Markos planned everything just how Valeria might have loved. Standing in the best spot of Parc Monceau with Valeria in front of him. Markos knelt on his one knee and fished out a diamond ring. "Valeria Hayden." Taking her echoing name in the midst of chirping birds. They both were doing a private proposal in front of the marbled remnants of what used to be some pillars. The still water in the pond reflected the duo's affectionate encounter.
"Will you officially marry me and become Mrs Valeria Markos Moreno?" Valeria covered her mouth and gasped, a tear sneakily crawled down her cheek. Revealing the woman's eagerness to accept the proposal. Markos stared at her intensely with his silvery eyes and chuckled. "If you wanna reject then do it faster, please. I cannot take this suspense anymore." Markos' shallow voice had an utter tinge of panic and fright.
Valeria scoffed and then laughed hard, bending her upper body she held his face. Kissing Markos over lips she extended her hand and flipped her hair with a naughty expression. "Yes, I shall bestow the favour of marrying you." Markos smiled, shaking his head he slipped the ring into her finger. "Stay blessed, child." Valeria raised her hand in a dramatic manner and gave her blessings. Markos stood up while giggling, pulling her closer he hugged Valeria.
Raising her arm Markos slid his hand and touched the palm. Rubbing over gently with his thumb Markos interlaced his fingers into hers. Lifting her hand he kissed over the ring making Valeria gasp and close her eyes. "Do you know how happy I am today, Val?" Markos glanced at her sweetly. "We are reviving our long lost relationship at the same place. A new beginning." Valeria smiled with her heated ears, when Markos put her finger into his mouth.
Valeria stared at him with a loving gaze when the tulip rain happened over the duo. Markos had arranged everything so dreamy to sway her heart. He wanted the trip to be the key to mend their relationship all at once. Valeria chuckled while looking up in the sky where the huge balloon burst with the flowers. She mouthed thank you to him while covering her mouth. Markos pulled her into a hug lovingly with a smile.
After completing their honeymoon phase, both of them returned to the US happily. The driver took them to some five star hotel where media people were waiting outside. "Come, there's a surprise for you." Markos extended his hand and took Valeria inside. The woman was totally unaware of what he was about to do. Taking her hand into his, Valeria smiled as they headed inside towards the midst of the hall.
"Today is going to be the best day of my life, Valeria." Markos paused when everyone clicked their pictures. He stood there holding Valeria closeby as they both posed for the media. Valeria's smile soon disappeared when she heard Markos leaning in and whispering. "You have no idea how many times I have imagined this day." Taking her to the stage where they stood when a journalist shooted his question.
"Mister Moreno, we heard you are getting married. You have returned to Milan after 10 years, is your fiance Italian too?" One of the reporters flashed cameras and clicked their pictures. Meanwhile, Markos grabbed Valeria's hand tightly to assure her about the whole situation. "Is the news accurate that she belongs to a renowned family?" In the midst of the questions which were bombarded at them, Valeria failed to sense that she was being ignored.
"Are you marrying her to clear your reputation from the scandal?" Markos simply smiled and waited for the things to unfold. He didn't want to answer without making Valeria see the truth. However, this time Valeria turned her head towards Markos who didn't look at her. "Are you marrying the same woman you are having an affair with? Is this the reason why you are appearing publicly for the first time?"
Valeria stared at him blankly with disbelief, she could sense something was wrong but couldn't take any guesses. Pulling her hand from Markos, who didn't let her do it; Valeria's heart pounded faster with fear. Markos had been involved in a scandal with someone which she didn't know about. 'Is he marrying me to clear his name? This honeymoon was a lavish and hefty compensation?'
Just as she thought about it Markos cleared his throat to respond to the rumours. "As you all know this is my first time appearing in front of the media. And that too with such a big news right off the hop. Yes, I am marrying and that's to clear my name from the scandal." Valeria gulped and kept on staring at Markos. Words weren't reaching her ears anymore while the flashes of cameras blinded her from the obvious truth.
"I was drugged and surprisingly in my own house. The video was leaked to extort money from me which couldn't happen." Valeria didn't know what had happened as she couldn't remember any such incident. However, there was no way of finding it as Markos kept their phones switched off under the guise of a game. "Hereby, I am trying to clear my image from the scandal by marrying a beautiful woman."
"Do you know who tried to drug you and smear your status? Has the culprit been caught? Do we get to know more details about this matter? Is your fiance here? Who is this lady beside you? Please, answer the questions mister Moreno." Plenty of queries and rumours spinned Valeria's head. Her heartbeat was the only thing she could hear in that hall anymore. She once again glanced at Markos trying to comprehend.
"The culprit has been caught and dealt with. I don't want to disclose more insights about such a shameless act conducted by that person. Let's stick to the major announcement here, I am here to make a presence with my fiance." Markos released Valeria's hand as the woman looked down and shifted her eyes towards him. Markos raised his hand gesturing to the main ingress.