Page 111 of Don't Leave Me

A couple hours later, Michael was walking into the apartment as I frantically cleaned every inch of the apartment – it was a nervous habit, and I was definitely nervous for my parents to get there.

“Wow, babe…it looks great in here,” Michael said with surprise as he shrugged off his coat.

I nodded and smiled down at him from the chair I stood on, cleaning the top of the windowsills in the living room.

“Thanks. My parents called. They’re leaving the hospital soon so it shouldn’t be long,” I explained, almost out of breath.

Michael put his hands on his hips as he looked up at me with concern.

“Are you alright?”

I stopped what I was doing to give him a reassuring smile. “Yeah,” I replied, my voice a little too high.

“Are you nervous?” he pressed.

I sighed and got off the chair. “I don’t know how much I want to tell my parents about us. I mean, my dad is a little old-fashioned. I don’t know how much he would approve of us doing all of this,” I gestured around us.

Michael nodded. There he was giving me his mysterious, intense gaze again.

“What if we were engaged? Would he approve then?”

My heart dropped. “Uh…probably,” I nodded as I cleared my throat, my heart racing.

Michael’s eyes widened and he suddenly looked nervous.My Michael, nervous? What is going on?

“You know that surprise I was waiting to give you?” he asked, taking my hands with his.

The surprise? I thought he had already given it to me – the sub ring and the apartment. What else could he possibly give me? Oh my god, he’s going to propose right now, isn’t he?

“Yes,” I nodded, unable to stop staring at this beautiful, perfect being in front of me.

“I wanted to wait until I knew you were…clear-headed enough to make a decision,” he started at me intensely. “And I was gonna do this tonight anyway,” he chuckled to himself, then reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

I watched as he opened his wallet and pulled out a beautiful, huge princess-cut diamond ring.

“Oh my god,” I breathed.

“Hana,” Michael started sweetly, then bent down on one knee in front of me, and I immediately started to tear up.Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

“I never knew how incomplete my life was until I let you in it. Since day one, you’ve continued to surprise me, to amuse me, to love me despite my stubborn, probably annoying personality,” he laughed as he looked up at me. “I never knew what love was until I met you…and now that you’re in my life, I couldn’t imagine ever living without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Hana. Please, my love, will you do me the honor of being mine forever?” He was holding up the beautiful ring, and I couldn’t help but notice there were tears in his eyes as well.

“Yes!” I exclaimed immediately, letting the tears flow down my cheeks.

Michael flashed his beautiful smile immediately as he slipped on the ring above my sub ring and it fit perfectly. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, both of giggling incessantly, tears streaming down my face.

“I love you, baby,” Michael said, brushing a stray hair away from my face as he stared at me intently, then gave me a sweet and passionate kiss.

“God, I love you too,” I said, my arms still wrapped around him and my nose nuzzled into his neck.

We let go of each other and I looked at my new engagement ring – it was absolutely perfect.

“Were you really going to propose tonight?” I wondered, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

Michael chuckled and nodded, pulling me down on the couch with him.

“Yes, I was. I was going to cook you dinner and catch you by surprise,” he raised his eyebrows, a smile still lingering on his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Was this the original surprise? The $15,000 surprise?”

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