Chapter 3: Gabby

Gab stiffened.

His heart then stopped for a second as he stared at her with eyes almost pop out of its socket while his jaw dropped.

“W-what?” He stammered.

“Will you marry me?” Sabrina repeated.

He clenched his fists tightly and looked at her as if she grew another head.

“Will you?” She asked with hopeful droopy eyes.

He swallowed hard not knowing what to say. Not because it was the first time a woman proposed to him, but the fact that it was the woman he knew for a long time.

Looking away, he cleared his throat and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his long sleeves.

“You’re just drunk. I’ll take you home,” he replied instead.

“No! Go back to your seat and answer me,” she demanded while pulling his arm. “Pretty please?”

His jaw hardened.

He didn’t have any patience for anyone and could’ve just walked out of the bar and left her there. However, he wouldn’t do that as she was the very reason why he was there in the first place.

Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and silently went back to his chair without glancing at her.

Meanwhile, Sabrina straightened on her seat and clapped her hands like a penguin while giggling. “Now answer me,” she commanded.

Gab shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Never did he expect the woman to be so persistent.

Finally, he turned to her direction and was about to reject her. However, he got stunned by the sight of her making the words get stuck in his throat.

The way she looked at him was making his walls crumble. Her red face was full of expectations that he doubted he could refuse if she repeated the question again.

Swallowing hard. He averted his gaze once again and just glared at innocent glass in front of him.

“Don’t you like me?” Sabrina suddenly asked.

Her voice sounded so sad which immediately caught his attention. Slowly, he looked at her again but his lips parted and his eyes widened upon seeing her already crying.

“Why are you crying?” He asked in shock.

“Is something really wrong with me? Why don’t you like to marry me?” her tears were flowing nonstop.

Gab panicked.

He didn't know how to comfort someone, thus he had no idea what to do to a crying person.

Cursing inwardly, he stood up and cupped her face. His heart melted seeing her bloodshot and puffy eyes staring back at him. Her nose and cheeks were red as well which made her look more like an pitiful innocent doll.

“Sshh, stop crying,” he hushed in a soft voice while wiping her tears.

Sabrina’s lips protruded. “Why do you hate me?” Her voice cracked.

Gab pursed his lips tightly. His chest tightened hearing her voice as he was not accustomed to it.

“Who said I hate you?” his thick eyebrows deeply creased.

“You don’t want to marry me. You’re just like Anthon. He didn’t want to marry me and proposed to someone else. Is something really wrong with me? Am I that ugly?”

In an instant his blood boiled.

That guy was a fool for taking the perfect woman for granted.

Gently caressing her cheeks, he leveled his face and looked straight into her eyes. “Don’t compare me to that douchebag. I’m not stupid like him”

“Then why don’t you want to marry me too?” She retorted.

“Because you’re drunk,” he replied patiently.

“So what if I am? I still know what I’m doing”

“Really?” he asked in amusement, “Then do you know who I am?”

Sabrina lifted her chin and smiled, “You’re Gab,” she quickly answered proudly.

“What’s my surname?” Gab probed.

Tilting her head, Sabrina’s eyebrows knitted and slowly, her smile faded.

“What’s your surname?” she repeated.

Gab chuckled.

He pinched her nose lightly then stood straight. “See? You don’t know me yet,” he muttered. “Don’t ask a stranger to marry you,especially when you’re drunk. You'll just going to regret it once you’re sober”

“But you’re not a stranger!” Sabrina argued.

His body froze.

Strangely, his heartbeat increased.

He suddenly stepped back while he stared at her as if she grew another head. He was not sure if he was nervous as he had never felt nervous before.

Meanwhile, Sabrina flashed a wide smile. “I know your name and we've been sitting here for hours and talking so you aren’t a stranger anymore~” she said in a sing-song.

Gab was gobsmacked.

He did not know whether to laugh or feel disappointed at her statement. But he admitted deep inside he got a little excited when she said he was not a stranger because he knew Sabrina for a long time.

“So, do you agree to marry me now, Gabby?”

‘Gabby,’ her voice echoed in his head.

It was like music to his ears. It sounded so good that he felt something inside his chest ignited.

His blue eyes darkened as he stared at Sabrina.

“Please?” her eyes glimmered while looking up at him.

And just like that, his self-restraint collapsed in an instant.