Fake Date, Real Fate-Chapter 100: All the Ways I Say I’m Yours

"CAN I BE YOUR BOYFRIEND?"

I read it again, my mind trying to catch up. ’CAN I BE YOUR BOYFRIEND?’ It wasn’t a puppy’s name. It was... a query. A question. Scrolled in neat, tiny letters on a miniature silver dog tag.

My eyes snapped up, past the puppy’s fluffy head nestled against my chest, to meet Adrien’s eyes.

He was no longer just standing; he was walking towards me, slowly, a tenderness I rarely saw flickering in his expression. His usual carefully constructed composure was fractured, revealing a vulnerability there, a raw hopefulness that stole my breath more effectively than any grand gesture.

He stopped in front of me, reaching out a hand, not to me, but gently stroking the puppy’s head. "She," he said, his voice lower than usual, quiet amidst the gentle rocking of the boat, "is asking for me. Or rather... she’s delivering the question for me."

My eyes welled up, hot and immediate. This wasn’t just a date. This wasn’t just a fancy client dinner.

This was... this. An elaborate, incredibly sweet, slightly insane way to ask.

I buried my face in the puppy’s soft fur for a second, breathing in its clean, puppy scent, taking a breath to steady myself.

My heart was racing in my chest. All the questions, the confusion, the mild irritation from the drive over – it all dissolved in a wave of overwhelming emotion.

I lifted my head, still clutching the impossibly cute dog tight.

I looked at him.

A laugh, wet and disbelieving, escaped me.

"Adrien..." My voice was thick. What could I even say? This was... everything I hadn’t known I wanted to admit I wanted. The grand gesture hidden behind business talk, the attention to detail, the puppy!

He waited patiently, that hopeful vulnerability etched on his face.

I looked down at the puppy again, whose little tail was now wagging furiously against my arm, then back at him, a genuine, overwhelmed smile finally breaking through my tears. "You... you bought me a puppy," I repeated, the wonder clear in my voice, "to ask me out?"

He smiled, a genuine smile, the kind that softened the sharp angles of his face. "It seemed... memorable."

Memorable didn’t even begin to cover it──It was out of the ordinary──It was overwhelming... It was perfect.

My heart was pounding still, a chaotic drum against my ribs. All the confusion, the irritation from earlier, the anticipation, melted away into pure, staggering affection.

I looked at the puppy again then back at him, tears finally spilling over without control and tracing cold paths down my cheeks.

"Yes," I whispered, the word catching in my throat. "Yes, Adrien. You absolutely can."

His face broke into another smile, a brilliant smile that lit up the deck.

He stepped closer, gently placing a hand on my cheek, thumb brushing away a tear. "Good," he murmured, his eyes holding mine. "Because I wasn’t sure I could wait any longer."

He wrapped his arms around me and the little fluffball between us.

"I’m keeping the dog too," I said into his chest.

He chuckled, low and satisfied. "That was part of the deal."

The silence that followed wasn’t empty—it was full. Of everything unspoken. His eyes searched mine, not for approval, but for reassurance. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

That I understood.

That I felt it too.

And I did.

The puppy nestled into my arms with a quiet yawn, warm and soft and impossibly small. I held her close, already undone by the simple weight of her trust.

She smelled like fresh cotton and something sweeter I couldn’t name.

Then I noticed the little box he had somehow placed in my lap.

No grand gesture, no speech.

Just something waiting patiently, like him.

My fingers trembled as I opened it.

Inside sat a necklace. Simple and elegant, a thin silver chain holding a single, perfectly round, opalescent pearl that gleamed faintly in the twilight dimness filtering onto the deck.

Another gasp escaped my lips, quieter this time but equally overwhelmed.

I didn’t have to ask to understand what it meant.

This wasn’t like the emerald and diamond necklace from that auction. That one had glittered beneath a thousand camera flashes and headlines, a symbol of fiction dressed as luxury.

But this...

This was different.

This one was quiet. This one was mine.

I looked up at Adrien again, tears still tracing paths on my cheeks. How many more surprises has he prepared?

He was watching me, his expression unreadable now but the tenderness hadn’t left his eyes. He didn’t say anything, just waited as I lifted the necklace carefully from its resting place.

"It’s beautiful," I whispered, the pearl cool against my fingertips.

"For you," he said, his voice still low, confirming it wasn’t just part of the puppy’s ensemble. "Something... to anchor the moment, perhaps."

Anchor. Yes. After the whirlwind of the puppy and the question, this quiet, beautiful thing felt like an anchor. A physical token of this bizarre, wonderful, unique evening.

My hands were shaking slightly as I fumbled with the clasp.

Without a word, Adrien gently took the chain from me, stepping behind me as delicately as the rocking deck allowed.

He gathered my hair to one side, his fingers brushing the nape of my neck as it sends a small shiver through me and I felt the cool metal settle against my skin.

He fastened the clasp with practiced ease.

He didn’t step away immediately. His hands lingered for a second at my shoulders before he moved back around to face me.

My hands reached up, touching the cool smoothness of the pearl resting just above the collar of my dress. It felt right. Unexpected, but absolutely right.

The puppy, having settled into a warm, furry lump, let out a little sigh against my chest. I stroked her head, my other hand still hovering over the pearl.

"Adrien," I said again, the wonder still thick in my voice. "I... I don’t even know what to say."

He smiled then, genuinely, that brilliant smile I was already starting to love. "You said yes," he reminded me softly. "That was the most important part."

He reached out, his hand cupping my cheek again, thumb gently wiping away another tear. "Everything else is just... details. Like getting you a lap warmer who also happens to be an excellent messenger."

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