Chapter Three: It's All Coming Back

She smelled the roses one last time, and afterwards, she steps inside the vehicle and she started the engine. She needs to go back to the office to finish some pending tasks...

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Later that night 

Serena went straight to Liam's apartment after a long day at the office. She pressed the buzzer and after a few seconds, her boyfriend, Liam smilingly greeted her.

"Did you like the roses?" Liam asks her as they walk inside the apartment.

"Yes, I did. It was lovely. Thank you, Liam." Serena lovingly thanked her boyfriend.

Serena's gasp was caught in her throat when she saw the dinner table.

Petals of yellow roses were scattered on the floor, forming a circle where the dining table is placed. It was a candlelight themed-dinner. 

"Shall we take a seat, then?" Liam invited her.

"This is beautiful, Liam. I'm impressed!" she answered in amazement.

"I'm glad to hear that. Let's have dinner, shall we?" Liam suggested.

When Serena lifted the stainless plate cover, she was surprised to see another envelope on her plate. Something was written on it, which says "Open Me."

She looked at Liam in amazement, who just lovingly smiled at her. She decided to open the envelope. 

"There's a surprise hidden by another surprise. If you want to know what kind of surprise it is, take the staircase that would lead you at the rooftop. Another clue awaits for you there."

Serena teasingly rolled her eyes heavenward. 

"Rooftop? How romantic, Liam..." she cajoled.

Liam chuckled in return. 

"I know you would say that. C'mon." he said, as he offered his hand towards Serena. 

Serena accepted his hand and stood up. 

They left the apartment and took the emergency staircase. When they arrived at the top of the stairs, Serena saw another letter pasted at the emergency door exit.

"Open the door towards the treasure. A treasure only fit for a queen like you is waiting for you there." Serena read the letter out loud, and after that she looked at her boyfriend again in surprise. 

Liam just gave her an encouraging smile. 

Serena sighed, but she was feeling a little nervous. 

This is getting interesting, she thought.

She pushed the door open. The gust of the evening wind greeted them. What she saw next that left her breathless was a red carpet. It was another candlelight-themed dinner. There were 2 people there playing a wonderful song on a violin.

"Oh, Liam..." she was already near tears when Liam suddenly spoke. 

"Lead the way, Serena." he said. 

Serena slowly walked at the red carpet, while Liam is silently following her. When they finally reached the table, there was something written on the stainless plate cover. It says:

 "Thee treasure lies in here."

With trembling hands, she slowly opened the lid, and she saw a small velvet box. And she didn't have to ask or guess what was inside. 

"Open it, Serena." Liam whispered at her. 

With cold hands, Serena opened the box and saw a diamond solitaire which sparkled like a star in the sky! 

Liam pulled the engagement ring out from the small box and asked for her right hand. He bent on his knees and stared straight into Serena's eyes... 

"Will you give the honor to marry you, Serena?" Liam finally popped the question. 

"Yes!" Serena exclaimed. 

Liam slipped the ring on her finger and kissed it. 

They both hugged each other happily...Liam carried Serena and spun her around.

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After a few hours.

Serena smiled and looked at Liam's car while he is driving away. They had a wonderful dinner after the surprised proposal and after some champagne glasses and a few little dances, she asked her fiancé to take her home since she still has an important meeting tomorrow.

When Liam's car was out of sight, she went upstairs leading to her very own apartment room. 

She was about to go straight to the bathroom when the phone suddenly rang. Serena quickly grabbed the phone because she knew it was her dad calling at that time. The timing was perfect. She was about to tell her father about her engagement to Liam. 

"Hi, Dad! I'm glad you called-----!"Serena was interrupted when she heard her father's worried voice. 

"---Serena! What happened to you? I've been calling you on your smartphone since afternoon!" 

Serena frowned. She knew right away that there was something wrong based on her father's agitated voice.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I just switched off my smartphone and I just got home..."

She heard her father lets out a deep sigh from the other line.

"I'm sorry if I snapped at you...It's just your sister---she's in the hospital. She tried to commit suicide this morning." her father sadly announced.

Serena froze when she heard what happened to her younger sister. 

"I-Is she alright now?" she nervously asks her father.

"Via is in a stable condition now. She tried to swallow down a bottle of sleeping pills. She was deeply heartbroken because things are not working well with her boyfriend...” her father explains Via's situation.

"Oh, Via..." Serena helplessy said. 

"Do you think you can come home, Serena? I know you have a job over there, but your sister doesn't want to be with me. She only listens to you." her father begged from the other line.

"Of course, Dad...I'll be able to go home as soon as possible." Serena quickly answers.

"I'm relieved to hear that, Serena. At least the three of us will be together even just for a short time." the old man stated.

Serena asked few more things about Via's condition. Afterwards, Serena weakly hungs up the phone. Even though her father reassures her that Via is in good condition now, she still feels uneasy. 

She needs to talk to. Mrs. Caldwell and talk about her situation, and ask her permission to go back to her hometown. She's quite sure that her old Boss will understand her.

She needs to be with her younger sister as soon as possible. 

And she also needs to talk to Liam.