The Marriage Proposal: Emily and Louis

Chapter 1

Emily, knowing that Ananya will always be James' one true love, runs out of the hotel room drenched in tears, already wearing her wedding gown, to the rear of the hotel. She sobs uncontrollably as she felt her whole world come crashing down, not being able to accept the fact that she was just minutes away from saying yes to a loveless marriage.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did I agree to go through with this? Why...?" Emily balled her eyes out as she questioned her choice to marry James repeatedly.

"Emily!" a voice came from a distance but the person nowhere in sight.

Emily looked up and scanned the area curiously and anxiously as if someone she knew had spotted her outside crying and might call off the wedding.

"Emily! What are you doing here?" Louis came running towards Emily in his perfectly ironed tuxedo, tailored to the T as he panted in between words.

"I...I just came out for some fresh air, that's all." Emily gave a fleeting reply.

"I should get going, the wedding is about to start..." Emily walked off in hast as she finished her sentence.

"Emily! Wait! I need to ask you something! Could you... give me... just a minute?" Louis stopped her in midsentence.

"What is it Louis?" Emily asked in annoyance.

Without a second's delay, Louis went down on one knee, and asked the million dollar question," Emily, will you be my wife?"

Not thinking twice, Emily knocked the diamond ring off Louis' hand, sending it straight into the reservoir behind them.

"Do you think this is some kind of joke? Am I just a doll you Shelleys pass around from one sibling to the next? Who do you think I am?" Emily confronted Louis, incensed.

"No... I am genuinely asking you Emily... I promise to take care of you and love you as your husband...if you will have me..." Louis, taken aback by Emily's response, tried to salvage the already dire situation. As the words slowly sunk in, Emily burst into tears, not giving a care who would might see her in that state of despair.

"Emily... If you are sure that you want to marry James, then you have my blessing... I am just trying to be a responsible man and a Shelley..." Louis, in an attempt to ease intensity of the situation.

"Not all Shelleys are the same Emily! At least I am not! Just remember, when you go in there, there is no turning back and..."

"I do..." Emily muttered to herself.

"What did you just say?" Louis turned around and looked at Emily, puzzled but enlightened to hear the 2 words.

"I... said... I do..." Emily raised her voice marginally louder, almost as if she was afraid someone would hear their conversation.

Louis froze in his spot, not expecting such an answer from Emily, knowing she was head over heels for James from the start. As he looked up into Emily's eyes, he noticed her eyes were now bathed in happiness, letting go of all sadness and suffocation she had initially. It was as if a wave of relief hit her in the face. Louis took Emily by the hand and stormed into the wedding venue confidently, without a care in the world. Emily, like a helpless bride, followed along without any form of struggle or hesitance.

As the doors of the wedding hall burst open, the whole room went from a chaotic mess to the silence of a funeral house. As the couple walked into the room for the first time, the room started to become filled with gasps and frivolous gossip whilst everyone tried to get a glimpse of the somewhat shorter groom who has just walked out.