Chapter 93 The Marriage Proposal
Bella and Edward spent the perfect night together, full of bliss. In the warm embrace of each other, they listened to the sound of soothing waves and fell asleep under the giant coconut trees.
Edward woke up to the first rays of the morning sun. The sky was bright, a round reddish sun rose over the horizon, shining orange-red haze, staining the distant sky and reflecting onto the clear, cool water.
Edward couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed such a beautiful view. He thought back to the past few months and couldn't help but feel emotional. He looked over at Bella who was sound asleep and curled up in his arms. On her nape, the teeth mark he had left the previous night was still slightly red, and he couldn't help but wonder if it hurt. When he saw the mark, he remembered their mating, and a heartfelt smile appeared on his face. He had never been happier than he was now. Never. He wished he could spend every full moon there with her on the beach until they both grew old and grey.
Then, Edward spotted a few people walking out of the hotel and he gently woke Bella up.
"Mm," Bella slowly opened her eyes, still heavy with sleep and softly mumbled some indistinguishable words.
"Hey, sleepyhead, time to wake up. It's already morning and the place is going to be packed with people in a little while. Are you sure you don't want to wake up? I take it that you don't mind them seeing us naked, huh?" he said jokingly and pinched Bella's cheek affectionately.
Bella abruptly sat up straight with a panicked look on her face. "Oh no! Why didn't you wake me earlier? Shoot, is anyone coming in our direction?" She looked around for her dress and located it under some dried coconut palm leaves not too far away.
She gasped in surprise; the dress was completely ruined! 'No shit! Exactly just how crazy were we last night?' she thought to herself.
"What are we going to do? We have no clothes to wear, are we going back to the hotel naked? Hell, no! I feel embarrassed just thinking about being stared at straight on," she said, panicked, and sighed heavily.
Edward suddenly let out an amused chuckle.
Irritated, Bella frowned and asked, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing," Edward replied with a coquettish smile, "No need to panic or be anxious. I have come prepared, milady. I brought clean clothes, so relax. No one is going to see us naked." Then, like magic, he took out two sets of fresh clothes and handed a dress to Bella.
"Oh, thank you! You're very thoughtful!" she said sincerely and quickly got dressed before anyone could see her.
After Edward put on some shorts and a white T-shirt, he approached Bella and gently stroked the mark on her nape. "Does it still hurt?" he whispered.
Bella nodded, "It does hurt a little. But amazingly enough, I feel comfortable all over and there seems to be a constant flow of power coming from the mark."
"That's the power of our mate bond. Our union was blessed by the moon goddess," he explained. He then took her hand and walked toward the hotel.
On the way, a newlywed couple still dressed in their wedding attire were walking hand-in-hand, their faces beaming with joy. Next to them was a photographer with an expensive camera on his shoulder recording the happy moments. Bella stared straight at them, with envy written in her almond-shaped eyes. Even though the couple had already passed them, every now and then, she would turn her head in their direction just to catch 'one more glimpse'.
Although Bella had had two marriages, she had never worn a wedding dress nor had she a wedding to celebrate her union. A wave of sadness came over her at the thought. In a way, she was a failure. The very perceptive Edward sensed his wife's thoughts, but he didn't speak up because he had his own concerns. There was a lot involved in organizing a wedding. First of all, his mother had to be present but then again, his mother was extremely prejudiced against Bella, and it would be difficult for him to persuade her to come to the wedding.
Secondly, and most importantly, now that Lanny knew his true identity, it would be both foolish and risky to throw a grand wedding. He couldn't guarantee that she would keep her mouth shut, and if the secret was revealed, he would probably be targeted by the Garcia family's bastard. Equally, if the wedding was held, then his whereabouts would be exposed, and by then, not only he, but even Bella would be in danger.
"I had a dream last night. Do you want to know what I dreamt about?" Bella's words interrupted his thoughts.
"No, I don't know. What was it about?"
Bella took her sweet time before replying in a low voice, "I dreamt about a clearing in the jungle, and the clearing was filled with lilies. I was lying in the middle of the lilies in a stunning wedding dress, while you were holding me and kissing me. Passionately."
"That's a beautiful dream," Edward simply responded, his heart filled with guilt. He knew how much Bella longed for a proper wedding. Even with such a trivial request, he could not satisfy her, not for the moment anyway.
Edward's nonchalant reaction surprised Bella greatly; she thought Edward would want a wedding as much as she did, but now it seemed she was wrong to think that they shared the same wish. She felt disappointed to have had such thoughts.
"I'm just saying, you know. We just saw that newlywed couple a few minutes ago and I suddenly remembered that dream," Bella said and laughed awkwardly, trying her best to look unconcerned.
Disappointment was written all over her face and her pretending to look indifferent stung Edward's heart. He sighed inwardly. If he couldn't even satisfy his own wife with a wedding ceremony, then what qualifications did he have to be with her? Those difficulties, those dangers were his own problems, and he couldn't let Bella suffer because of them. She was his world, and he would do anything, absolutely anything for her.
"Honey, I wanted to surprise you, but I was afraid you would be disappointed if I didn't tell you now," Edward said gently.
"What?" Bella's curiosity was fully aroused.
Edward pretended to be all mysterious and came to Bella's ear whispering, "It's a secret, my love. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out."
"Hmph, you tease me!" Bella glared at him, pretending to be angry and ran away.
Edward quickly caught up with her, and they returned to the room. While Bella was in the shower, Edward planned to send a message to Jack, asking him to help him get ready for the proposal and to find a big and lovely diamond ring. He opened his phone and saw a message from Jack. It had been sent the previous night.
"Sorry, sir, we didn't find Lanny. To prevent her from disrupting your vacation, I've sent someone to keep a tight watch on all the people coming in and out of the hotel."
'Damn that bitch!' Edward cursed.