CHAPTER HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE

RICHARD'S POV

Before anyone could recover their breath, much less their voice, I stepped forward, ignoring the gasps and glares directed at my back.

My gaze never left Amelia's, my

"I'm here'" I announced, my voice echoing in the sudden stillness, "because there's something you need to know. Something everyone needs to know."

Taking another step towards her, each footfall a thunderclap in the silence, I declared, "Amelia...will you marry me?”

Silence. Like a thick fog, it settled over the grand living room. I almost chuckled – did they think silence was intimidating?

Then, a sudden, sharp scream cut through the quiet. It was high-pitched and shaky, like the sound of old dishes being dropped. Amelia's grandma, who was wearing tons of jewelry, like a king's treasure chest, burst out laughing. Her laughter was loud and long.

"Marry? You, you...boy thinks he's worthy of marrying *my* Amelia?" Each word dripped with venom, her face twisted in a weird smile that wasn't really