Chapter 133: The Proper Proposal

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: The Proper Proposal

Zoya stood in front of her massive bedroom mirror, aggressively adjusting the collar of her sharp silk blouse.

Audrey and Chloe were sitting on the edge of her perfectly made bed. They had come over earlier that afternoon to help her organize some case files, but for the last twenty minutes, they had just been watching Zoya pace around the room.

Audrey narrowed her eyes. She noticed Zoya was being unusually particular about absolutely everything.

"Why are you dressed like you’re going somewhere important?" Audrey asked.

Zoya didn’t look up from her jewelry box. "Jackson asked me out."

Chloe paused mid-sip of her water.

"Jackson?" Chloe asked blankly.

Audrey looked at Chloe. Then she looked back at Zoya.

"Jackson?" Audrey repeated.

Zoya finally stopped checking her earrings. She looked at both of them in the mirror.

"Yes," Zoya said smoothly. "Jackson."

Total silence fell over the bedroom.

Chloe blinked rapidly. "You and Jackson?"

"Since when?" Audrey demanded immediately, standing up from the bed.

Zoya entirely ignored both questions. She picked up a second pair of gold earrings and compared them against her skin.

Chloe stared at her. "Zoya."

Nothing.

"How long?" Chloe pressed.

Still nothing.

Audrey folded her arms across her chest. "Are you seriously ignoring us?"

Zoya calmly set the earrings down. She picked up her expensive leather purse and smoothed down the front of her tailored trousers.

"I have a date," Zoya announced flatly.

Chloe looked at Audrey in total disbelief. Audrey looked at Chloe. Neither of them understood anything that was currently happening.

Zoya walked toward the bedroom door. Then, without even turning around, she dropped a massive bomb.

"And he’s probably going to propose," Zoya added casually.

Both women froze on the bed.

"What?!" Chloe screamed.

Zoya kept walking right out the door.

Audrey practically ran into the hallway to catch up with her.

"Wait," Audrey grabbed Zoya’s arm. "Why do you think he’s proposing today?"

Zoya turned around and finally explained her logical reasoning.

"Because he already asked me to marry him," Zoya said simply.

Chloe’s jaw actually dropped open. She leaned against the bedroom doorframe. "He WHAT?"

Zoya calmly explained that Jackson had casually proposed when he came to her apartment the other night. She told them she had refused him because it wasn’t a proper proposal and absolutely everything had happened entirely too quickly.

"So," Zoya concluded smoothly, "this date is obviously the real proposal."

Audrey stared at her as if she had grown a second head.

"You rejected his first proposal, and now you’re expecting another one?" Audrey asked slowly.

"I rejected the way he proposed," Zoya corrected strictly. "Not the question."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "And you’re absolutely sure he’s going to try again today?"

Zoya gave her a confident look.

"Completely," Zoya stated.

She turned and walked out the front door, leaving her two best friends standing dumbfounded in her entryway.

Audrey and Chloe slowly exchanged a heavy look.

"She is definitely getting engaged today," Chloe whispered.

Jackson picked Zoya up exactly at six o’clock.

When she slid into the passenger seat of his car, she immediately noticed something strange. He was entirely relaxed. He was almost suspiciously relaxed.

Zoya covertly studied him throughout the entire drive.

She looked for any signs. Nothing.

There was no nervous tapping against the steering wheel. There was no mysterious square box bulging in his jacket pocket. There were no suspicious phone calls from jewelry stores.

Zoya told herself he was just good at hiding it.

Jackson didn’t take her to an extravagant, Michelin-starred restaurant. Instead, he took her to a beautiful, quiet botanical garden attached to a small, private café on the edge of the city.

It was a place they had actually visited once during their freshman year of university. It was deeply meaningful.

They ate outside under the hanging lights. They laughed. They talked about her law firm. They talked about the youth academy kids. They talked about their adult lives.

And the entire time, Zoya kept waiting for the big moment.

The first false alarm happened right after dessert.

Jackson suddenly shifted in his chair and reached inside his jacket.

Zoya immediately looked at him. Her heart did a tiny, excited flip. She straightened her posture.

He pulled out his ringing cell phone.

Zoya’s sharp expression instantly fell flat.

Jackson silenced the call and noticed her face.

"What?" Jackson asked.

"Nothing," Zoya lied smoothly.

He looked highly amused. "You looked disappointed."

"I didn’t," Zoya snapped quickly.

"Right," Jackson murmured, returning the phone to his pocket.

Twenty minutes later, they were walking out of the café. Jackson reached into his trouser pocket.

Zoya stopped walking and looked.

He pulled out his car keys.

Again, a flash of pure disappointment crossed her face.

Jackson definitely noticed this time. His dark eyes locked onto hers for a split second, but he didn’t say a single word.

The day continued perfectly.

They moved from the gardens to a quiet walk through the city park. They grabbed coffee. They found a quiet spot on a hill overlooking the city skyline as the late afternoon approached.

The date was actually wonderful. They didn’t argue once.

And that was exactly the problem.

Because Jackson absolutely wasn’t behaving like a man frantically preparing to propose. He was simply enjoying being with her. He was calm, present, and unbothered.

Zoya slowly became confused.

Then, she became worried.

Then, she became deeply disappointed.

She had vividly imagined this entire day in her head. She had practically written the ending clause herself. She was a woman who lived by strict logic, and logically, today was supposed to be the day.

The sun began to disappear below the horizon. The sky darkened into deep purple and orange.

Zoya watched the city lights turn on.

Still absolutely nothing.

Jackson didn’t kneel. He didn’t reach into his pocket again. He didn’t say anything remotely resembling a heavy proposal.

Zoya started feeling genuinely sad.

It wasn’t because she desperately needed a diamond ring right this second. It was because somewhere along the way, she had allowed herself to drop her guard and believe that this was finally happening.

She thought she had understood his intentions. Now, she wondered if she had misunderstood absolutely everything.

Maybe the proposal at her apartment wasn’t something he ever intended to repeat. Maybe he only asked because the emotional tension had been so high that night. Maybe today was simply just a nice date.

She firmly locked her jaw and hid her heavy disappointment.

Jackson noticed the shift in her mood. But he didn’t immediately ask.

They were walking back down the hill toward his parked car. The date was officially ending.

Jackson glanced at her.

"You’re quiet," Jackson noted softly.

"I’m tired," Zoya replied stiffly.

"You’re lying."

She stopped walking and looked at him. "Why do you keep saying that to me?"

"Because you’re terrible at it," Jackson said smoothly.

She almost smiled, but the heavy weight in her chest wouldn’t let it last.

Jackson studied her face in the dim streetlight.

"Did I do something wrong?" Jackson asked gently.

"No."

"Zoya."

She let out a frustrated sigh.

"No, Jackson. You didn’t do anything," Zoya answered.

And that was exactly what made her so sad. He didn’t do anything. The day was ending, and she still hadn’t gotten the thing she expected.

Zoya assumed they were simply heading toward the car to go home.

She glanced down at her expensive watch. It was late. The day was officially over.

And that was when the profound disappointment finally settled properly into her bones. She had been so entirely certain. Now, she just felt foolish for getting her hopes up.

I really thought he was going to ask me, Zoya thought sadly.

She was so lost in her own head that she didn’t realize Jackson had stopped walking.

She took another step forward. Then, she noticed he was no longer walking beside her.

Zoya turned around.

Jackson was standing there on the quiet path.

He looked at her.

There was no extravagant restaurant. There was no massive crowd of people clapping. There was no elaborate, overly dramatic setup.

It was just him.

He slowly reached into his pocket.

Zoya’s heart stopped beating.

He walked slowly toward her.

"Zoya," Jackson said softly.

She absolutely couldn’t speak. Her voice vanished.

He took her hand in his.

Then, Jackson Pierce got down on one knee.

It was so obvious now. The entire day suddenly made perfect sense. The strange, quiet route. The isolated places. The way he kept watching her every time she looked disappointed. The way he refused to rush anything.

Zoya’s eyes immediately filled with hot tears.

Jackson smiled slightly, looking up at her beautiful, shocked face.

"Last time, I asked you because I couldn’t keep waiting," Jackson said, his deep voice steady.

He squeezed her hand.

"This time, I wanted to do it properly."

Jackson looked directly into her wet eyes.

He told her he didn’t want another hidden arrangement. He didn’t want stolen moments in boardrooms or seven more years of wondering.

He wanted her openly. He wanted a life with her that neither of them had to hide from.

Then, he asked the question she had been waiting for all day.

"Zoya, will you marry me?"

Zoya let out a watery, genuine laugh through her tears.

For the very first time in her entire life, the brilliant, sharp-tongued corporate lawyer had absolutely nothing prepared to say. She covered her mouth with her free hand.

Jackson waited patiently on one knee. He didn’t pressure her.

Finally, she pulled her hand away.

"Yes," Zoya whispered.

Jackson’s broad shoulders immediately loosened, like he had been holding his breath for seven years.

Zoya laughed harder, a beautiful, free sound.

"Yes, you idiot," Zoya cried.

Jackson stood up. Zoya threw her arms tightly around his neck.

And this time, when he kissed her under the streetlights, there was absolutely no uncertainty about what they were.

Later that night, Zoya sat comfortably beside Jackson on the sofa in his apartment, staring mesmerized at the beautiful ring on her finger.

She finally looked up at him.

"You really made me think you weren’t going to propose today," Zoya accused softly.

Jackson smiled, pulling her closer to his side. "I know."

"You knew exactly what I was waiting for."

"I suspected," Jackson admitted.

She narrowed her dark eyes. "You enjoyed watching me suffer."

"A little," Jackson chuckled.

She hit his solid shoulder. He just laughed and kissed the top of her head.

Zoya looked down at the ring again.

For seven long years, she had aggressively treated love like a complex legal problem that could be solved through enough strict logic and rules.

Now, she had a ring on her finger.

And somehow, the final answer was painfully, beautifully simple.

Zoya had spent the entire day waiting for the question. She never expected the answer to change her life.