Chapter 72: Ansel suggested that Erica get married soon
“Is it true, Ansel? Or are you joking with me?” Erica asked as she tried to sort out the jumble in her mind.
“Erica, I’m serious.” Ansel gently spoke, his sincere eyes affirming that he was not lying.
“Why me? Why do you have to do this?” That’s what Erica could blurt out after Ansel’s surprising request. Just two days ago, Ansel had proposed to Erica, and now he was asking to get married early. Erica was truly overwhelmed and lost her composure for a moment.
“To quell negative rumors, a wedding is necessary.” Knowing Erica was confused and needed an explanation, Ansel quickly did what needed to be done, which was to persuade Erica: “Many people doubt my decision. I don’t want people to think that my proposal was just a joke or that I did it to abandon Desi. I cannot let Desi and her family succeed in destroying me and the Brown family.”
“You decided to propose to me because you wanted to leave Desi.” Erica suddenly interrupted with a blunt question. The truth was that Erica really wanted to know Ansel’s honest answer.
Ansel was unhappy when Erica doubted and misjudged him. But Ansel understood that Erica had the right to do so. Ansel’s reaction was not to get angry but to make Erica trust him. That’s why Ansel decided to tell Erica the truth.
“Erica. I never intended to marry Desi. The event that night was single-handedly organized by my mother. She wanted me to propose to Desi. So obviously I didn’t abandon Desi; I just wanted to live for myself.”
“Why don’t you do the same? Desi is a good girl.” Erica commented, “You two are dating too.”
Ansel smiled faintly, sighed, and continued:
“It’s true that Desi and I are dating. But over time, I realized I wasn’t in love with Desi.”
Erica was a bit surprised by Ansel’s honest revelation. When she didn’t know what to say, Ansel continued:
“Strange, isn’t it? But it’s true. I realized I didn’t love Desi. So I don’t want to marry her.”Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
“I don’t understand; if you don’t love Desi, why don’t you tell your parents and let Desi know as well?”
In response to Erica’s valid question, Ansel didn’t want to reveal more information than necessary, but he felt compelled to tell her the truth so that she wouldn’t misunderstand him.
“Erica, actually, I planned to follow my parents’ wishes and propose to Desi on that night. But before that event happened, I accidentally discovered a sad truth.” Ansel’s voice suddenly lowered, making Erica concerned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I discovered that Desi had betrayed me.” Ansel looked into Erica’s eyes and spoke honestly: “She had been secretly seeing another man. That man was none other than my friend.”
“Is that true?” Erica found it hard to believe. Why did things go so wrong? Was Ansel lying or making it up? Erica wondered but then dismissed her doubts as she looked into Ansel’s resolute gaze.
“It’s true.” Ansel verified it again. Erica covered her mouth in surprise at the shocking news.
“Believe me, Erica. Right on that night. I saw with my own eyes the two of them talking and having overly intimate actions.” Ansel suddenly trailed off, knowing that Erica was smart enough to understand what he was referring to.
“How did you feel then? Were you angry?” Erica asked with concern.
“Of course I was angry; I wanted to burst into the room and ask. But I didn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t love Desi.” Ansel affirmed again: “If I loved Desi, I would have really lost control. But no, I am not jealous, nor do I feel my heart hurt when I see Desi intimate with another man. On the contrary, I feel relieved that there are enough reasons to refuse Desi to be my wife.”
“Was that the reason why you looked so gloomy and dejected when I met you?” Erica asked further.
“Yes.” Ansel shared honestly: “At that time, I was almost lost and didn’t know what to do. Should I follow my mother’s arrangement or not? But after talking to you, I had the courage to make a decisive decision. I planned to talk privately with my parents about canceling the engagement with Desi. However, I didn’t have time, as my father had announced the event to everyone.”
There was a moment of silence as Ansel paused to gather courage.
“So there was no other way; you had to continue. But instead of proposing to Desi, you proposed to me?” Erica spoke the words that Ansel had not dared to say. Ansel really wanted to deny it and say that he was genuinely proposing to her. But suddenly remembering Erica’s words that she only saw him as a friend, Ansel was discouraged and could only nod in agreement.
Seeing Erica’s silence, her expression was contemplative. Fearing that Erica would have bad thoughts and be angry with her, Ansel nervously explained:
“Sorry Erica, I didn’t mean to…”
“Ansel.” Erica interrupted, posing an unexpected question to Ansel: “At that time, if your father hadn’t fainted, you were going to expose Desi, weren’t you?”
“I had no intention of doing that in the first place,” Ansel defended himself. “It was only because she was behaving so outrageously that I lost my composure.”
“I think Desi was just acting out of ordinary emotions. If I were in Desi’s situation, not committing adultery but being rejected and humiliated by my boyfriend in front of a crowd, I would probably go crazy like Desi, maybe even worse.” Erica shared her perspective, based on Desi’s position. Erica was also a woman, so she felt sympathy for Desi.
“I don’t care how Desi feels,” Ansel declared coldly, causing Erica to raise her eyebrows in disapproval. Fearing that Erica might misunderstand her again, Ansel immediately explained:
“Desi betrayed me. She showed no remorse, even shamelessly challenging me and deliberately distorting my reputation in front of everyone. She completely deserves my behavior. Erica, you don’t have to feel sorry for Desi.”
Ansel is right; Desi’s thoughtless actions that night were not appropriate. No matter what, Desi should have calmly dealt with it. However, Erica still feels sorry for Desi.
“I understand you have a good reason, but why don’t you be more lenient? Desi is a woman after all.”
“I tried to restrain myself by ignoring Desi’s silly behavior. But in the end, I couldn’t stand it and got angry because Desi did something that I couldn’t accept.” Ansel shyly explained.
“What? What did Desi do?” Erica asked curiously. She forgot what Desi did to her that night. Ansel once again desperately wanted to confide in Erica about her feelings, but then decided to continue avoiding the topic. At this point, it wouldn’t be nice to say that he was angry because Desi offended Erica. Ansel didn’t want Erica to feel confused and awkward.
“Nothing.”
Seeing that Ansel didn’t want to talk, Erica didn’t force him either.
Silence did not last long when Ansel took the initiative to speak up. He brought the story back to its right focus at the beginning.
“Sorry, Erica. I got you in trouble,” Ansel said guiltily. “But can you help me again?”
“You mean we’re getting married?” Erica asked again.
“That’s right,” Ansel insisted. “Married in a month.”
Erica felt confused and worried when Ansel proposed marriage in such a short time. She didn’t know what to think or do to help Ansel and the Brown family. However, she still wanted to help Ansel and did everything she could to save the situation. Erica looked up and softly said:
“You don’t have to apologize for asking me. I’ll help you because I know it’s the right thing to do. We’ll be married within a month, as you wish.”
Ansel felt happy when he learned that Erica was willing to help and had agreed to marry him in such a short time. He said:
“Thank you so much, Erica. I will do everything to ensure that we will have a wonderful wedding.”
“There’s no need to be so serious; we’re just getting married fake anyways,” Erica suggested hesitantly. “Ansel, do you think we should make a marriage contract? I mean, like in a good movie…”
“If you want to, then let’s do it.” Ansel understood what Erica meant. It’s true that Ansel doesn’t want to, but for Erica’s sake, he will reluctantly agree.
“So that’s the decision,” Erica replied, feeling very conflicted inside. Erica secretly blamed Ansel for not speaking out against her proposal for a marriage contract.
“Do you want me to do something for you?” Ansel sincerely asked, “Anything, please just say.”
“I don’t need anything, Ansel.” Erica waved her hand in refusal. “Don’t worry about it.”
But Ansel insisted:
“You have helped me a lot. Please accept my sincere gratitude. Only then will I feel at ease.”
Faced with Ansel’s earnest request, Erica couldn’t bear to refuse, so she nodded in agreement.
“If you say so, could you help me retrieve what belongs to me from Kora?” Erica mentioned something that suddenly popped into her mind.
“Sure. I’ll do that,” Ansel said. “I’ll include it in the contract.”
“Thank you, Ansel.” Erica smiled, and Ansel responded with a similar smile.