"Mooooommmm! There's a prince in front of our house!"
My niece squealed excitedly as she ran inside after school.
"That is not a prince!" Wena and I shouted in unison.
I sighed, turning to my sister. "Wena, I'm just... unlucky with William. At first, all I wanted was a baby, nothing more. But somehow, it became complicated."
She crossed her arms, exhaling sharply. "I give up, Emma. You're old enough to know right from wrong. You need to consider the consequences of your actions." She gestured toward William, who stood under the apple tree, shielding himself from the scorching midday sun. "Now, what do you plan to do with that?"
Emma hesitated, her eyes flickering toward William. "He said he wasn't married," she murmured, doubt creeping into her voice.
Wena arched an eyebrow. "And you believe him?"
"I don't know," Emma admitted.
Wena sighed, shaking her head. "I can only do so much for you. But if you choose to be with him, you need to stand by your decision. When you choose to believe him, Emma, you have to believe him, only him, no matter what. In any relationship, there will always be external forces, past baggage, and new
challenges. But if you've chosen that person, nothing else matters."
Emma nodded, though inwardly she wrestled with doubt. Why blindly believe someone? she wondered. Isn't seeking the truth what really counts?
Sensing her sister's inner conflict, Wena replied, "What you don't know can't hurt you."
"But isn't the truth important? Didn't you say I have to face this? Facing it means facing the truth" Emma shot back, her voice laced with both challenge and uncertainty.
With a playful yet pointed tone, Wena countered, "Emma, isn't your truth, is that you love him? That you chose to believe him, didn't you?"
Taken aback, Emma hesitated. Deep down, she knew that was her truth. A slow nod confirmed it. Wena's relieved smile said it all. "That's all that really matters," she declared.
Even though Emma loved him, shdesperately wanted to believe William. Yet the whirlwind pace of their connection left her uncertain,
Too much,
Too soon,
Torn between her heart and her need for clarity, she reluctantly let William wait outside while she locked herself in her room to sort through her feelings. She thought once he gets tired he would left.
By noon, Wena's teenage son, Emma's nephew, returned home, his excited chatter
echoing through the house. Downstairs, Wena, ever the pragmatic observer, heard
the lively banter coming from outside. Peering out the window, she saw William deep in conversation with her son as they animatedly discussed cars. William had arrived in his sleek Porsche Spider, and his passion for automobiles clearly captivated the young man.
Wena smiled as she watched them. Though the conversation had begun with car models and engine specs, it soon veered into witty repartee that only deepened their connection. Despite the approaching dinner hour, neither seemed willing to break the flow of their engaging discussion.
Finally, Wena stepped outside and called her son in for dinner. "Ivan it is dinner time, come inside. Then she looked at William, the guy who waited since morning, doesn't have a breakfast, nor lunch, she sighed. "Bring that guy along with you."
William was taken aback, and followed the young Ivan indoors.
Meanwhile, inside her room, Emma wrestled with her feelings—torn between her desire to believe in him and her need for the truth.
As Emma prepared to join dinner, a warm glow and the sound of sweet laughter drifted from the dining room. Peeking around the corner, she saw William, engrossed in his mobile phone as he showed something to Ava.
Ava's delightedgiggles filled the air, and Ivan, Wena's son, leaned in to get a better look,laughing along. Meanwhile, Wena bustled about, serving piping hot soup.
Emma's heart skipped a beat—she couldn't believe William was still lingering. Quickly, she sidestepped and took the long way around to the kitchen, where she waited for her sister to appear. "Why is he still here?" Emma whispered urgently.
Her sister shrugged with a hint of amusement. "It's dinner time, Emma.
What would our neighbors say if they saw a guy waiting on our porch all day?"
Emma rolled her eyes. "Our nearest neighbor is a kilometer away..."
Wena chimed in with a teasing smile, "He loves you, you know. He even keeps a folder of your wackiest pictures on his phone."
"What?!" Emma nearly gasped.
"Yeah," Wena continued, barely containing her laughter, "there's the one where you're sleeping, another of you screaming, and even one of you begging for your life when a cockroach invaded your office. And then
there's that epic showdown with the frying pan while you tried to fry an egg. Hilarious, isn't it? You still don't know how to cook properly!"
Wena set a bowl of mashed potatoes into Emma's hands and added, "Take this to the dining room, and let's eat."
As Emma made her way to the dining room, the lively banter and warm atmosphere mingled with her inner turmoil—a mix of exasperation, affection, and uncertainty about the whirlwind that was William.
When Emma entered the dining room carrying a bowl of mashed potatoes, the
room fell silent. All eyes turned toward her especially William's, whose gaze spoke of a silent plea. Before the tension could deepen, Wena, Emma's ever-cheerful older sister, clapped her hands and declared in a jolly tone, "Let's eat!"
Dinner unfolded with a warm, familial buzz. Ava chattered excitedly about how hilarious it was that her auntie had been terrified of a cockroach and couldn't even fry an egg properly. Laughter bubbled around the table, and even Ivan couldn't help but smile at the familiar, playful teasing.
Throughout the meal, Emma's tender gaze kept drifting toward William. Despite the doubts and uncertainties swirling in her mind, her heart couldn't deny the affection she felt for him—even if his behavior sometimes bordered on obsessive, like his habit of snapping photos of her while she slept.
After dessert, as the evening settled in, William cleared his throat. He turned to Wena, Emma's devoted older sister, and spoke in a measured, earnest tone.
"Wena, I know this may seem sudden, but since Emma is your only living family and the person you love and protect so dearly, may I ask for your blessing to have her hand in marriage?"
Wena's face broke into a delighted smile. Ava giggled uncontrollably, exclaiming, "Oh my gosh!" while Ivan cringed at the unabashed romance unfolding before him.
William then shifted his attention to Emma. With a mix of hope and vulnerability in his eyes, he continued, "Emma, will you marry me?" Slowly, he opened a small box to reveal a Bulgari Serpentine Ring, the very one they had admired together before.
In that charged moment, the room seemed to hold its breath. Emma's heart pounded
as she absorbed the weight of his words and the sincerity in his eyes. But will she say yes?