Chapter 36

I never imagined in my wildest dreams that a man I’d only met twice would want to marry me. Meanwhile, the man I’d loved for ten years was secretly seeing someone else.

After a moment of shock, I smiled at Hayden. “Isn’t this a bit too sudden?”

Hayden remained serious. “Isn’t dating supposed to lead to marriage? Since you don’t want to date, let’s just get married.”

He had a point. But seriously, who casually suggests marriage to someone they barely know? This might work in fiction, but this was real life.

I raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Do you propose this quickly to every girl you meet?”

The setting sun cast long shadows, and Hayden’s shadow enveloped me. “You’re the first.”

A prickle of discomfort rose in my throat. “We… don’t know each other well.”

Hayden said nothing more, and we stood in silence. Heat crept over my skin, and even my nose began to sweat. As I nervously scratched the wall behind me, searching for something to say, Hayden broke the silence. “I’m heading out to buy the fish.”

“I don’t eat cilantro,” I blurted out.

Hayden simply nodded and walked away.

Watching him go, I couldn’t help but notice his tall, straight posture. At over six feet, he projected an aura of security beneath the evening sun. A bold thought crossed my mind: maybe marriage with someone like him wouldn’t be so bad. After all, he had been a soldier, a man tested by the nation, probably tough enough to handle anything life threw at him.

When I returned to the rental, Macy was nowhere to be found. Otherwise, she would have cornered me with questions or tried to extol Hayden’s virtues.

I opened the door to my room, and my phone buzzed on the bed. It was a call from Lena.

“How was the first day of your trip? Any fun or new discoveries?” Lena’s voice sounded tired. She wasn’t called a medical prodigy for nothing, often spending five to six hours straight in surgery.

I lay on the bed, replaying the day’s events. Finally, I replied to Lena, “Does a romantic encounter count as a discovery?”

“What? That sounds exciting!” Lena’s voice perked up as if she’d just had a shot of espresso.

I chuckled and told her about Hayden.

Lena sighed, “Rea, when one door closes, another opens.”

“You haven’t even met him. How can you be sure it’s a door? Besides, I’m not ready for this,” I said, feeling a chill run through me.

“A guy who wants to marry you right away can only mean one thing: he fell for you at first sight,” Lena declared, sounding certain.

I snorted. “Why not just say he finds me attractive?” I was confident in my appearance, having won a beauty pageant.

“You said he was a soldier. Trust the nation,” Lena’s logic mirrored my own.

I didn’t respond, so Lena continued. “I was worried you’d be lonely on this trip, but with this romantic twist, I’m sure you’ll get over Jace’s betrayal soon enough.”

Just hearing Jace’s name brought a mix of resentment and breathlessness. I hadn’t felt this way yesterday. Now, the feeling made me slightly nauseous, as if I might need to rush to the bathroom. For some reason, whenever I was nervous, upset, or unsettled, my stomach reacted.

“Rea, if I were you, I’d marry the soldier, bring him to meet the Johnstons, and show that jerk what he’s missing. It’d save you the trouble of dealing with his family,” Lena said. Despite being an angel to newborns, she could be quite ruthless.