have known you all my life. You are my happiness, my home, my world,” he says.
“Lila Evans,” he says, as he slowly lowers one knee down to the ground. “Will you give me the greatest honour of my life and say you’ll marry me?”
Tears fill my eyes. I can’t speak – I can barely breathe.
I nod, slowly, then faster.
“Yes!” I manage to cry out. “Yes! A million times yes!”
He leaps up, wrapping me in his arms as he spins me around on the stage.
The room erupts into applause and cheers as Marcus kisses me in front of six hundred people, and the world melts away.
He takes the ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger.
I stare down at it, stunned. It’s a sparkling, princess-cut diamond with two sapphire jewels surrounding it, set in white gold.
It’s perfect.He’sperfect.
I shake my head in disbelief as I look at him, his smile beaming, the sparkle in his eyes brighter than I’ve ever seen it before.
“I love you,” he mouths silently and I lean in and kiss him again, causing another round of applause and cheers from the audience.
He grins and grabs the mic. “Thank you all! Now bring on the cake!”
He slides his arm behind my back as laughter ripples through the room.
We float back to our table amidst a chorus of “congratulations” from everyone wepass.
Just as we get to our seats, Angela and Carter rush over. Angela is literally shaking as she shrieks. “Aaaah Lila!Oh my God,oh my God, oh myGod!” She jumps up and down excitedly as she grabs my hand. “Let me see, let me see!”
Carter reaches out his hand out to Marcus. “Nice speech mate,” he says. “Congratulations.”
Marcus smiles. “Thanks,” he says. “I’m just relieved she said yes.”
Everyone around us bursts into laughter. “And hey, congrats on the new place,” he says. “Harrison hasn’t shut up about it.” A warm blush creeps across Carter’s face as Harrison appears behind him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
The two of them have just moved in together, and I’ve never seen Carter so happy.
Angela raises an eyebrow. “That was seriouslybrave, Marcus,” she quips. “You risked public humiliation in front of all these people, not to mention the entire Internet!”
She turns to me. “Did you haveanyidea?”
I shake my head. “Not a clue,” I laugh. “When he said my name, all I was thinking was,what the fuck are you doing?”
Angela bursts out laughing then squeals again as she throws her arms around me. “I’m so fucking happy for you!” she exclaims.
“Thank you!” My face is actually starting to ache from smiling so hard.
Angela spots the servers bring out the dessert, gives me another quick hug shouting ‘congratulations’ again and runs back to her table, followed by Carter and Harrison.