The Billionaire's Unexpected Proposal by Samantha

Chapter 188

Ethan woke up from a long nap and smiled when he saw Rayna seated beside him, busy with her phone.

"You're back," he said, and she looked at him.

"You're awake. | was almost beginning to wonder if you were pretending to be unconscious again," she said, and

he smiled.

"| guess Melvin and the others left already?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Ella was getting cranky, and Sarah also needed to rest," she explained.

"I understand. What about you? How do you feel now? Your stomach?" He asked, and she glared at him, her

cheeks flushing a little at the embarrassing question. "I told you | was fine""" she said, and he smiled.

"Okay. Seeing as you're not sweating so much anymore, | guess your stomach isn't under any pressure," he said,

and she scowled.

"It seems you're pretty determined to annoyand make things awkward," she observed, and he chuckled.

"No. | just want to make things normal. Golden Sun tellseverything, remember?" he said softly.

"Well, I'm Rayna, not Golden Sun," she said, and he shook his head.

"Can't you forgiveand put it behind you? | mean, I could have died from this accident, right? No, don't say

anything smart, just listen," he said before she could speak. "I'm just saying life is short. | know | messed up.

Everyone says I'm unforgiving, and maybe that's true..."

"Maybe? Not, maybe. You're very unforgiving. Yes, | was wrong to have accused you falsely and say all that | said

at the club. But | apologized, she said, and Ethan sighed. "Yes, you did. I'm just very sensitive when it comes to

the issue of sexual harassment," he said, and she sighed.

"Melvin told me. I'm sorry," Rayna said, and he nodded slowly.

"I've forgiven you. So, will you forgivetoo?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"No. Not so easily..."

"If you'll forgivenext week or next month, why not just do it now? We don't know if we have a year, ten

years, or a lifetto be together. Why waste any of it? When that car randown, and I lay there bleeding,

unable to move or speak, all | kept asking myself was if that was my last moment and if | had wasted what little

t| could have had with you being mad," Ethan said, and Rayna sighed.

He had a point, but she would have preferred to make him sweat,

"Well, | forgive you. But that doesn't mean I'm going to have anything to do with you. If you really think I'm the

one for you now, you're going to have to prove it..."

"What other way could | prove it than I've done by getting in front of that car to protect the woman | love from

getting hurt?" He asked, and her heart skipped a beat. "You went on dates with other women. You wanted to

exhaust your options," Rayna insisted, still mad about that.

"They weren't options. | was trying to convince myself that what

we had wasn't so special. | didn't want to believe that | found something special with someone | was so mad at,"

he admitted.

"lI want you, Rayna-body, mind, and soul. Your mind is my favorite place," he said, and her heart fluttered.

"How am | supposed to play hard to get if you're using such lines?"

She groaned, and Ethan chuckled as he reached for her hand.

"Maybe you're not supposed to play hard to get. That's not what got us here, you know? We both know what we

want, and that's why we got along pretty well, he said as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"But | already told Evelyn | was going to play hard to get and make you sweat. Can we just pretend whenever

any one of them is around? I'll be too embarrassed for them to know | got back with you so easily after saying

I've moved on," Rayna said, and Ethan laughed.

"Okay. If that's what you want, | will play along," he said, quickly letting go of her hand when they heard the door

opening.

"You're insufferable, you know?" Rayna asked with a scowl, putting up the act as Derek and Evelyn walked in.

"Rayna, that's no way to talk to a man who is lying on a hospital bed because he tried to save you," Evelyn

scolded, and Rayna raised a brow, surprised at Evelyn for defending Ethan after all she had said earlier. "Hello,

Ethan! Thanks for saving Rayna's life. I'm sorry she has such a shitty and ungrateful attitude," Evelyn said with a

sweet smile, surprising Rayna even more.

"It's fine. | understand that she's still mad at me," Ethan said softly.

"How are you doing, hero?" Derek asked with a teasing grin as he approached the bed.

"Evie, let's talk outside," Rayna said, jerking her head to the door as she rose for Derek to sit down.

Evelyn followed Rayna outside, and the moment they shut the door behind them, Rayna scowled at her, "What

was that about? | thought you supported the idea of playing hard to get?" She asked, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"You seem to have forgotten that you toldEthan was your man and scoldedfor talking about him so

harshly. Besides, he's also Derek's best friend. I'd rather take his side publicly right now than yours. | know you're

both going to make up. | don't want to be the bad guy when that happens," Evelyn said, and Rayna scowled.

"Whatever," she muttered, and Evelyn grinned.

"If that's all, can we return inside? My baby and | need to stay close to my man," Evelyn said, and Rayna snorted

but smiled as they both returned inside.

In the room, Derek was making fun of Ethan for his failed attempt to be a superhero.

As the ladies joined them, Derek rose so that Evelyn could sit since that was the only available seat in the room.

They all chatted for a while, talking about Michael and Sandra and how they were glad that the two of them

would get what they deserved now.

"Isn't it funny that I'm not involved with either of them, yet I'm the one who ended up getting hurt?" Ethan said,

and Derek laughed.

"Maybe that's why you should have been more actively involved,"

Derek said with a shrug.

"Well, you wouldn't have gotten hurt if you hadn't been involved with me." Rayna pointed out.

"That's true. You got hurt because of Rayna"" Evelyn said, and Rayna scowled at her.

"I just said that. You didn't have to repeat it, she muttered, and Evelyn grinned at her.

After stime, Derek sighed and looked at Ethan, "I will cto see you tomorrow. For now, | need to take my

babies home," he said, and Ethan raised a brow.

"Is Samantha here too?" He asked, wondering why Derek was saying babies instead of baby.

"No, she's not. But her younger one is in here," Derek said with a grin as he placed a hand on Evelyn's abdomen,

and Ethan's eyes widened.

"Another one?" He asked, and they all laughed, "You both waste no time, do you?" He asked, and Evelyn

blushed.

"No, we don't"" Derek said with a wide smile, "So, you're going to have to work hard to catch up," he said as he

took Evelyn's hand and helped her up.

"Well, congratulations to you both. I'm happy for you," Ethan said with a happy smile, and Evelyn smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said, and as Ethan and Rayna watched them leave, Ethan turned to Rayna.

"We did well, didn't we?" Ethan asked, and Rayna nodded.

"I guess," she said with a small smile as he took her hand again.

"You heard Derek, right? We have to work hard to catch up," he said with a wink, and she giggled.

"You should focus on getting well first instead of trying to catch up with anything," she said, thinking about

everything they had discussed and planned over the phone before realizing their identities.

"So, | was thinking about something," Ethan said, and Rayna raised a brow.

"About what?"

"| still want to get married soon, as | told you from the start. So, how about we bring our dates in here since |

can't go out? We could have nice dinner dates and movie dates right here. And when I'm discharged, we can

continue it at the house until I'm strong enough to take you out on proper dates, and then we can get married.

Does that work for you?" He asked, and she nodded. "I think it's perfect," she said with a nod.