Chapter 19

Marry him at this hour? Stella checked the time. It was already past eleven at night, long after she had showered.

"What do you mean now?" she asked, puzzled.

"This instant," Rowan stopped teasing her earlobe. Instead, he leaned in close and whispered, "Stella, do you want to marry me?"

For a moment, she felt dazed. He had told her many times in her past life that he wanted to marry her. She hated him at first, so of course, she refused. But when she became disfigured later, she didn’t want it even more. Afterward, he stopped asking and stayed quietly by her side.

But Stella had once found a beautiful pair of custom-made wedding rings in his study drawer. He didn’t know that she had secretly slipped one onto her finger, which fit perfectly. However, her hand was covered in ugly scars that, no matter how dazzling the ring was, couldn’t hide her ugliness. She cried a lot that day while wearing the ring. Then, before he came home, she placed it back and acted as cold and aloof as before, as if nothing had happened.

Stella’s silence made Rowan’s breathing grow tense. The room was so quiet that he could hear both of their heartbeats. His hand, which was resting against her slender arm, gradually tightened. "Do you not want to marry me?"

"No." She snapped out of it and quickly added, "I want to marry you."

Rowan’s eyes flickered before he finally turned to meet hers. Her eyes shimmered with tears. His brows furrowed as he brushed his fingertips against the corner of her eye. "Why are you crying?" He wondered if she was forcing herself into marriage and was secretly sad to marry him.

Unexpectedly, Stella responded, "I’m just so happy!" She tightened her arms around his waist before reaching up to clasp them around his neck. She looked directly into his eyes and muttered, "Rowan, I like you so much, and I want to marry you."

His heart clenched painfully as he stared into her bright, tear-filled eyes. If he didn’t know how much she had hated him growing up, if he hadn’t seen that tie clip in her bedroom just a few days ago with a note that said, "Happy birthday, Randy," he might have believed her.

At that moment, he thought whoever said she wasn’t a good actress was wrong because she was brilliant. If she wanted to deceive someone, even her eyes would lie. They looked so sincere that it was enough to make anyone believe she truly loved him. And yet, even knowing it was a lie, Rowan found himself willing to be deceived.

He let out a faint chuckle as his palm traced up her arm to cup her face, and he covered her eyes. "Stella, remember what you just said." His voice dropped to a whisper. "If you lie to me…"

Stella’s eyelashes fluttered against his palm. When she heard his pause, she couldn’t help but ask, "What will happen?" What would he do if she lied?

Then, she felt him lean in closer, his breath warm against her ear as he murmured in a low, husky voice, "Then I’ll tie you up and…" Her eyelashes trembled. She could already guess what he was about to say, and her ears burned red. Sure enough, the last words landed softly in her ear as he teased, "And I’ll make love to you!"