Chapter 51: MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

Destiny is indeed a swerving force. We don't have any control over it. No matter how much we try, destiny has always proven to be strong but all said and done, 'Love triumphs.'
"Rachel, you enticed me in my days, allured me in my nights and bewitched me in a myriad unknown ways," Leo said as he held her hand in his. "I can't live without you and Alex anymore. I want all of us to stay together under one roof for all the years to come," he confessed.
He was as handsome as hell, and as sweet as heaven. He captured her heart, lit her spirit on fire and consumed her soul. However, now, practically his personal and professional life had taken many twists and turns.
"But there can be logistics issues. It would be difficult to maintain a healthy relationship without jeopardizing our individual careers as we both stay in different parts of the country," Rachel worriedly replied.
"Darling ! And they lived happily ever after... Well, it doesn"t always happen in the same castle though. Sometimes Rapunzel decides to join the hair salon 600 miles from the prince"s abode," Leo said in his usual humorous beaming persona. "My marriage proposal of four years back still stands true to me. I want to take our love story from friendship to commitment," he sweetly proposed. "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife ?"
"I'll be the happiest to be your wife. But I've seen love fading away over the years," Rachel whispered. "You're madly in love now, with your wedding plan on the horizon and our whole life together ahead of us. But after years of marriage, it could be tough for you to remember those head-over-heels feelings you once had for me," she added, just to tease him.
"But the same holds good for you also. It's not always that men cheat, anyone from the couple can fall out of love at any time. That said, who ever called caution the spice of life ? Yes, marriage is a high stake union, both emotionally and financially. But after perusing the whirlwind romances of some of my friends, I"m starting to realize that when it comes to love, sentiment often trumps statistics. There"s something undeniably special about a person trusting their gut and trusting in their partner. As they say, when you know, you know," Leo said.
"On the contrary, I"ve heard a few of my friend's say I love my spouse, but I"m not in love with him/her". What do you say about it ?" Rachel asked.
"It's not something unusual. They can be in love again. They just have to choose it, everyday. And have to put in effort, for sure," Leo replied. "A successful relationship requires falling in love many times, but with the same person," he added. "As for me, I still feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach when I see you !" Leo rasped as he took Rachel"s hand in his.
"What if those butterflies flew away ?" Rachel countered as she bit her lip.
"Don"t worry, it won"t mean that our love has died. The first thing to realize about being in a long-term relationship is that it waxes and wanes," Leo softly answered as he gently tipped up her chin and pecked the corner of her mouth softly.
"Relationships are a whole package, brimming with blissful moments as well as disgruntled fellowship. It's going to be insane," Rachel murmured as her eyes slipped close and she melted in his embrace.
"Of course ! We're absolutely not going to be gaga over each other every single day for the rest of our lives, and all this happily ever after"- is just setting couple goals up for failure," Leo replied as he didn't want her to go into their marriage with any unrealistic expectations.
"Love that"s alive is also constantly evolving. It expands and contracts and mellows and deepens. It"s not going to be the way it used to be, rather it shouldn"t be," he revealed.
"There will be days, or weeks, or maybe even longer, when we'll not be all mushy-gushy in-love. That"s normal !" Leo added as he had also seen, the instant couples realize they aren"t gaga" anymore, they think the relationship is broken and over, and they need to get out. And more importantly, Rachel, sticking out in the relationship is totally worth it ! Sooner or later a giant wave of love inundates and once again we are head over heels for that person," he assured as he weaved his hand in her hair.
"It will be my honour to spend my life with a man who never lost trust in me and never stopped loving me in spite of the world trying to poison your mind against me," Rachel replied. "Leo, you've trusted our love more than I did. It was me who lacked the trust and got carried away with the lies," she woefully said, her head hung in shame.
"It's ok, Rachel. Ours is a true love ! We both waited for each other and never gave our heart to anyone in spite of so many temptations which were available to both of us during these years. So your love has been pure and true," Leo soothed her.
"I think, the heart listens to no one. It hums its own song. When we fall in love, our heart becomes an orchestra of emotions which churns out a beautiful song, audible only to the heart of our lover. So we were destined to meet and to be together, I guess !" Rachel raised her head and looked up at Leo for confirmation.
"You're right and now we will honour this love by evolving and growing together in this lifetime," Leo"s voice held a promise to it as he realized the vast majority of relationships won"t stand the test of time as dynamics change all the time but by putting all the effort a relationship can into work.
After being together, Rachel knew that she wouldn"t mind being together for life. Marriage seemed like the most natural progression and they decided to take the leap.
With such a treasure trove of moments to reminisce, a formal proposal from Leo wasn"t needed.
It was like saying that when you can read the silences, there is no need to spell it out.
"We have so many years of history that talking about old times and doing things from the past will only bring back fond memories back in our life," Leo whispered as he pulled her closer.
Her body was a sea of broiling passion which arched towards him and head fell backwards giving him room to move his lips along the length of her nape of neck. Her silky skin exposed to the night air, her perfume so lush and sensual it clouded his senses.
She had a weakness for his hand on her neck and his words in her heart. Neither of which did she have the willpower to refuse.
"Someone is watching us through the window," Rachel murmured, her breath warm on his cheek.
"All the more reason to put on a good show, darling," Leo whispered.
She reached out to run her fingers through his hair in response to the moment their lips met, snapping inside him a fury of passion and desire.
"You're my favorite painting. A found masterpiece, I loved both for things remembered and those I'm newly discovering," Leo hushed in soft tone.
The united beat of their ecstasy and heart together created such euphoric elation that it felt like nothing else mattered in those moments, not even the simple act of breathing.
Four years of longing and fantasies ! A lifetime of loneliness !! A need so fierce !!!
She groaned and melted against him. It felt like everything was opening up in every part of her body, like her body was made up of one hundred million tiny knots and every one of them came untied at once and then she was melting and sinking like maple sugar.
He took a deep breath and reached her ear lobe, to whisper in a very hoarse voice, "I wanted to do this at the conference hall itself after the tender bidding."