Several minutes before…
Silence had reigned inside the twin’s bedroom. The atmosphere remained warm and gentle, yet there was a heavy tension brimming in Alicia and Zeke’s eyes as they gazed at each other without speaking.
Alicia’s heart continued pounding hard and was unable to calm down. She could feel that he was going to say something that will definitely shock her entire being. She could not tell though, if it was to be either good news or bad.
“I think… I’ll tuck Alice back into bed first. I don’t want her waking up suddenly now that she is asleep.” Alicia said in a low voice, tearing her gaze from Zeke and looking down at the little bundle of joy that was still sleeping peacefully in her arms.
Zeke nodded wordlessly and they both stood. He was careful and quiet as he assisted Alicia in tucking the baby back into her cot.
After that, they both just stood there, hands holding onto each other’s as they watched Alice suck her thumb to pacify herself while sleeping.
They just looked so cuddly and warm, all tucked into their individual cots, each covered with a baby flannel blanket. Alexis was covered with a pewter grey one while Alice was covered with a pistachio green one. Both babies must have clearly enjoyed its soft, cozy feel, since it was doing a good job keeping them perfectly warm and comfortable as they dozed on in dreamland.
“Goodnight, you two.” She whispered to both the twins, giving them a soft gentle smile before lifting her gaze back to Zeke.
He seemed to be out of it again for a moment as he stared down at the babies.
Alicia squeezed on his hand to get his attention. She liked watching him being seemingly out of touch with reality while looking at the babies or at her. Simply because it was just so rare for this man to have such a look in his eyes. Too bad she had to interrupt this wonderful moment and prompt him to say whatever it was that he wanted to say.
She was dying to know what it was. And she could not wait any longer because she feared that they might get interrupted again. Somehow, this seemed to be the trend of things whenever they were about to speak on important matters.
Zeke faced her. His gaze was locked straight onto hers.
Then there it was, the rare vulnerability that he had only ever show when it was just between the two of them. He looked at her like his heart was now fully opened, his soul completely bared to her. He had nothing to hide and no secrets to keep from her.
“Alicia…” her name rolled from his lips in a low but clear voice.
She made a small sound, letting him know that she had heard him, as she tilted her head a little as she waited. Trying her best to stay composed.
Zeke dropped his gaze and stared down at their connected hands for a long time. He fiddled with her fingers while keeping his eyes downcast.
When more than several seconds had passed and he still had yet to continue speaking, Alicia blinked at him, unsure if she should interrupt his silent contemplation. He was still looking at her fingers, still fiddling with them gently. She could not help but press her lips together to stop the grin from threatening to burst. He just looks too cute with the way he was behaving now.
His face looked extremely serious. The lines between his brows might even be deeper than the Mariana Trench right now.
Actually, this should not make her want to grin like the Cheshire cat. But… this was Ezekiel that she was looking at. It was just that… this man never acted like this whenever he has something to say! He was always decisive and straight to the point, never one to drag things on nor put off the inevitable. So seeing him behaving this way was really a rare occasion, even rarer than seeing the corpse flower bloom.
“Ezekiel?” she called out softly to catch his attention, raising her brow at him. “You’re not waiting for someone to interrupt us again, are you?” she could not help but tease him.
He caught his lips between his perfect white teeth and released them so sexily slow.
“Right.” he nodded as if encouraging himself. “I need to tell you now before someone else comes and interrupt us again.”
He rubbed the back of his neck as though he was struggling to say what he wanted to speak of and then placed his loosely clenched palm near his mouth. After clearing his throat, Zeke dropped his hand and shoved it into his pocket. His deep grey eyes lifted and locked onto hers as he took in a couple of breaths as though to calm himself.
His hand that was holding hers lifted and he brought her hand to his lips. A soft kiss landed on the back of her knuckles as he stared at her through his thick dark lashes.
Once he slowly lowered her hand, he said…
“Marry me, Alicia.” His voice was low as it vibrated with profound emotions.
Time stood still. Alicia’s lips parted as her body just went completely catatonic. She was shaken at those three words that had been suddenly thrown at her.
“F*ck…” he suddenly cursed under his breath, as if he realized that he had just made an irreversible mistake, causing Alicia to immediately snap out of the massive shock that was still rocking her system.
“H-huh?” was all she could respond with, considering that her mind was still spinning at what he had just said. The fact that she could already respond and was not frozen solid was already a good thing.
“I’m sorry.” He pinched the area between his brows as he squeezed his eyes tightly together before tilting up his head and looked at Alicia somewhat guiltily. “That… that might have sounded like a command…”
Alicia could only blink again while he composed himself.
This time, his gaze on her became more focused, more intense and more open to her at the same time.
“Alicia… will you marry me?”
