Lando arrived at Red Square Downtown about thirty minutes later. My seasoned chicken was already gone, but now I had two cheesy baked potatoes in my hands; one for and one for him.
"You didn’t have to pick up," I said as I watched him walk toward the bench with his crutches. "I ca here with Mr. Silo."
"I know." Lando sat down beside and let out a small sigh before speaking. "That’s why I asked him to head back first."
That didn’t make any sense! Instead of him going through all the trouble to co here, wouldn’t it have been easier if I just went ho with Mr. Silo?
But as we sat next to each other with warm baked potatoes in our hands, I slowly felt this situation wasn’t so bad after all.
The sun had already set, and most of the children had gone ho, leaving the park quiet and filled only with adults sitting in comfortable silence.
"You’re right," he suddenly said.
I was just about to take a bite of my potato when I turned to him. "About what?"
"I shouldn’t have co to pick you up." He let out a long sigh, looking like he had just realized how silly he’d been. "I must look ridiculous."
I couldn’t help but laugh at him. "No, you’re not! I was just surprised you ca all the way here instead of waiting for at ho." I smiled teasingly. "Were you missing that much?"
To my surprise, he answered right away. "Yeah." Then he added softly, "We barely see each other these days, after all."
I straightened my back and moved slightly away from him in surprise. "O-oh... I see..."
My mind suddenly went blank, searching for the right thing to say. But then I realized this was the perfect mont to finish my random quest.
Still, it was too embarrassing to just say I missed him out loud... but it was normal for friends to say that, right? It was just simple words after all.
Alright, for the money, I’d say it!
"I... actually... miss you too! So much!" I blurted out.
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed your mission: Tell your HUSBAND that you miss him a lot!]
[Reward: $30,000 has been credited to your account.]
[Remaining Balance: $285,875]
Why on earth did I add the words "so much" at the end?! It made sound like I was desperate to see him these past few days!
[But isn’t that true, Host?]
[You even talked about him over and over again at the salon earlier.]
[Besides, the quest required you to say you miss your husband a lot.]
’T-that’s because I was just looking for sothing new to talk about!’ I argued in my mind.
Before Penny could reply, I heard Lando clear his throat beside . Maybe he was just as embarrassed as I was after hearing say that.
He finally spoke. "Actually, the reason I wanted to see you sooner is because I wanted to give you sothing."
I bit the inside of my lip, trying to calm my heartbeat so I could speak normally. "What is it?"
He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. He did that twice, looking so unsure, like he was struggling to get the words out.
Finally, he said, "Can you close your eyes?"
Oh, I didn’t know he was the kind of man who liked giving surprises. How cute. Every day, he just kept getting more adorable.
"Okay," I quickly replied.
I closed my eyes, and the inability to see anything around only made more nervous.
When he suddenly took my hand, my heart started pounding so fast that I thought it might jump out of my chest.
Why was he holding my hand? Was he about to help stand or take sowhere?
However, before I could move, I felt sothing cold touch my skin. It felt like a round object, and then he gently slipped that round thing onto my ring finger.
Wait... wait... was that—WAS THAT A WEDDING RING?!
For a mont, I froze. My brain went completely blank as the cool tal settled perfectly around my finger.
"You... you can open your eyes now," he said, his voice a little shaky. "I’m sorry if you don’t like the gift."
I slowly opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was Lando sitting beside . His expression was a mix of nervousness and tenderness, and the soft glow from the streetlights made his face look warm and gentle.
He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes stayed glued to my hand, like he was scared I might take the ring off.
I slowly lowered my gaze to the ring now resting around my finger. The ring was delicate and beautiful. A single round diamond sat at the center, sparkling brightly.
Its gold band was thin and elegant, designed with tiny leaf-like details that curled gracefully around it.
"Is this..." I paused for a mont, gathering my courage to say what was on my mind. Then I whispered, "Is this a wedding ring?"
"Yes..." he murmured. "I realized I never gave you a wedding ring, even though we’ve been married for a few weeks. That’s why I wanted to give you... this."
"I’m sorry if it’s not what you like, or if I didn’t do it the right way," he added nervously.
I lifted my hand until it was level with my eyes so I could see the ring more clearly. My lips pouted slightly, and my eyes began to well with tears.
"What are you talking about?" I said, my voice trembling. "The ring is so beautiful. How could you give sothing this precious to your fake wife?"
His eyes widened slightly. "Fake wife?" Lando took my hand gently and looked straight into my eyes. "What do you an fake wife? Our marriage certificate is officially registered. That ans you’re my real wife."
It seed like he realized that our situation wasn’t that simple, so he corrected himself. "Maybe not like a normal married couple, but still... we’re legally husband and wife. It would feel wrong not to give my wife a proper wedding ring."
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