Chapter 428: A Public Proposal

“What?” There was an uproar from the audience. Everyone started looking around and whispering in disbelief. They thought she had lost her mind and could not understand how she could be so selfish as to use this occasion to do something personal.

“What's happening?” Katherine whispered to James. Because of Katherine’s high-ranking status, they were in the front row as distinguished guests, they were close enough to see the sweat forming on Hazel’s forehead.

“I have no idea.” James frowned mysteriously.

With the crowd whispering amongst themselves, Hazel spoke again as if she didn’t hear them. “Last year, I unexpectedly met a man. At first, I thought the timing was really bad, but since then, my whole world has become a mess!”

The crowd hushed suddenly, and they stared at Hazel, waiting for her to continue.

Joshua never took his eyes off her; he had an idea of what she was planning, and his heart filled with warmth.

“I really didn’t like him; I pushed him away on multiple occasions. However, he convinced me to give him a chance,” Hazel continued to say with a shy smile. “I realized after a while that he wasn’t as annoying as I had originally thought. He always seemed to be Prince Charming and helped to solve all of my problems when I needed him most.”

“Not only that, he has been patient with me, without a complaint or showing any frustration. When I am happy, he encourages me. When I am sad, he encourages me to find the positive in the situation. Even when I am determined, he encourages my sometimes unreasonable requests.”

“He values my life more than his own. He wants to give me the world. There was a point that I doubted his feelings for me, that was my own issue, and I really should have trusted him, but he never let me go. So today, I want to take this time to make a public apology to him. Joshua Denmark, I am sorry.”

Joshua looked down in shame, he hadn’t realized that all of that was still troubling Hazel. He never wanted her to apologize, especially in front of her entire graduating class and their guests.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Hazel continued, “Joshua Denmark, can you please come up here?”

In a complete daze, Joshua stood up and walked toward the stage. Suddenly, the red silk that was covering the center stage was removed. There was a table entirely covered with roses underneath it.

Joshua could hear the commotion behind him, he stopped and looked at Hazel, she was standing at the other side of the stage smiling at him. When he started walking toward her, rose petals started falling from the ceiling.

Joshua was shocked by the entire scenario, he never imagined that Hazel could find the time to create such a beautiful moment. The walk across the stage felt like an eternity, but he finally reached Hazel, the woman he loved.

“Thank you for coming up here. I have one more important thing to say.” She winked as she stepped closer to him, she looked extremely serious and said, “Joshua, I love you very much. Will you marry me?”

The gymnasium exploded with whistles, clapping, and whispering. Hazel’s relationship with Joshua had been ongoing for almost a year, it was common knowledge. However, nobody attending the graduation thought that she would be so bold as to propose.

Hazel stood quietly and wondered if she had made a mistake. She could hear some of the comments, “Isn’t this a bit crazy?” one student said, but then another replied, “Yes, a bit crazy but also really cool.”

Someone took the lead and started shouting, “Say yes! Say yes!” Others began to join in, and soon everyone was shouting.

Some of the older attendees had a hard time understanding how a woman would dare propose to the man at all, never mind at something so public as a graduation ceremony. Nevertheless, they came around and started cheering as well.

Hazel was young, she wanted to be crazy and do something to shock everyone. Nothing like that had ever been seen in the history of Quantum University, it would definitely be recorded in their history.

Joshua was still in a daze. Hazel’s public confession had left him elated, not to mention the fact that she wanted to marry him. He felt as if he was dreaming.

A soft, sweet voice brought Joshua back to his senses. He looked at Hazel, who was standing in front of him trembling, and he understood why she was nervous.

“Will, will you say yes?” She tried to sound calm and patient as she waited, but her voice quivered as she asked him again.

Hazel began to get more nervous when Joshua didn’t say anything. She didn’t think that he wouldn’t refuse her, or would he? Would this be the one time he said no to her? She started to feel ashamed just thinking about if he said no.

Suddenly, she realized that wasn’t what she was really worried about, maybe he didn’t want to marry her, and she was pressuring him. She started trembling even more, and then Joshua sighed quietly. Hazel thought she was going to throw up.

“Hazel, how could you….” Joshua started to say. Her heart sank, she dreaded his next words. “Something a man dreams about is the day he proposes to the woman he loves. I wanted to be the one to propose to you.”

Joshua smiled and looked at Hazel, he knew she was trying to hold back her tears. He continued to watch her as he got down on one knee. She had caught him off guard, but fortunately, he was prepared.

Everyone gasped in shock, they didn’t say a word and watched quietly as they thought this only happens in the movies. Joshua took a velvet box out of his pocket, opened it, and presented it to Hazel.

Hazel thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Not only did she have a surprise for Joshua, but he also had one for her. She felt like she was dreaming.