Chapter 909: Santa Catalina

Looking at her smile, Roy felt that choosing this location might have been a miscalculation. With such thick goggles on, he couldn't even kiss her. Could a proposal without a kiss be considered the most perfect proposal?

Roy was filled with regret.

But no matter what, for Laila, today was a day worth remembering for a lifetime.

After Roy put the ring on her finger, they flew in the hot air balloon to the vacation paradise of Santa Catalina Island, just an hour's drive from Los Angeles.

When planning the vacation itinerary, he had chosen a location not too far away to accommodate her work schedule.

The island was beautiful, with few people, making it perfect for a peaceful getaway. Roy had prepared everything in advance, including the landing site for the hot air balloon, a rented golf cart, replacement clothes, and a comfortable suite.

On the way to the hotel, Laila sat in the car, constantly gazing at the ring on her finger, unable to wipe the smile from her lips.

She was incredibly happy, with an impulse to shout out her joy. She was naturally reserved and overly rational, something even she sometimes found frustrating. But now, she felt more like a furnace, the flames in her heart threatening to consume her.

"Aren't you going to tell Janet and the others?" Roy asked, glancing at her as he drove. Seeing her lingering gaze on the ring and her unmistakable smile, his heart overflowed with tenderness.

She loved the ring so much, and he felt that all the effort and waiting he had put into it were worth it.

Laila then remembered the last time, when news of her engagement had been leaked, and her grandfather had grumbled at her for quite a while. "You're right. I'll tell her once we get to the hotel." She swore that if her mother found out from someone else again, the house would be flooded with her tears.

"But this ring is beautifully designed. Which designer created it?" She was curious. A ring like this would surely cause a sensation if it appeared at an auction, yet she had never heard of an ice-blue diamond like this before.

"You seemed to like the previous ring I gave you, so I went to that designer and asked him to create this pair of rings for me." Looking back, he felt he had made the right decision.

Laila had liked the previous ring for its simple and elegant design, not so much for its value. For someone of her status, she didn't need expensive jewelry to showcase her identity.

But that ring and this one were worlds apart. The previous one had gained points for its design, but in terms of value, a hundred of those rings couldn't compare to the one on her finger now. Had the designer suddenly come into money?

Seeing her curiosity, Roy explained the whole story from beginning to end. Of course, he didn't mention the dangers he had faced in South Africa, not wanting to worry her.

But Laila eventually guessed part of it.

"No wonder you went to South Africa. And those trips to Russia and other places were also for the diamond, right?"

Roy smiled, downplaying it. "Only the most beautiful diamond is worthy of the woman I love."

Laila's heart warmed, and she didn't press further. She could see his effort, and that was enough. He had returned safely, and that was enough.

She placed her hand on his arm. "Promise me you won't put yourself in danger like that again, okay?"

"Okay," Roy smiled at her and softly agreed.

After checking into the hotel, Laila turned on the computer in their room and video-called Janet.

When she showed off the ring, Janet immediately erupted in excitement.

"Oh my God, what am I seeing? This is a miracle. How can it be so beautiful, so breathtaking! It must be a crystal formed from the tears of an angel!"

Laila laughed at her mother's exaggerated reaction as if she wanted to crawl through the screen. "Yes, it's beautiful." She thought the ring was stunning, but her mother's reaction was a bit over the top. As a true socialite, Janet had surely seen plenty of exquisite diamonds. Was there a need for such a fuss?

What Laila didn't know was that precisely because Janet was "knowledgeable," she understood the ring's true value. Her excitement wasn't just about the ring's beauty but also the significance it carried. Laila, on the other hand, simply found it beautiful, without fully grasping its worth beyond knowing it was expensive.

But even if she knew, she wouldn't care about the price. What mattered to her was the love and effort Roy had poured into the ring.

Janet asked her daughter to hold the ring closer to the camera for a better look. The more she saw, the happier she was for her. When a man was willing to spend a fortune on a ring for a woman, who could doubt his sincerity?

"It's wonderful. Look at the craftsmanship and the brilliance of the facets. A blue diamond like this is so rare. And see how perfectly it matches your eyes." She thought that if she had come across such a diamond, she would have wanted to give it to her daughter too.

Laila grabbed Roy's hand and showed it on the screen. "It's a pair with Roy's."

"Oh my God!" Janet was about to lose it. "Don't tell me this was cut from the same diamond."

"Of course, it was cut from the same one," Laila replied, not understanding why her mother looked so horrified. "Isn't it romantic that we have matching rings?"

She had initially thought only her ring had the perfect diamond. When Roy pulled out a matching ring with the same ice-blue hue, it felt like a special bond connecting them, something uniquely theirs.

No matter who the designer was, she felt they had done something truly remarkable.

But Janet didn't see it that way. Why were larger diamonds more expensive? Their value wasn't just in their clarity but also in their size.

Blue diamonds were already rare, with the largest being only a dozen carats or so. They were far scarcer than clear diamonds, not even in the same league. Because of this, anyone who obtained such a blue diamond would try to cut it in a way that preserved as much of its size as possible.

But these two had asked for the rare diamond to be cut into two pieces! Even if the diamond on the men's ring wasn't as large as the women's, it still significantly reduced the diamond's overall value.

What a waste! Such a terrible waste! Janet's heart ached. If she ever found out who had committed such an act of extravagance, she would storm over and throw eggs at them!