Page 37 of Tall, Royal Hater
I rolled off the bed and sashayed to open the door.
Esmeralda stood there, drowning in a black hoodie I assumed belonged to Kai with shorts underneath that were barely visible and socks but no slippers. She chewed on her bottom lip, almost bouncing with an overflow of energy, but there was a glazed, nervous flicker in her eyes.
“Dude, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” I said as she shuffled in. I closed the door behind her.
She abruptly stopped near the foot of the wooden-framed bed and spun around. I couldn’t quite tell if she was a child on an overexcited high or if she was about to burst into tears.
I moved towards her cautiously. “Esmeralda, you’re scaring me. What happened?”
Filling her lungs on a long breath, she tugged one sleeve back from her fingers, paused, then raised her forearm and showed me the back of her left hand.
My brows pulled together in confusion. “What am I—”
A gasp ripped my words to shreds as I found what I was supposed to be looking at. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and my brows disappeared into my hairline.
“Is that a fucking—”
Esmeralda closed the distance between us and slammed her palm over my mouth. “Shhh!”
I blinked and blinked again, staring cross-eyed down at the diamond on her ring finger.
Latching onto her wrist, I quickly pulled her hand off. I took in the ring one more time before I gawked at her. “Did Kai propose?”
With a shy smile, Esmeralda nodded. My jaw collapsed to the floor.
Bloody fucking Neves…
Chapter 10
Mariyah
“Damn, the man has taste,” I said as I cradled Esmeralda’s hand in both of mine.
After several minutes of chaotic excitement, Esmeralda and I climbed onto my bed and got comfortable against the pillows and cushions so she could explain everything, though most of it came out in mixed-up, babbled sentences.
I was still in shock and awe, but by the look and sound of it, so was Esmeralda.
“I know,” she breathed out, her glazed stare locked on the ring. “The thing is, he kept looking through my jewellery when he came to Jahandar last time, but I never assumed it was because…”
“He was going to propose,” I finished. She nodded dazedly.
Kai really did deserve a pat on the back. He’d chosen according to what he’d seen inside Esmeralda’s jewellery boxes, and it spoke volumes for how much he cared for her.
The ring itself was in a beautiful cushion-cut style, a rounded square diamond bordered in glittering smaller ones, set on a simple, deep gold band that complemented her warm skin tone. It was elegant and delicate but still made a statement on her slim manicured hand, because it screamed her name.
“Fuck.” I chuckled breathlessly and released her hand. “You’re bloody engaged, Ez.”
Her cheeks glowed as she cradled her fingers. “I know…”
“How the fuck did this happen?”
“I don’t know…”
“This is insane.”
“I know,” she said, eyes tearing over. “I really thought I was going to die, Mar. Like my heart was going to stop from too much joy. I couldn’t believe he was on one knee, but at the same time, it felt so right. Like everything had been leading up to that moment. And I know some people might think it’s too quick, but I have never been more certain of anything in my life.” She smiled light-heartedly. “So much so, I said yes even before he’d finished asking.”
I let out an overexaggerated gasp. “No, you didn’t!”
