Staring at Kerr's back, Nicole opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind on second
thought.
She knew he was trying hard to love her the right way and couldn't ignore how much he had changed
for her. It was breaking her heart at the thought of having to let go of him.
But after a whole day, she hadn't come up with a solution.
"What's wrong?"
Kerr turned to Nicole with a loving look in his eyes.
Nicole reached out and put her arms around Kerr's middle, hugging him close to her.
"I just want to hug you."
She wanted to pour her heart and tell Kerr everything but knew that certain things were better if kept
from him.
Kerr could see right through her. Yet he just held her back without questioning what was troubling her.
"I want to take you somewhere."
Kerr lifted Nicole into his arms and led her straight to the car. Once he had her placed on the
passenger's seat, he went around the vehicle and got in the driver's seat. Then, he took off from the
hospital.
"Where are we going? Jay is still in the hospital."
Although Nicole was worried about Jay, she also didn't want to turn Kerr down.
"Jared will take care of him."
With one hand on the steering wheel and the other intertwined with Nicole's, Kerr had a gentle look on
his face.
It was quickly getting dark outside when Nicole looked around the road. Despite the awfully quiet
streets, she couldn't see much nor tell where they were.
Even so, she wasn't worried since she had Kerr by her side.
All of a sudden, the lights on both sides of the road turned on each at a time as if they could detect their
passing car. Slowly, the whole night lit up for them.
As if she was in the middle of a spectacle, Nicole's entire face lifted in awe.
"Did you prepare all this?"
She didn't need for him to answer; the tenderness in his eyes had already confirmed it.
Kerr kept driving until he got to the beach. After he parked, he got off the car and walked to Nicole's
side, quickly having her door opened for her. With an offering hand, he helped her out of the vehicle.
"Close your eyes,"
he whispered to her ear, his voice calm and full of love.
Obediently, Nicole smiled, doing as he said. Then she bit her lower lip, anxious for what would happen
next.
A couple of seconds later, she heard some muffled voices not far from where she stood. But before she
could pay any attention to it, much louder noises burst out.
Squeak... Slap!
The fireworks rose from the ground, glittering in the dark sky.
As soon as she heard the sound, Nicole's eyes popped open in time to witness an enormous red heart
outlined in the dark sky. The light effects made it look like as if it was faintly beating for her. She
couldn't help but wide her eyes in wonder.
"This..."
Before she could even finish, more fireworks were ignited, rising into the sky as they wrote "Nicole
Ning" and then "I love you."
Touched by his gesture, Nicole turned to meet Kerr's gaze.
"Although I've never been much of a fan of these three little words, they're what I feel right now,"
Kerr stated, looking deeply into Nicole's eyes.
He had never bothered with these big gestures before. But after he met Nicole, he seemed to be willing
to try anything just to get a smile out of her.
"I love you, Kerr."
Standing on her tiptoe, Nicole wrapped her arms around Kerr's neck and touched her lips to his.
As they kissed, tears fell out of the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
Kerr allowed himself to get lost in her sweet kiss. He didn't know how long it took him to finally release
her. But when he did, he noticed that she was almost out of breath. Curving his lips, he suddenly
averted his eyes to something else.
Nicole followed his gaze and realized he was watching the glittering water. Although the tide seemed
calm, the sea sparkled everywhere with floating objects that she couldn't quite identify from afar. So
letting go of Kerr's hand, she walked towards them with interest.
Closer to the water, Nicole took her shoes off and left them on the sand before she carried on to get her
toes wet.
At the same time that the cold water seemed to scare her away, it also urged her forward.
When she stepped into a brighter spot close by, Nicole bent down and picked up what she now figured
out that was a drifting bottle. Holding it in her hand, she noticed there was a small piece of paper rolled
inside it.
"There's only one bottle among those with the right words in it. I'll marry you as soon as you find it."
Kerr walked over, watching her with a faint smile.
"Is this your idea of how a man proposes to a woman? In fact, I don't think you plan to marry me at all
like this."
Nicole glared at Kerr, looking a little disappointed.
There were at least hundreds of bottles in that beach, how could she ever find the right one?
"I'll ask someone to get them out of the water so you can bring them home and take your time looking
for it."
Kerr raised his hand to stroke her long hair, his eyes ever so cunning.
Nicole turned her gaze towards the sea once more. With her expression suddenly locking down, she
couldn't help but feel that her journey with Kerr was as challenging as finding the right bottle amongst
hundreds.
Even though she would take all the bottles for herself, it wouldn't be an easy task to find the one she
wanted.
"Are you having second thoughts because of the challenge?"
Without concealing the hint of provocation from his voice, Kerr reached out to put an arm around her
shoulders.
"What are you implying? That I'm easy to scare? I just don't see how any of this is fair. It feels like I'm
begging you to marry me."
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