Expectations and reality

Until her brother ruined it by deciding to look for her.

'It might not be too late. Besides, he sent someone to inform me, so that means that he is currently waiting for me to return'.

Charlotte thought as she decided that this was the best way she could get her mind off of Nicolas.

Meanwhile, Philip's heart immediately cooled down as soon as he heard Charlotte's words.

'Haaa... As long as it isn't him, then nothing can ruin this night' Philip thought as he exclaimed with relief in his heart.

"Well, I am sure that maybe Mr Nicolas has just been busy and that is why he might not have been able to return your calls" Philip responded.

"Sigh!! Yes, you might be right. But enough about Nicolas, I don't want to think about him for now" Charlotte replied with a sigh.

Philip's lips curved upwards immediately after he heard Charlotte's response.

'It seems that the miscreant won't be able to stop me tonight even if he tried his best' Philip thought as he suddenly felt a tremendous amount of confidence spreading across his body.

"Alright, that just means that I have to make this quick so that I won't delay you from meeting your guest" He said.

"As I was saying, what I am about to say might just be the most difficult and the most genuine words that I have ever said in my whole life. And for that, I want everyone in this hall here today to listen" Philip said as he raised his voice with each sentence he spoke.

Thereby causing him to be the centre of attention as everyone turned their gaze towards them.

"This!!" Charlotte was stunned as she saw what Philip had done.

How was this related to the gift that he was going to give her? She didn't know.

But she suddenly felt a bad feeling brewing from her heart the more she heard Philip's utterances.

But that still didn't stop more people from turning their attention towards them as their murmurs grew with each passing minute.

"Clink!! Clink!!!" Philip used a spoon and gently tapped it against a glass cup that he had picked up from the table.

Thereby causing the surrounding chit chats and murmurs to die down as they looked at Philip and Charlotte with interest.

"Today in front of everyone here, I would like to ask for your hand in marriage" Philip said as he knelt down on one kneel.

Meanwhile, Charlotte could feel her heart nearly bursting out of her chest immediately after she heard what Philip had just said.

"This!! What are you talking about Philip? Please get up and stop embarrassing yourself" Charlotte said as the worry in her heart intensified because she could already guess the question Philip was going to say next.

Philip smiled as he heard Charlotte's words, misinterpreting her panicking statements as words of concern.

He continued saying "Will you marry me, Miss Charlotte Durand?".

As though the question itself came with a silencer, everyone in the hall who could hear Philips's words stared dumbly in surprise as they couldn't have expected such an event at the young miss's birthday party.

But fortunately, everyone presently here was a respectful figure in society. So they all had a way to control their emotions no matter the circumstances.

But still, that didn't stop the silent hall from suddenly exploding with murmurs as though a bomb had been dropped.

"So what do you say, Miss Charlotte? Will you accept this ring and make me the happiest man in the world?" Philip said as his ears were completely shut from the voices around him.

He was trapped in his own world. A world where no one existed but only him and Charlotte.

It was beautiful! No. The woman standing beside him was what made the world beautiful.

And in his heart, he had already determined to share the rest of that world with her. And all he wanted to hear at this moment was a single word.

A word that he felt had suddenly gained the power to determine his existence in life.

Nevertheless, he braced himself and waited for her response.

Meanwhile, Charlotte suddenly felt her mind shutting down as she didn't know how to handle this kind of situation.

How did it turn to this? Wasn't this supposed to be her 25th birthday celebration party?

Unfortunately, she knew the answers to her questions. But the problem was she didn't know how to phrase them to Philip.

Her brain suddenly went into overdrive as she wanted to find a way out of such an unexpected predicament.

But alas, she couldn't give Philip the answer he wished to hear or find a way to escape.

Her thoughts all boiled down to one person.

'Nicolas! No, Nicolas isn't here. Charles! No, Charles might have had a hand in this' Charlotte shook her head as her face morphed into various strange expressions.

'For god's sake Nicolas. The one time I needed you, where are you?' Charlotte thought as she turned her head sideways in distress as though she was looking for something important.

Until her eyes suddenly spotted the figure of a familiar person that she had just met a while ago.

'Mr Joseph!' Charlotte's eyes immediately lit up in happiness as she immediately sprinted toward his figure.

But Philip who had seen Charlotte's various strange expressions couldn't take it anymore as he immediately grabbed her hands after knowing what she was about to do next since he concentrated all his attention on her.

"Where are you going, Charlotte? Aren't you going to give me an answer?" Philip said with a tired smile.

"Let go the hand of my hand Philip" Charlotte said as she felt Philip's grip tightening around her hands the more she tried to break out of them.

Seeing the person she wanted to chase after walking through the door as he left the party, Charlotte struggled more.

"Alright" Philip said as he saw the woman he loves displaying such a hurtful expression