by Marian Tee
Everyone swooned at the sight of it. Even Violet’s knees quivered. “Show off,” she hissed without heat because her heart was still beating madly, like it always did when Park did something unexpectedly romantic in public.
Park shrugged. And then he was continuing again, weaving a fascinating story of a prince she never dared dream she would meet, much less fall in love with – and have him love her back.
“The press would hound me like crazy, wanting to catch me in a good mood. But they never did---well, not until now.” He smiled down at her. “You changed me completely and for the better.”
She furiously blinked back tears. “Park!”
Turning to face the press again, he raised his head and waved. The screams and cheers that rose from the crowd were not just deafening but they were strong enough to make the ground underneath them vibrate.
“Annyoung ha sehyo.” He bowed.
Now Violet wanted to swoon herself. He seldom, seldom spoke in Korean and she so loved it when he did, especially when he acted all traditional like now. It was like having her favorite Korean drama stars come to life, never mind if he looked more like a European duke than an Asian prince.
“You’re so cute,” she squealed, almost jumping in glee.
Park turned to her long enough to roll his eyes at her.
She rolled hers back. Well, duh! She was his fiancée and she was in love with him. Of course she’d find him cute!
Park faced the press with another smile. “Everyone,” he said in English. “I want you to meet Violet, the girl I fell in love with and the one I mean to marry.”
Violet burst into tears. Park hated public attention while she loved it. Without a doubt, this was his way of proving to her one more time that he loved her – over everything else, to the point that he would gladly face his worst fears for her. Like he had when he allowed himself to love her, and like he was doing now.
“You don’t have to prove it anymore. I believe you,” she half-wailed.
Park’s heart still knocked against his chest at the sight of Violet’s blushing face. “Thank you for that, baby.” Pulling her into his arms, he spoke to the press one last time before signaling the end to the short interview and walking forward, motioning for his security team to cover them on all fronts. Even with her eyes closed and her face pressed tightly against his chest, Violet still heard the way the crowd collectively gasped, as if Park had said something that declared the end of the world.
Inside his limousine, Park smiled in surprised pleasure when Violet immediately climbed onto his lap. She twirled her arms around his neck. “What did you tell them?”
He grinned at her wickedly. “Sure you want to know?”
“That bad?”
“Well, you know how I really want to prove all the time I love you, right?”
“Aaaand?”
“And one way of showing that is by doing the things I dislike the most – like getting interviewed by the press – if it was also something I could do for you.”
“Get to the point,” she growled.
He laughed even as he nipped her lip, just with enough hardness as a way of playfully reprimanding her not to get so quickly impatient. He might now secretly love the side of her, but it did tend to get Violet into trouble. “So I told them something that I normally wouldn’t consider saying.”
She heaved a heavy sigh, as if it was all she could do not to shake him. “Which is?”
“I just told them I’m going to have my honeymoon before the wedding and I’m going to make you come so many times you’ll only remember my name.”
“WHAT?”
“It’s my way of proving how much I love you, baby,” he said cheerfully. “I like doing it so please look forward to a lifetime of me happily proving it.”
