June slipped her hand into Chad's as he waited for her to join him on the sidewalk. Being well past midnight, the traffic was light, and the driver turned his hazard blinkers on to wait for them.

"We won't be long," Chad volunteered through the open window as he slipped his jacket over her bare shoulders and led her further into the park.

"Shall I join you, Mr Gilligan?" the burly driver named Quill called out. "It might not be entirely safe."

June looked on at Chad. She wanted to say 'yes' desperately but did not want to ruin whatever it was he was doing. Instead, she gave his hand a squeeze.

"Very well, if you wouldn't mind." Chad turned and lead her further in. Behind them, the soft thud of the car door and the beep-beep of the locks sliding into place gave her something to focus on. Did she say she was nervous? Damn, she was nervous.

She glanced back, glad to see the six-foot-plus hulking figure of Quill within earshot behind them. "Why are we here so late, Chad?"

"Shh... you're gonna wake up the people!" He winked at her as their bench came into view, and something in her stomach did a flip. Was it such a long time ago she was living in this park, under that bench?

It was strange to be back here, in an elegant evening gown, with a man at her side, and a security detail trailing behind them, not to mention the limo at their wait. She drew in a breath. A whiff of white cloud eased out of her as she turned to the said man.

"Why are we here?"

"This is where we met," Chad stated, his head hung, watching his own shoes. She nodded. Yes, but what of it? She saw him breathe out an audible breath and reach into his pocket. "This is where you told me to fuck off, pretty much!" A nervous laugh escaped his throat, and June couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"Well, you did almost bash my head in with your valuables first." She shivered slightly in the cold air, her feet aching in the strappy heels. "Can we hurry this up, please? I want to go back to the hotel and—"

Nodding, Chad got down on his knee.

"What are you doing?" She could see him swallow the lump in his throat as he ignored her question and opened the box for her to see the giant, glinting diamond inside, flanked with the deepest of deep red rubies.

"June Amari," he began.

No, no, no, Chad, no, was all she could think.

"I have never loved another soul as much as I love you. You have been my sounding board, my companion, my wine fiend, and most of all, you have made me feel like I can be the man you deserve."

No, Chad, get up! Get up. June could barely hear him over the din of her heart's drums.

He pulled the ring out of the box and reached for her hand. "I cannot imagine a day without you, let alone a lifetime. You have my whole heart, body, and soul." He let out another steadying breath, and before them, the bushes started rustling quietly as heads popped out in hope. "Say you'll marry me?"

His big puppy dog eyes pleaded up at her, waiting for her word so he could slip that Cherry pit-sized diamond onto her slender finger.

"Say yes, girl!" someone yelled out from the murky darkness, and even Quill was brimming with hope behind Chad.

"Will you marry me, June?"

More heads and bodies they were attached to peeked out of the bushes.

"Well, if you ain't gonna say yes, mind if I do?" She saw a figure crack haughtily from the shadows. A rumbling laughter she has long missed. It couldn't be...

Bax? June glared at the shadow. Were her eyes playing tricks?

"June?" Chad was up on his feet, his cheeks flushing red from embarrassment. No. This was not how the night was supposed to go for him. She couldn't be another girlfriend who broke his heart at such a moment... Concentrate! she told herself, yet she couldn't stop looking at a shadow within the shadows.

The figure stepped out into the dim moonlight then, his bushy salt and peppered beard reminding her of Santa's as if it were getting grey, but was not there yet. "Say yes, girl. I would." Bax beamed, heaving his chest wide and high. "This is your moment. Shine, baby girl. Shine!"

"June? You all right?" Chad gave her shoulder a slight squeeze, and she was startled. "I'm so sorry. I thought you felt the same way. Let us get out of here, then?" his voice was all but a whisper as he barely met her eyes.

"Yes," she barely managed as he turned towards the street, ready to lead her back to the safety and warmth of the limo. No. Don't turn away, Chad. This is not me saying no... this is just me dumbstruck...

But Chad's back was already to her as he waited for her to move.

"Yes," she said again, hoping her voice didn't betray her again and was loud enough for him to hear.

"What?" He turned, pain clearly visible in the fine wrinkles that cradled his dark eyes.

"Yes." That was all she could say as her heart hitched itself into her throat. Hesitation and hurt plastered on Chad's face, as obvious as the full moon in the night sky, and she knew he thought she was agreeing to the leaving part.

"Yes." She held her ring finger out to him in an offer, hoping against all hope that it was the right answer.

"What?" Chad stood there before her, staring, unsure.

"Ask me again." She eyed the hand in his pocket that held the ring.

Chad fumbled them, pulling out the ring box, which in his haste, he dropped.

She caught it mid-air and held it back out to him. "Your valuable."

Chad chuckled nervously as he retrieved the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. He gripped her hand, but doubt still fleeted across his face like a rock skipping the surface of a still lake. The doubt she had sowed, and she didn't even know why. She loved Chad. She did. So why couldn't I say yes straight away?

She shook that thought away as she stared at the glinting diamond on her finger. A moment she never thought would be part of her life. And she still didn't know why. Clearing her throat, she slid her arm through his and whispered, "It's beautiful, Chad."

"Kiss already!" one of the audience cried out from the bushes and she turned, half hoping to see Bax again. Instead, several people were standing around the park, around them, watching with interest. "She said yes, so kiss her already!" the man cried out again in joy.

Someone opposite him squeed. "Or she can kiss him?!"

And June supposed they were right. She could kiss him — after giving him a heart attack — it's the least she could do. June went on her tiptoes and grabbed Chad face down towards her, causing his jacket to fall to the footpath from her shoulders, and she kissed him. Half hoping he did not sense the swirling pool of doubt deep in her heart.

Why am I scared of marrying him? she asked herself.

Cheers and applause ruptured around them, and Chad pulled away with a shy smile on his face. "Shall we go?" His face flushed red from the attention, or from the moment. She couldn't tell.

She allowed him to take her back to the limo, and as they passed Quill, they heard him say, "Congratulations, Mr Gilligan, Miss Amari."

"Thank you," she whispered, not entirely thankful at all.

What's wrong with me? She frowned, sliding into the limo before Chad, or as she lingered in his arms all the way to their hotel, lost in her thoughts. Her gaze caught repeatedly as the stone glinted. It was probably worth more than all the money she had ever held in one go.

Occasionally she peered up at him, to either catch him staring at her with a look she couldn't read or to catch him staring out the window, his jaw set tight with worry. And she hated herself then. I ruined everything... I ruined his plans.

But as they walked into their room at the hotel, June felt she'd lost something. Some of that spark and magic they'd cultivated before they'd left that evening. All the promise of love and teasing, all the champagne had washed from their systems, and they were not two lovers walking into a room ready to rip each other's clothes off. They were as if two strangers and this was their first night. Awkward. Utterly awkward.

"I'm going to bed. I'm a little tired." Chad kissed her head, holding onto her a little tighter and a little more desperately than he'd normally do. "You coming to bed?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to take a quick shower," she replied, letting him go, and it felt as if she were letting him go forever. But why? She couldn't tell.

The man had popped the question today, and it should have been the happiest day of his life. She'd said yes, after all. Instead, he sulked towards the bed, stripping off the heavy confines of the clothes he wore, and slid into bed. A little heartbroken.

June dragged herself to the ensuite and turned the shower on. The ring felt heavy on her hand. Her thoughts ran amuck inside. This wasn't the first time someone had promised to marry her, but this was definitely the first time she'd got to say yes, and it scared her.

Why?

Certainly, one Mr Ellington was to blame.

She thought she had forgotten the man, but that image flashed in her mind. One handsome, alluring, Mr Ellington. The man she would have given her life for once upon a time. The one that cost her everything. Her family, her home, her sanity... her heart.

Her heart.

June nervously stepped into the hot shower, allowing her thoughts to warp with the heat. Was it her heart? Was some part of it still holding onto Ellington, the man she could never have, and should never want to have?

Suddenly, her skin burned, not from the heat of the water, but from the bubbling disgust, she felt within herself. And she scrubbed, and she scrubbed, reddening her skin as if she was willing the sense of his touch to wash away. She was with Chad now. And she was even engaged. Engaged!

This was not the time to think about an old flame. Not when she loved Chad with all her heart — almost all my heart...

June stopped and stared at the gold-flecked marble in the shower, her heart thundering away. I love Chad with all my heart, right? Right?

Yet her stupid heart beat erratically regardless.

What have I done?