181 Officially ended

Abi was so shocked that she pinched her cheeks to check if she actually fell asleep a while ago and this was now a dream because it was just too hard to believe. Was he really going to break his own rules? What if she would ask him to love her? Did he even think about that?

"Ouch!" she immediately rubbed the skin she just pinched. It appeared this wasn't a dream.

"Come here," Alex stretched out his arm seeing that the girl was having a hard time believing what he just said.

Abi moved and the man pulled her down, making her lie on his perfect, masculine chest.

"You're not dreaming. So tell me what you want now, Abi," he said weekly near her ear and Abi's heart pound even harder.

She fell silent for a moment and then she suddenly pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"Marry me!" she exclaimed.

Alex looked dumbstruck. It seemed this was something he didn't expect her to say. He had been expecting this girl to ask for his love in return, like all the others did after they confessed to him but she had surprised him, yet again.

Abi bit her lips and let her body fall on him again. She knew that that request was too much especially as he had told her before that he would never get married. But there was no way Abi would ask him to love her. She would never do that. You couldn't force someone to love you, even if you begged until your voice was gone.

But… asking him to marry her was over the top as well. She couldn't possibly marry him just to leave him after eight more days. No matter how much she wanted this to happen, even if this was her ultimate wish, she would never force Alex to marry her.

"Kidding, hehe," she muttered. "Give me ten minutes to think, okay?" she asked and she fell quiet again.

Alex on the other hand lifted his free hand and covered his eyes with the back of his hand. He took his phone and saw that it was still twenty minutes before 12, before her birthday officially ended.

Deep lines formed in his forehead before he closed his eyes again.

After a minute or two, Alex opened his eyes and tapped something on his phone before he rose and sat on the bed.

"Ugh, I have too many wishes to ask that I can't choose!" Abi grinned at him but Alex didn't reply. He just stood up, walked towards his window and opened it.

The moon was out, big and bright. He looked up at it silently as Abi watched his back. He seemed to be letting the cold wind blow on him. Was he trying to cool his head?

Looking at him that moment, Abi saw it again, that profound ancient and lonesome feeling he was emitting. It was only for another fleeting moment but Abi felt that strange tinge of pain in her chest as she looked at him.

She frowned. She was about to climb off the bed to approach him when the man turned and walked back towards her. He sat at his spot but he didn't lay down. He quietly leaned against the bed's headboard.

"It's 11: 50," said Alex as he glanced at his phone and Abi straightened.

"Give me five more minutes," she negotiated. What should she ask him? What were the things she wanted the most? She racked her brain but she always ended up with just two things – him, marrying her or loving her – two things she wished would come true but something she could never ask him to do. She couldn't be greedier and more selfish than she already was. She'd rather bury those wishes than force him to do those things and hurt him in the end.

Thinking hard, Abi didn't notice that her five minutes was up. Alex, glanced at the time on his phone before his eyes fell on the window.

After a couple of minutes,

"Abi, go close the window," he suddenly told her. Abi's head flew towards him and she blinked, a little confused.

But she still climbed off the bed and walked towards the window.

She held the window and was about to pull it closed when she noticed the moon. She smiled at it as she said muttered the word 'beautiful'.

Letting out a quiet breath Abi pulled the window in when she heard a sound of flapping wings. 'A bird?' she thought. She shrugged and was going to pull it again when a bird suddenly landed on the window frame.

Abi blinked. Eh? A white dove? In the middle of the night?

"Oh, little whitey, where did you come from?" she smiled at it. She just couldn't help it because the bird was beautiful.

"Did you escape from your owner or something?" She lifted her hand, attempting to touch its cloud-like smooth feathers when her hand paused in midair.

Her gaze flicked with shock because she finally noticed that there was something in the bird's beak.

It was a ring!

Abi just stood there frozen.

"A-alex, there's a bird," she said and the bird put the ring down and flew away. "Wait!"

She reached out her hand but the bird had already flown away. She looked at the ring on the windowsill. Her heart was beating damn so wild as her hand moved to pick it up.

She lifted it so slowly as she stared at it. The ring was an emerald ring and seemed so ancient

Abi turned and looked at Alex.

"Alex, look…" she uttered as she slowly walked towards him.

Alex looked at the shock and disbelief in her face and spoke, "That's the only ring I possess right now. We can replace it tomorrow if you –"

"You… t-this is yours?" she stammered, cutting him off. She felt like her heart was about to explode.

"Yes."

"And, you're giving it to me?"

"Yes, Abigail."

"W-why?"

Alex eyes flicked with something unfathomable before he stood up and gracefully walked closer to her without tearing his eyes off her. He stared at the ring in her hand, took it and then he lifted her left hand.

He gazed at her intently for a while. "Because I'm going to grant your wish," he said and he put the ring on her ring finger before he looked up again. "I will marry you, Abigail."

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A/N: We still have until tomorrow to gather that 15,000 votes. Can we do it? Fighting! ^^