Chapter 55: Proposal

When I finally finished it, I tried to calm my breathing and said, "I'm going to learn the piano."

"Forget about it. Just have a rest," he suggested.

"But I made an appointment with the teacher," I said. I hadn't, the teacher was giving another student a class that day.

He smiled, putting my finger to his lips, and kissed and touched my hair, saying, "I will take you there since Steven is at the office."

On the way there, he didn't care how shocked the driver seemed. He hugged me and whispered lovingly in my ear, "Come back early in the evening, I'll wait for you."

"Well. I see!" I answered casually, but my heart was dying.

I knew he would never believe that the knife in my backpack was to prevent a kidnapping. Judging from his suspicious character, he would investigate everything as soon as possible.

Once he found out what I wanted to do, he would get back at me, but I didn't care. It was pitiful that I would never have a chance to kill him. There were only two choices for me:

One was to escape. If I was lucky, he wouldn't find me, though there was a slim chance. The second was to go back, as casually as possible. "Then I could kill him tonight," I thought. Although it was also almost impossible, I tried it and I would not regret, I would do it for my parents and myself.

I felt a cool feeling on my finger. In a panic, I looked down to see a diamond ring on my ring finger, which was the one I lost, with exquisite flowers and diamonds.

"You?" I said when I saw Jonathan.

"Desiree, let's get married!" he said. He looked at me affectionately and said, "Troy told me that women only believe in the promise of the wedding ceremony, not the vow to love her forever,"

"But you," I said.

"I have thought about it. I can take you away from here and start a new life on a farm overseas where no one knows us," he told me.

I leaned against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. If I could, I hoped he would never know what I planned. And he didn't know that the reason I disguised myself with kindness and consideration for eight years just to get back at him.

When the car stopped, I got out reluctantly. Once the car started, I ran over to the window and lied to him for the last time. "Then I will plant a sea of flowers on the farm. If you like, we can have a baby," I said.

"I just wish that you will stay with me," he said.

I leaned against the glass of the balcony, enjoying the dream-like, intangible music. Infected with cheerful and hopeful rhythm, I couldn't help fantasizing about the future that Jonathan and I were chasing and playing on the farm under the cloudy sky.

Sometimes people were miserable: when there was a way back, they always kept going forward until there was no way out, suddenly they would realize that they had missed what they wanted. Consequently, one must force yourself to move forward and never to turn around.

"Desiree!" The teacher stood behind me and asked, "Which university do you want to go to?"

"Ah--" I said, "I haven't thought about it."

"How about your culture class? I can recommend some teachers to you," she said.

The girl who played the piano smiled back at me and said, "You have to work hard, but the university is like perfect heaven."

When she told me that college was a world like a fairy tale, where many peers and congenial friends came together, she smiled happily. Four girls stayed in the same room. They could chat, watch television and share their happiness. She added that they often talk about each other's boyfriends while playing the piano.

It did sound good. No wonder my classmates were working hard for it. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me. The teacher saw the expectation on my face, comforting me, she said, "Take it easy! Anyway, your family is affluent. I can help contact a foreign school, the entrance exam is not too difficult," she said.

I managed to squeeze out a smile at her.

Thinking I had no confidence in myself, she encouraged me, "Since you can play such infectious music and you are only 18 years old, you will succeed in the future."

"Teacher, it is late, I must go back!" I said. Finally, I left without saying goodbye, but just the words, "Thank you."