Filed to story: Healing My Disabled Husband Novel
Aimee was happy throughout the event. However, as time passed, Patrick began to feel uneasy.
Finally, he realized what was wrong. Ridge suddenly announced that he wanted to give Aimee a gift after all of Patrick’s planned activities were finished. This was not part of Patrick’s plan.
Patrick looked at Ridge and his suspicion grew stronger. He knew Ridge was up to something.
On stage, Ridge gave a heartfelt speech for Aimee that almost made her cry. This made Patrick even more upset because he didn’t want Aimee crying on her birthday.
Ridge then turned his attention towards Mia who was sitting in the audience crying. Everyone’s attention shifted towards Mia when Ridge said her name.
Tilly looked at Ridge with bright eyes as if she knew what was happening while Ben glared at Patrick thinking they were in cahoots with each other.
It finally dawned on Patrick what had been bothering him all along – this proposal wasn’t part of his plan but it seemed like everyone else thought it was!
As Ridge got down on one knee and proposed to Mia in front of everyone, all eyes turned back towards them leaving poor old Patrick feeling helpless and unable to do anything about it without looking like a party pooper!
Aimee held Patrick’s hand and said, “If I had known this was the case, I would have helped Ridge.”
Patrick was about to have a heart attack from anger.
If Aimee went to help Ridge, Patrick could be sure that Ben would really come with a knife to hold him accountable.
Ridge wasn’t much of a talker. He had always been the cold type since birth.
After taking over the company in recent years, he was forced to say a lot more words than before.
But today was the first time he stood on stage and spoke so much.
At this moment, Ridge looked at Mia and his eyes turned red first.
Ridge said, “Mia, I know that many times I’ve been too domineering. I never asked for your opinion when making you my girlfriend all these years. You’ve always tolerated me. Today, once again without asking for your opinion, I want to change our status.”
Ridge was actually very nervous. He never knew that he could sometimes stumble over his words. Of course, Ridge didn’t realize that he was talking like a chatterbox right now, blabbering on and on about things that didn’t really matter.
Despite this, Mia was crying uncontrollably.
This broke Ben’s heart.
Ben even wanted to pull Ridge aside and talk some sense into him. But how could he do that? He couldn’t risk upsetting his daughter. She seemed so soft-spoken and gentle, easily swayed by Ridge’s charm. They had been together for years without any clear direction or commitment.
But Ben knew better than to say anything negative about Ridge. If he did, the first person who would turn against him would be his own daughter – the one person whose opinion mattered most to him.
He had always hoped to keep Mia around for a few more years before she settled down with anyone –
unlike Beata and Mikayla who got married as soon as they turned 18.
But just because Mia hadn’t gotten married yet didn’t mean Ben wasn’t worried about her future with
Ridge.
Right now, as Ridge poured out his heart in front of everyone present at the gathering – their parents, uncles and aunts, cousins… everyone important in their lives – there wasn’t much Ben could do but accept it all gracefully.
Ridge took out a box from his pocket and knelt down in front of Mia while she tried to pull him up by holding onto his hand tightly.
Ridge opened the box slowly while looking at Mia intently before saying, “Mia… today is special because everyone we love is here with us today- our parents, uncles and aunties , brothers and sisters- all those people who are important in our lives are here today… and I want you to know how much I love you.”
As soon as those last words left Ridge’s mouth, “Will you marry me?” tears welled up in both their eyes;
twenty long years of waiting finally came true for them both.
For twenty long years since childhood when they were still figuring out what love meant, they had only each other on their minds; building dreams together of having a family someday which now seemed within reach.
And so it happened- two hearts beating as one finally came together under one roof surrounded by family members cheering them on; ready to start building their own little home filled with love, happiness and laughter!
When he reached the legal age for marriage, he wanted to propose to Mia. However, at that time, he still felt that his wings needed to be more fully developed.
Now, he had achieved it. He can cast aside everything and confidently tell everyone that he can take care of Mia and give her happiness.
So even though Ridge knew that choosing to propose on this occasion today might really get him killed by his father, he chose to do so without hesitation.
Today was the day when all important people were present. He couldn’t think of a more perfect day than today.
Mia nodded vigorously and said, “I do.”
“I do” had always been “I do”. Ever since Ridge kissed her on the stairs in middle school, she had already agreed.
Ridge was truly excited and tears fell from his eyes instantly. He quickly wiped away the tears and took out the ring before putting it on Mia’s finger.
Ridge devoutly kissed Mia’s hand before standing up. Regardless of how many elders were present or how many younger siblings or children were around them, Ridge grabbed the back of Mia’s head and kissed her passionately.
Mia was a very shy person by nature. Over the years, although Ridge had helped her become more outgoing, in situations like this, when Ridge kissed her, she still felt nervous to the point that her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.
However, Mia had no intention of pushing Ridge away and never even thought about it for a moment.
Today, Mia didn’t want to do anything. She just wanted to indulge herself completely.
In response to Ridge’s kiss, Mia seemed to have poured all of her lifelong passion into this moment.
It was still Ridge’s timely braking.
He was so excited by Mia’s response that he could hardly contain himself.
If it weren’t for a little bit of sanity left, Ridge would really devour Mia alive.
Hugging Mia tightly, Ridge looked at Ben and Tilly and said, “Uncle Lee, Auntie, don’t worry. I will always treat Mia well and never let her suffer in this lifetime.”
Tilly was already full of tears, as expected of the son-in-law she had chosen at first sight back then. He really deserved it.
Ben was utterly speechless, his daughter being taken away like that, and his wife being made to cry.
Ben really wanted to beat the hell out of Ridge, that little jerk.
However, in the end, accepting the reality, Ben said, “Remember what you said today.”
Ridge looked back at his parents and when he met Patrick’s gaze, he still felt a bit nervous.
Ever since he was born, those two had never gotten along. They had always found pleasure in teasing and belittling each other.
However, at this moment, Ridge still said, “Dad, thank you.”
Patrick’s heart suddenly felt as if it had been poked by something.
Originally, he had planned out how he was going to settle accounts with Ridge after returning.
However, these words made Patrick’s eyes well up with tears directly.
There was no reason for a parent not to love their own son.
Until now, Patrick really felt that his son had grown up.
Ridge looked at Aimee and said, “Mom, I took the liberty of assuming that you want a daughter-in-law.”
Aimee said, “I hope that you and Mia will be happy forever.”
Ridge nodded vigorously and held Mia’s hand tightly, exerting some force unconsciously.
Mia was made to feel a little sore by him, but she didn’t cry out in pain.
Her mood was also very excited.
Although her relationship with Ridge was assumed, everything seemed natural and she never thought about having any kind of ceremony.
She had already prepared herself for this moment. But now, Ridge had given her such a grand proposal that Mia couldn’t calm down for a long time. Her mind was in a daze and many times she wondered if all of this was really happening.
However, the ring on her finger and Ridge’s strength around her waist were telling her that yes, all of this was really happening. Ridge had proposed to her and she said yes.
Mia looked at Patrick and Aimee and said, “Uncle Patrick, Aunt Aimee, I will be very good to Ridge.”
Ridge lowered his gaze to Mia again and his eyes turned red once more. He wasn’t an emotional person but at this moment he couldn’t control himself. The girl he loved had agreed to marry him.
Aimee’s birthday could be said to have been a success for many people. Ridge was the biggest winner, of course. After the birthday banquet ended, there was no pause as they immediately began discussing marriage plans.
Patrick didn’t waste any time because he knew that if he gave Ben a chance to react, who knew what kind of trouble he would cause. Although Patrick wasn’t happy that Ridge didn’t give him any heads up before making such a big decision, since it was already done and dusted, they naturally had to make hay while the sun shines.
If his son couldn’t propose smoothly and easily, then how could he expect himself to succeed in asking for their hand in marriage? Ben knew exactly what Patrick was thinking. If it were another time, he would have had a tug-of-war with Patrick.
However, today he really didn’t have the energy. The key issue was that this shameless Patrick had completely turned into an all-out Hayden family mobilization force. Without even adding anyone else in the mix – just having members of the Hayden family present – it was already grandiose and felt like a gang of bandits instead of proposing; it was clearly eloping!
Eden and Damion were there just for entertainment purposes but River and Ash naturally fell into line with the Hayden family camp along with Douglas and Yael; they all became part of the Hayden family camp.
This made Ben seem particularly pitiful on his side. Eden and Damion couldn’t stand by idly so they brought their whole families over to support Ben but unfortunately outnumbered by too much against them from the Hayden Family.
Nathalie quietly moved over to Emanuel’s side asking softly, “If this were between us two instead, how would we calculate our own camps?”
Knowing her understanding about Ben well enough now, Nathalie said, “The situation is very dangerous.”
However Emanuel hadn’t been listening at all as his gaze lingered on Nathalie’s face carefully studying every expression she made until Nathalie finished analyzing everything when Emanuel said, “You agreed.”
There was a momentary confusion on Nathalie’s face as she hadn’t realized yet what she had agreed upon, but then her face turned red right after realizing what happened.
Without looking away, Nathalie said, “I just felt envious suddenly so I wanted to try too.”
Emanuel repeated again,”You agreed.”
Nathalie furrowed her brows and blushed even more deeply. She found that she really couldn’t resist a man like Emanuel. He seemed to need a definite answer. Otherwise, he wouldn’t understand anything at all.
Suddenly, Nathalie turned her head and looked at Emanuel, saying, “If you don’t want me to agree, just say so.”
Emanuel immediately grabbed Nathalie’s hand and said, “Once you agree, you can’t go back on your word.”
“Who’s going back on their word? Who wants to go back on their word?” Nathalie was angry and forgot where they were. Her voice suddenly rose.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned towards them.
The whole room fell silent.
Even Ridge was dumbfounded. What did this mean? One tit for tat?
He stole Patrick’s thunder and now Nathalie was stealing his thunder in discussing his wedding with
Mia!
Nathalie finally noticed the gazes of the people around them and subconsciously wanted to retract her hand. However, her strength was no match for Emanuel’s grip.
Patrick was lost in thought for a long time, his gaze fixed on Emanuel’s hand holding Nathalie’s.
Well, perhaps Patrick had suffered enough blows today that he was now very calm.
Not only was there calmness, but there was even a hint of tranquility in his heart.
This feeling was very mysterious.
He had gained a daughter-in-law and married off a daughter, which was very fair.
However, in hindsight, Patrick still felt that it was a heart attack.
And at this moment, Ben finally let out a particularly sincere laugh.
Patrick cast a sharp glance at Ben, who provocatively stared back at him.
Both of them were robbed of their precious daughter today, and neither of them fared better than the other.
Among the crowd present, there was one person with even more complicated feelings.
That was River.
He had previously speculated whether his son had feelings for Nathalie, especially since many members of the Knight family were sent by Emanuel to protect her.
But what Emanuel said at the time was that the business Miles talked to him about was something he wanted to keep in-house and not share with outsiders.
After all the effort, it meant that the benefits were kept within one’s own circle and not shared with others.
However, now River was in a particularly awkward situation.