Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford (by Koi Fish) novel Chapter 711

Chapter 711

The day of the competition arrived on a Sunday.

Because of the tournament, Rebecca didn’t go home for the weekend. She planned with Darren to head out to the venue together  the following morning.

The moment she stepped out of the girls' dorm, she spotted Darren waiting for her beneath the shade of a tree, holding a big, bright red rosette in his hand.

The scene amused her. “What’s this?”

It looked exactly like one of those oversized flowers they handed out as prizes in kindergarten.

Darren grinned, presenting the flower to her in a flourish. “For the best performer in today’s competition–Rebecca Perry. Everyone, let’s hear some applause!”

He started clapping for her.

“I’m already the best?” she laughed heartily. “Shouldn’t you wait until after the results are announced to hand this out?”

“In my eyes, you’re already the GOAT,” he said smoothly, stepping forward to carefully tie the flower onto the strap of her canvas tote bag.

It looked cute. At her age, pinning a flower like that to her chest would have been embarrassing. But having it tied onto her canvas bag instead gave the entire look a unique, wholesome, and artistic vibe.

“This is a one–of–a–kind designer piece,” she chuckled.

Having returned from more than a decade in the future, she had been thoroughly influenced by Kaitlyn’s high–fashion career. She could already visualize turning a concept like this into a real, trending fashion accessory.

But why would Darren give her something so childish?

In the soft morning sunlight, he smiled warmly. “I hereby declare that Becky is the absolute best performer in today’s show.”

Rebecca’s laughter instantly froze on her face. The casual comment unlocked a deeply buried memory, and she suddenly remembered the bittersweet origin of this specific red flower.

Ever since she was a little girl, she had been obsessed with dance. She had originally been the center and lead dancer of her youth training class.

Had she ever told Darren about this? She didn’t remember. Maybe her younger self had shared it with him during the year they were in the same class.

She suddenly realized he seemed to understand her so well. From the time he spontaneously took her to watch Lauren’s performance to the way he handed her this flower today.

Every single one of his actions managed to strike a perfect chord right in her heart.

“Thank you, Darren. This red rosette is the perfect good–luck charm to kick off today’s event. I love it,” she said sincerely.

“You’re welcome,” he chuckled. “The truth is, I wanted one for myself, but since I’m a guy, it would look ridiculous pinned on my shirt.”

She pictured him wearing it. “You’d look like a…”

She stopped mid–sentence as the memory came flooding back. Darren had never gotten the chance to be a groom. In the original timeline, he had died before he could.

She looked up at his bright, sunny face and felt a pang of bitterness in her chest.