Chapter 346 Will You Marry Me?
Not far away, there was Francis, along with, as rumored, his first love.
I frowned. "Sophia, can you go chat with Elissa for a bit? I need to handle something."
Sophia nodded and went to distract Elissa, blocking her view in the process.
I made a beeline for Jerry.
Jerry had already noticed and was heading towards Francis.
Jerry sneered, "Some friend you are. On a happy day like this, you show up to ruin the party."
Before Francis could say anything, Jared piped up, "How's this ruining the party? No other ex-girlfriends of Francis are here."
Francis shot him a look. "Shut up."
Jared looked hurt. "I'm just sticking up for you."
Francis ignored him and looked at Jerry, but his eyes drifted past him to Elissa.
Jerry stepped aside, blocking his view completely.
Francis knew what Jerry meant by "a happy day"—it wasn't just a birthday party, but also a proposal.
He said, "I'm not here to crash the party. Jessa isn't an outsider, and we brought a gift."
Jessa Greer handed me the gift. "Happy birthday."
I smiled politely and glanced at Jerry.
Jerry took the gift, smiling as he weighed it. "From you two?"
Jessa's smile was so perfect it looked like it was measured with a ruler, symmetrical on both sides. With her long hair and simple white dress, she was graceful and elegant—not the most beautiful, but hard to look away from, totally different from Elissa's bold beauty.
If Francis liked Jessa, he definitely wouldn't go for Elissa.
Jessa said, "It's just from me. Francis, as your best friend, wouldn't be as stingy as I am."
The gift already looked pretty valuable.
Even if she and Francis had chipped in together, it wouldn't be a big deal. Now that she gave it herself, and it was our first meeting, it was very appropriate.
"Alright." Jerry nodded slightly. "Find a place to sit. I still have other guests to attend to. Let Francis take care of you."
"Okay, you go ahead."
After Francis and Jessa left, I pulled Jerry aside and asked, "How did this happen?"
Jerry shrugged. "I really didn't know. Don't blame me."
I said, "He's helped us a lot, but this is too much."
Jerry said, "Yeah, so you don't need to feel indebted to him. Consider it on my tab. Say whatever you want about him."
I frowned slightly. "I'll keep an eye on Elissa. You make sure Francis doesn't cause any trouble."
Jerry patted my head. "I promise."
Jared was still confused. "What are you all talking about? I didn't get any of that."
Jerry shooed him away. "Can't you see how busy it is? Go help out."
Jared had to swallow his curiosity and quickly left.
After Jared walked away, I whispered to Jerry, "Aren't you going to tell him anything?"
"Tell him what?" Jerry glanced over at Francis and continued, "They're not together, and there hasn't been a confession. It was just Elissa chasing Francis before, and now it seems hopeless. Not telling him will save some trouble. Jared is..."
Jerry shook his head and gave me a knowing look.
Elissa had actually seen everything.
Sophia came over just to make small talk, and she knew it was me who sent her over to keep Elissa from seeing.
Elissa said, "Enough, Sophia. Have some water and take a break. There's nothing between him and me. Whoever he brings has nothing to do with me. It's Hope's birthday party. I won't crash it. Don't worry about me."
Sophia drank a glass of water and sighed comfortably, "Hope is just concerned about you. Worrying too much can cause confusion."
Elissa nodded. "Go sit down and rest. I still need to talk to some clients."
"Alright, you go ahead," Sophia replied.
I was still a bit worried about Elissa, even distracted while cutting the cake.
Jerry had to steady my hand.
However, what I was worried about didn't happen. Elissa and Francis sat very far apart, with many people and an aisle between them, each talking to others. But just as the cake was being served, Elissa suddenly stood up, startling me.
I looked at Francis, who also stood up.
Both of them walked towards me.
I quickly tried to grab Jerry's sleeve, but my hand came up empty.
Jerry had somehow disappeared from my side.
"Elissa." I was afraid Elissa would do something impulsive. Just as I opened my mouth, Elissa took the microphone and covered my mouth.
Francis also stood beside me.
I was stunned for a moment and reached out to pull Elissa's hand away, but then I heard her say, "Thank you all for taking the time to attend the party for my friend Hope and her daughter Celestia. On this happy day, I'm also happy to perform a little something for everyone."
It wasn't that I was puzzled by Elissa performing. She always liked lively events, was outgoing, could sing and dance. Her performing wasn't surprising. But what surprised me was that Francis was also standing here. I wondered if they were going to perform together.
Elissa said, "Today's performance is special. It's a sketch comedy. My partner is Mr. Peterson."
I blinked at Elissa, as if asking what she was doing.
Elissa smiled. "This performance is especially for you. Go watch from below."
I was pushed off the stage by Elissa and Sophia pulled me to sit down.
I was confused but also felt something was off.
The two on stage had already started.
I watched closely, afraid they would start arguing, but they didn't. They actually seemed to be doing quite well.
Although it was an imitation of a famous sketch comedy, the effect was pretty good.
'When did they rehearse? Haven't they been ignoring each other these past few days?' I thought.
Elissa and Francis hadn't rehearsed. They had memorized their lines separately. It was just to set the stage for Jerry's proposal. It didn't have to be perfect, just good enough, and couldn't be compared to something professional.
Elissa said, "Alright, our performance ends here. Please give a warm round of applause for the next performer."
As Elissa came down from the stage, petals suddenly fell from the sky.
With the melodious piano music, I noticed the stage could actually rotate.
A figure gradually became clear, someone I knew all too well.
Jerry, rarely seen in all white, was sitting at the piano, playing and singing.
His deep voice blended perfectly with the piano, more like he was telling a story than singing.
The whole place went quiet, and the melody seemed to have this magical power, pulling everyone into his song.
I had no idea this was part of the plan, and I'd never seen Jerry play the piano before.
He only sang occasionally. With all the company stuff, he was always busy.
I had to admit, Jerry had this knack for excelling at everything he did.
Caught completely off guard, I suddenly heard Jerry call me up, "Honey, may I invite you to join me on the stage for a duet?"
"What are we playing?" I asked.
Jerry whispered the name of a piece in my ear.
I could play a bit, but I was rusty from not practicing for a long time. So I asked, "Will you lead me?"
Jerry looked at me with deep affection. "Of course."
I was still a bit dazed and could only follow his rhythm.
Somehow, Jerry suddenly stopped playing, and I, distracted, hit a wrong note.
Before I could apologize, fireworks exploded around the stage, filling the sky with brilliance.
Jerry knelt on one knee in front of me, holding up a ring. "Hope, even though you proposed to me, I still want to formally propose to you. After all, some things should be done by a man. Thank you for falling in love with me again, for standing by me through thick and thin, and for giving birth to our daughter. So, please let me take care of you for the rest of our lives. Hope, will you marry me?"
Marriage was already a certainty.
I had planned to visit Claire after my birthday to tell her the news.
I never expected Jerry to prepare a proposal ceremony.
Even though we were so familiar with each other and knew we were definitely getting married, spending our lives together, when he knelt in front of me and said those words, my tears were uncontrollable.
I couldn't speak, just extended my hand and nodded emphatically at him.
Jerry slipped the ring onto my finger, stood up, and embraced me. A warm kiss followed.
Fireworks exploded around us, followed by cheers and applause.
Jerry knew I wasn't comfortable with public displays of affection, so it was just a brief kiss, nothing deep.
He released me, our foreheads touching, and said, "We'll talk more tonight."
Nolan ran up, throwing flower petals around me, calling my name excitedly, "Hope!"
I couldn't help but laugh.
Jerry grabbed Nolan by the collar, silencing him instantly.
Nolan tried to break free but failed, looking to me for help.
I patted Jerry's hand.
Jerry let him go, and he hid behind me, hugging my leg and glaring at Jerry. "If you ever make Hope unhappy, I'll beat you up."
Jerry raised an eyebrow. "Beat me up?"
He could hold Nolan down with one hand, yet Nolan was talking big.
Nolan said, "So what? I won't grow up, and you won't get old? If you make Hope unhappy, when you're old and can't move, I'll take her to find another man and have fun!"
Jerry clicked his tongue, his lips curling down. "Looks like you need a beating."
"Hope, protect me!" Nolan hid behind me, crying out pitifully, "Hope, take off the ring. Don't marry a violent man."
Jerry laughed in exasperation.
I was also amused. "Jerry, stop teasing him. It's time to see the guests off."
Jerry and I saw the guests off, leaving only close friends and Jessa.
I had planned to invite everyone to dinner tonight, given how busy they had been for the party.
Now, I didn't know how to bring it up.
Jerry said, "I'm tired. I see you all are tired too. Let's go home and rest."
Jerry didn't give anyone a chance to speak, holding me and carrying Celestia as we left.
I quickly called Elissa, who linked arms with Madison and followed us.
Neil came over to find Sophia, asking if Nolan wanted to go play.
Of course, Nolan wanted to play, dragging Sophia and Neil away as a family.
In the end, only three people were left.
Jared scratched his head. "I won't bother you guys anymore. My grandma called, saying she misses me. See you."
The venue was left with only the cleanup crew, and Francis and Jessa.
Francis stared in the direction Elissa had left, looking dazed.
Jessa noticed and asked, "Francis, are we going home or..."
Francis seemed not to hear, so she also glanced in the direction Elissa had gone.
Her perfectly measured smile didn't change, and she asked again gently.
This time, Francis responded, "I'll take you home."
After resting for two days, Jerry and I took Celestia to see Claire.
Madison volunteered to come with us, which surprised me since she had always avoided the topic.
I said, "Mom, if you're still not ready, we can wait. Claire will understand."
Madison shook her head. "Facing it is the only way to truly let go."
The three of us, plus Celestia, went to see Claire.
We had planned to come yesterday, but it rained. With Celestia, we didn't want to risk her catching a cold.
Today, the ground was still wet.
I walked behind Jerry, who was carrying Celestia, to prevent him from slipping.
Jerry looked back at me and said, "You walk in front."
I refused, "No, I'll watch from behind."
Jerry handed Celestia to me. "If you fall behind, I won't see you."
I laughed, holding Celestia, carefully walking up.
We stopped in front of the tombstone, and Jerry placed flowers and Claire's favorite foods.
I freed a hand to hold Madison's. We exchanged a look, and no words needed.
I turned to the tombstone, and Jerry wiped the water off the photo.
I smiled at him, adjusted my hold on Celestia, and faced her towards Claire.
I spoke, "Claire, I brought your great-granddaughter to see you. I haven't dreamed of you lately. I hope you're doing well. If you hear me, come see me and tell me what you need. And also," I raised my left hand, the diamond ring on my ring finger shining brightly. "Jerry proposed to me. We're planning our wedding. I'll come see you then."
Jerry's deep voice flowed out, more solemn and sincere than ever, "Claire, thank you for trusting me, for giving Hope to me. Rest assured, from now on, I won't let her suffer any grievances."
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