Emily stood dumbfounded as she felt the journalists' stares burrowing at her. He walked to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Many people from the Internet insulted her, causing her trauma! As her boyfriend, I will make sure that those who made those snarky comments will be dealt with!"
Then he turned to her with a soft expression on his face and whispered, comforting her, "Don't worry. I will make sure justice is served for you."
Wait? Justice?
He didn't need to get justice for her. Those rumors were actually true. He was the one who needed justice more than she did! She did so many bad things on him, so why was he still willing to protect her like this?
"Jacob, I..." Before Emily could finish her words, Jacob pressed a finger on her lips to silence her.
"Emily, hush now. All you need to do is love me," he raised her chin up a bit and gave her a sweet kiss.
All the journalists present and Jacob's henchmen were shocked by the kiss. "What a scoop!" Everyone did their best to catch the kiss on video and on photos. It was definitely going to be hot in the headlines tomorrow.
Before anyone could have noticed, the table was replaced with a red carpet with golden trimmings. It just really proved Jacob Gu's high social status.
Jacob gave Emily a gentle smile, amused with how awkward she felt. He snapped his hand and a beautiful song from a piano started to play.
"W-Wait. Where did all that music coming from?" Emily muttered, wide-eyed.
She searched for the source of the music until she set her sight at the piano placed next to the stage. The journalists followed her eyes. A gorgeous, golden-haired pianist played it expertly.
People started to whisper amongst themselves, "Who is he? Why does he look so familiar?"
"W-Wait! That's Phil! He's a famous pianist!" one exclaimed, "The videos of him playing the piano get millions of views!"
They all stared in awe. Hiring Phil to play at their proposal sure indeed had proven Jacob's status. The journalists started to feel excited on what would happen next.
Camera were all focused on them. TV Networks started airing the event unfolding in front of them.
Cheers filled the room when Sam walked in with a large bouquet of flowers.
After taking the huge bouquet of roses from Sam, Jacob suddenly knelt down in front of Emily.
Emily gasped at his gesture, covering her face with both of her hands.
Jacob focused on her. He looked at her tenderly, full of love.. "Emily Bai, I love you."
Emily's heart started to do somersaults!
Jacob was proposing to her. In front of the whole public! She couldn't imagine that he would do this for her!
Emily shut her eyes tightly, slightly slapping both of her cheeks. She better checked if she was dreaming or not! It was not a dream. It was all real. The man she loved was actually proposing to her.
Jacob settled the bouquet on his knee and presented a tiny red box at her. He opened it and a shiny diamond ring was revealed. "Emily Bai, I want to spend the future and the rest of my life with you."
The journalists kept shouting in delight as the scene unfolded in front of them. "I want you to be the first person I see when I wake up. I want to create a home and have children with you," Jacob continued.
"Emily Bai, will you marry me?" Jacob looked up hopefully at Emily, expecting an affirmative answer from her.
"Please accept all of my love," he spoke.
Emily stared back at his loving eyes. She felt there were only two of them in the room.
'Do you think you are worth it? Obviously, dirty women like you are worthless!'
Suddenly, a cold and icy voice rang in her head, pulling her mind back to reality. She was now torn between accepting and rejecting his proposal.
She had forgotten that they were in front of public. If she turned him down like that, he was going to lose face in front of everyone.
With so many eyes observing their every move, Emily raised her shoulders, feeling uncomfortable, "Jacob, I..."
Jacob still held the ring. He gave her a sad smile.
"I apologize for not being considerate. I should have known that you must have felt pressure with so many people watching us. I knew I should have done better." Even though he had been rejected by Emily ruthlessly, but when facing her, he was tender as usual.
Emily looked at him and tears couldn't stop flowing. How could a man like him love every bit of her? What part of her did he found irresistible anyways? What made him love her?
"Jacob, I... I do. Jacob Gu, I will marry you!" She wiped out her teary face and grinned happily. She pretended that she pulled a prank on him, "You silly man! I was just messing with you! My answer is Yes!"
Jacob looked up at her. He felt his heart beating happily once more. But even so, he felt like a marionette being controlled by her.
He breathed deeply, relieved and then let out a laugh, "How dare you tease me, you naughty girl?" Then the audience began to cheer again.
Emily took the bouquet and Jacob finally slid the ring to her finger. They hugged each other tightly as everyone clapped and howled happily.
Tears spilled from her eyes as she remained in his warm arms. She couldn't tell if she was crying from joy or confusion.
The music started to play again. Everyone could only say "Wow!" as rose petals scattered suddenly in the air and heart-shaped balloons floated out.
Jacob held Emily in his arms tightly, "I know this proposal has been too hasty for your taste. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you," Then He smirked, "But this one still counts, alright? Don't ever try to take back your words."
He knew that Emily changed her mind so he wouldn't lose face in public.
He deeply felt that she wasn't really willing to marry him, as of now. But he wanted to make sure that she was his and to be his only.
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