"Where are you taking ?" Aria asked as she walked with her eyes closed.
"Be patient, love. You’ll find out soon." Noah whispered beside her ear as he continued to cover her eyes with his palms while leading her to their destination.
"Why are you being so secretive? Why can’t I see it?" Aria grumbled, still not liking that her sight was covered.
"It’s a surprise, Aria. It won’t be a surprise if I reveal it without any preparation and hype." Noah sighed softly and kissed her cheek, forcing her to clamp her lips shut.
"Fine," Aria huffed as she walked slowly while Noah held her securely, ensuring she wouldn’t trip.
A few minutes later, Noah stopped and Ara stood still as she waited for him to lower his hands.
"Open your eyes when I tell you to," Noah whispered before stepping back and moving his hands away. "Aria, open your eyes."
Aria’s eyes fluttered open the next instant, and she was flabbergasted by what she saw. The entire place reminded her of the botanical garden in London, where they had gone on their first date, although technically, it wasn’t a date.
It didn’t end at that. The place had been modified more. Before the garden, there was a path filled with cherry blossom trees, her favorite. And they happened to stand just underneath them while the wind carried with it the fragrance of the cherry blossoms.
Aria’s heart fluttered excitedly as she took the beautiful sight before her. Sniffling softly, she turned around, only to find the man on his knee as he held the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. The small diamond glittered while the twig-textured band supported it.
"Aria, you already know how I feel. The mont you lashed out at at the hospital when we first t, my heart had decided - you are the one. I’ve spent every mont with you realizing that life without you isn’t an option I’m willing to consider. I don’t need grand speeches or perfect words - just you, always. Will you marry ?"
Aria controlled her tears as she smiled amidst choked emotions. Instead of answering, she kneeled before him and retrieved a box from her trouser pocket.
Surprised, Noah stared at her open the box and there lay a ring that matched the one in his hand, only that it was ant for n.
"I love you, Noah. I love you so much. And yes, I will marry you. I have a question though. Since you proposed and I said yes, do I propose to you as well? After all, I have a ring for you too."
Noah chuckled softly at her words and shook his head.
"That’s not necessary."
"On the contrary, I think it is necessary. You made feel so special. Now, it’s my ti." Aria stood up and pulled Noah with her, confusing him all the more
"Aria, what..." Noah stopped when he saw Aria kneeling on one knee again. "Aria..."
"So... uh, I had prepared sothing really romantic, but I forgot everything after listening to your sweet words. So, um... marry ?"
Aria’s awkward proposal made Noah laugh and he helped her up before pulling her in for a quick kiss. "Yes, yes, a hundred tis yes."
Noah slid the ring through her finger first and then, Aria followed suit.
"I love you." Aria hugged him tight, putting all her weight on him and Noah supported her, holding her close to him, enjoying the warmth and happiness.
"I love you too."
"Were you planning this for a long ti?" Aria asked, glancing at the garden in front of her. Although designing the garden wouldn’t take a lot of ti, growing the cherry blossom trees would. She couldn’t fathom when the man had started to plan all of this.
"Yeah. More or less," Noah agreed, not dwelling on the details.
"Is that why we weren’t allowed to wander at the back of the garden?"
Aria recalled that Noah had expressed his desire to renovate the garden out of nowhere. Only a portion of the garden was open while the rest had been blocked. She couldn’t even see what was happening. A giant construction cover blocked everything.
"Yeah. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. Do you like it?" Noah looked at her and Aria nodded, her eyes twinkling in joy.
"I love it. Thank you so much."
"By the way, how did you find out about this?" Noah twisted the ring in his hand and quirked his brows curiously. He loved the surprise, he really did. Yet, he couldn’t help but be intrigued.
Although Aria had proposed to him awkwardly, it still made him feel he was on top of the world. The feeling of being cherished and treated like a king by her made him feel emotional and ecstatic. He couldn’t have asked for more. Aria was just the best.
"A little birdie might have given a tip," Aria replied, hiding the truth from him. She didn’t disclose how she had sought help from her sister to make the little birdie speak.
’It can’t be Ian. He’d never foil his plans. It has to be the other one,’ Noah thought, planning different ways to torture him for disclosing his plans.
And the said birdie who was having a romantic ti with his girlfriend sneezed loudly. ’Who is talking about behind my back?’ he wondered.
"Did you already know about this then?" Noah pointed to cherry blossom trees and the garden.
"No. I knew you’d propose to soon. But I didn’t know anything about this surprise."
’At least, he has so sense,’ Noah thought, sparing the birdie from being added to his block list.
"Is that why you prepared the ring for ?"
"Yep. I wanted to propose to you on the sa day and make the event more special. You have no idea how stressful it was. I had to carry the ring with every ti we went on a date since I bought it," Aria recalled the stressful monts and Noah laughed helplessly.
"It was thoroughly nerve-wracking. Thankfully, I don’t have to be cautious anymore."
"So, what kind of a wedding do you want?"
The couple had moved to the garden and were now sitting on the grass beside the artificial lake.
"Umm...."
"Destination wedding?"
"Nope. Very expensive."
"Castle wedding?"
"Eww, boring. Not my style." Aria felt the re thought to be dramatic. She didn’t find it that appealing.
"Then?" Noah was curious. He didn’t have a preference. He was fine with anything as long as he was marrying Aria. But he wanted to find out what his lady wanted.
"I want to get married here," Aria said imdiately. There was no hesitation or confusion, just absolute determination.
"Here?" Noah was taken aback. He didn’t expect that response from her.
"Yep. Here. I love it and I just feel this is where I want to get married."
"Got it." Noah nodded, his mind already planning the big day. "Get ready."
"For what?" Aria frowned and gave him a confused look.
Noah’s lips curled up into a smirk and he pulled Aria closer to him. "For our wedding. We’ll be getting married in three months."
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