Chapter 13 I Will Propose To You

“Well, it's just a position at the bureau anyway,” Preston snorted. “I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm from one of the four big families, Preston Douglas. If I want to, I can wipe the Hinton family off the earth with a snap of my fingers.” The Hintons could only tremble in fear as they didn't even have the right to beg for forgiveness from the Douglas family. Just as the Hinton family was pondering what to do, Jeremy acted. The eldest brother quickly offered a cigarette to Daniel. “Daniel, I'm still your brother... You won't leave me to rot, right? I know I was a d**k to you. Please forgive me for that.” The others began to follow Jeremy's lead and started pleading towards Daniel and Hannah. “He's right, Daniel. You've surely found yourself a wonderful future son-in-law! He's the pride of the Hinton family! The things we spoke of just now... Yeah, that was so disgusting...” “Skye Hans is no match for your future son-in-law.” “They're right. Zeke is still young and has quite the temper, but that's a good thing. Just help us get on his good side.” Both Daniel and Hannah were taken aback. The couple had been looked down on by their relatives for years. They had no idea to which of their relatives pleads they should listen to first. When they replied to any one of them, the other party would smile warmly back at them. The person with the worst fate amongst them was Skye Hans. A man that used to stand at the highest point in the group. Skye begged for Lily's forgiveness, but the lady kicked him aside. At first, Lily was hoping to use Skye to taunt Lacey. And yet, not only did Zeke outshine Skye, but the latter had also tried to use Jeremy as a shield. After the party ended, Daniel refused Jeremy's invitation to drive them back. Instead, he decided to walk back home with Hannah. On their way back, Hannah started to cry. “Honey, what's wrong?” Daniel panicked. “We’ve been married for 30 years, and your relatives have bullied me for that long. Zeke had just joined our family a few days ago, and he has already helped me so much... Even an ex-prisoner is better than you!” “I'm sorry, honey. These past few years must've been hard for you...” Daniel apologized. “Say, do you really think Zeke is a normal person? How can someone scare Liam George that much? Could he be hiding his identity?” “Honey, I think you should stop reading those novels,” Daniel laughed wryly. “Things like that could only appear in fiction. If he really is noble, why did he suffer in the Clemons family for five years? Plus, he couldn't even pay a dowry of three hundred thousand for the wedding last time.” Hannah thought about it and said, “Then, how do you explain the Liam incident? I also remember something else. Didn't Zeke sign a billion-dollar deal with the Schneider family? There's no way the wealthiest family in the city would sign a deal with Lacey's factory. Could it be that Zeke knows someone in the Schneider family?” After hearing what Hannah had said, Daniel slapped his own head. “Right! If I'm not wrong, the head of the Schneider family went to prison once. It was around the same time Zeke was there. Maybe they met each other there?” “That's most likely the case,” Hannah nodded. “Isn't the Schneider family one of the hosts of the Grand Ceremony? Since Zeke knows the head, can't he get us a ticket? I mean, if our family can participate in the ceremony, we'll be reborn! We can outshine the Clemons if we get in!” “You're right! Let's ask Zeke once we get back!” Daniel exclaimed. “Let's call Lacey and tell her to bring Zeke home,” Hannah proposed. Lacey and Zeke had been staying at the steel mill the past few days because Lacey's place was in the same district as the Clemons. The two families had been close in the past, but ever since Zeke appeared, their relationship broke. Lacey was preparing a bowl of noodles in the kitchen to repay Zeke for his intervention while he waited in the living room, watching the television. “It's good to have a home.” Zeke smiled. The door suddenly opened and in came Daniel and Hannah. Zeke quickly got up to welcome them. Hannah nodded, “Please, have a seat.” Hannah's tone wasn't as forceful as before, but it wasn't entirely welcoming either. It sounded more as if she was talking to a stranger. As soon as Hannah sat down, she asked, “Zeke, tell me, how do you know Liam?” “I helped remove his kidney stone once,” Zeke explained. “I see...” Hannah couldn't hide her disappointment. “And here I thought you could get us some tickets to the Grand Ceremony.” “You guys want in? I can bring you there tomorrow if you want,” Zeke said. “Everyone knows the tickets have all been distributed,” Hannah scolded as she rolled her eyes back. “How the heck are you going to do that?” “My presence will be the exclamation point of the ceremony. I won't need a ticket.” Hannah chose to ignore Zeke and walked straight into the kitchen. “Lacey, are you really trying to feed someone your food? Give me the pan.” Daniel threw Zeke a pack of cigarettes before he walked back into his room, sighing. A bowl of noodles and a pack of cigarettes. Those things were used to repay Zeke for what he had done for the older couple. Despite the insignificance of those two things, Zeke was happy with what he got as he chowed down on the noodles. Lacey tapped away on her phone, shaking her leg. She waited until Zeke finished his food and said, “You don't mind sleeping on the couch, right?” Zeke was about to respond but Lacey continued before he could object, “It's decided then.” Zeke stared at Lacey in silence, wondering if her parents knew just how mischievous their daughter was. “Lacey, wait up,” Zeke called out, stopping the woman in her tracks. “What's wrong?” “I'm going to propose to you at the ceremony tomorrow. You better be prepared.” “And the tickets?” “I don't have any.” “I see,” Lacey laughed. Zeke couldn't help but frown. What's with that laugh? The man then took out his phone and messaged Lone Wolf. “I'm going to propose to a normal lady at the ceremony tomorrow. Spread the word.” Lone Wolf replied shortly after. Noted. I'll send someone to pick you tomorrow. The whole night passed by quietly. As soon as the sun rose the next day, Lacey was woken up by a commotion outside of their house. She walked out of her room with her eyes still half-closed and saw her parents standing by the window glaring outside. It sounded as if something had gathered in their area. “Mom, what's happening?” Lacey asked out of curiosity. “Lacey! Come! Look! Something huge is going down!” Hannah exclaimed. Lacey joined her parents at the window. The moment she looked out of it; her jaw dropped. Outside their apartment were countless expensive cars. There were so many of them; they blocked the entire street. The most important thing was that these cars all had black plates, meaning they belonged to the army. Everyone peeked out their windows to catch a glimpse of what was happening. “Oh my God! Is there anyone alive who can move such a huge army?” Hannah exclaimed. “I heard that the Great Marshal is going to propose to a normal girl at the ceremony today,” Hannah said. “Could it be that these cars are here for that girl? To think that she's living in the same district as us!” What? Lacey felt as if she was struck by a lightning and turned to look at Zeke. I'll propose to you at the ceremony. Zeke's words sounded in Lacey's head.