Director's Daughter (Zayn Malik fanfic)

Chapter 40

I woke up with sunlight trying to sneak it's way into our room. A smile arose on my lips after remembering last night's events. I let my head fall to the left, watching the subtle rise and fall of Zayn's chest.

After finally waking Zayn up, we decided to head to the beach to enjoy our last day. We'd be leaving tomorrow morning, and there was still one last thing I wanted to do. Before I grabbed my towel, I shoved my leather journal into it. Zayn was already down at the beach, so I was quick to follow.

When I spotted Zayn already in the water, I carelessly tossed my journal and towel into the sand next to his before running for the dock. Sprinting as fast as I could, I launched myself into the water before hitting it with a big splash. I surfaced and brushed my dark hair out of my eyes, then swam over to Zayn.

“Took you long enough.” Zayn joked, grabbing my wrist and pulling me closer to him. I just smiled sheepishly in response, my eyes leaving his dark ones to focus on the tattoos that were on his chest. My eyes locked onto the familiar ink that was in the shape of two wings, and a small smile emerged on my lips. Between the wings, and the heart on his lower waist, I'm not sure which was my favorite.

“Let's go for a walk.” Zayn smiled, unlatching his hand from mine.

“We just got here.” I whined with a frown. The sun was in the middle of the sky, and the temperature was perfect. I could spend the rest of the day in this lake and not be disappointed.

He chuckled and shook his head, “Can you go get my towel for me?” A cheeky smile fought it's way onto his lips and I let my eyes fall even more narrow. First, he makes me get out of the water that I've been in for a total of two minutes, now he's making me do things for him. Without saying anything, I stormed out of the water and stomped onto the beach, faking annoyance. I reached his burgundy towel and lifted it from the sand. When I shook it free of the sand, two things fell into the sand. My eyes first connected with a black leather book similar to mine, and the second was...

What?

“Zayn? What's-” I turned around to face him in the water, but cut myself off when I realized he was literally right behind me. “What's that?” I asked shyly with a gulp.

“Why don't you find out for yourself?” He smiled, turning me back around. I leaned over and picked up the small, black velvet box. When I stood, I turned back around to face Zayn. “Open it.” He urged, and I did what he told me to. I gasped when I slowly lifted the lid to reveal a small ring topped with a crystal in the shape of a heart.

What does this mean? I hope he's not trying to propose to me. That wouldn't end well. How will I tell him no? I'm too young to get married. Has he even asked my parents? We're juniors in highschool, for- I was cut off when Zayn spoke, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“It's just a promise ring,” Zayn breathed, his breath fanning my face as we both looked down to the obviously expensive piece of jewelry after he read my mind. He gently reached for the box and took it from my hands slowly.

“Belle, I love you so much. More than I could ever imagine loving someone; so much that it makes me hurt sometimes because I know I could never give you everything you ever wanted,” Zayn spoke slowly, his adam's apple bobbing. “But I want you, everyday. Forever. Because even though you'd be better off with someone else, I'm too selfish to let you go. You've been through so much, and I know I haven't helped a whole lot, but I want to. I want to wake up every morning next to you- or, at the very least- with a 'good morning' text from you. I want to wake up every morning knowing that you're mine. I want to fall asleep every night knowing that you're mine. I want to live every damn day of my life knowing that you're mine. I want to know, every second of every day, that you belong to me and only me,” The initial shock was starting to leave. I looked up from his shaking hands to find his chocolate eyes underneath a thick layer of tears. “This ring is a promise to you. A promise that I'll never leave you. A promise that I'll be here to help you with anything, even if it's four in the morning. It's a promise to you, Belle, that I'll love you until the day that I die and that I'll never ask for anything more than to be by your side for the next 70 years of my life.” His voice was now shaking, but the tears had yet to spill over his eyelids. I, however, was openly bawling at his words. How was I supposed to respond to this? 'Ditto'?