Engagement

Daphne Rodriguez sat in the black limousine, her heart beating in excitement. This was what she had been waiting for all day. It was finally here. She was finally on her way to the party in an extremely gorgeous red strapless mini dress that stopped halfway down her thighs. As the car rolled to a stop, she could almost feel her heart jumping out – not out of nervousness but out of excitement. She could never be nervous for something like this. Never. She had attended events like this in the past. In fact, she attended this kind of events almost every week. But there was something special about today's own. Today's own was going to be about her. Her engagement was going to be announced.

Daphne held back her squeal of excitement as she stared out through the tinted glass, at the reporters and cameramen who lined themselves up at each sides of the red carpet. Light flashed here and there and the clicks of camera sounds could be heard as they took pictures of the people who walked through the red carpet.

A huge grin appeared on Daphne's face. Celebrities were going to be here – famous musicians and singers and actors and actresses and businessmen and women were going to be here. They were going to see her get engaged.

She waited, heart in mouth, for the red carpet to be a little bit deserted, then, she motioned to her bouncer who sat in the front seat. He quickly but smoothly climbed out of the car and turned to her side, pulling the door open for her.

In an elegant fashion, she let her right foot slide out of the car to the ground. This attracted the attention of the press and they all quickly turned to her, the flashlights of their cameras going off. This was something she was used to. Confidently, she placed her second foot out of the car and paused a bit, before fully climbing out of the car.

The cameras flashed even more furiously as the press took her pictures.

And the screams and squeals of her name filled her ears.

"Daphne!"

"Daphne Rodriguez!"

"You look beautiful, Daphne!"

"That is a gorgeous dress!"

She plastered a bright smile on her face as she started through the red carpet, waving her hand at them as they called out compliments to her.

She walked down the red carpet into the building where the event was taking place. The particular event was the Annual Fundraising for Charity hosted by the Kings every year. However, this year, it was going to include the announcement of her engagement and Daphne was giddy with excitement.

"Daphne!" she heard a voice called and when she turned, she saw one of her friends, Leia, walking towards her, a glass of wine in her hand.

"Leia, darling," Daphne said in a way of greeting, leaning closer to hug her and kiss her cheeks.

"Daphne, you look absolutely beautiful," Leia complimented as they drew away from each other.

"Oh, honey, thanks. And you look good too," Daphne said and Leia beamed. Leia was an actress, not necessarily an excellent one, but a well known one and one of Daphne's many celebrity friends.

As they walked deeper into the room, amidst the crowd of people, a water passed by holding a tray of glasses containing wine. Without stopping him, Daphne grabbed one.

"Looks like an interesting night, uhn?" Daphne intoned, staring around the room.

"Certainly. And guess what?" Leia leaned closer. "Adrian King is going to be here tonight."

Daphne feigned a look of surprise as she stared at her friend. "Really? He is?"

"Yes, he is. So many people are excited to see him, including me," Leia said as she grinned.

"Hmm, you don't say," Daphne said as she placed the glass in between her painted lips and took a sip of her wine. She glanced ahead of her and saw her parents standing with a couple of people. Her father raised his head and he arched his brows at her. Daphne recognized that look. She turned to Leia. "Leia, I've got to go. Maybe we can meet up for the after party?"

"Absolutely, darling." Once again, they leaned closer to each other and kissed their cheeks.

Daphne straightened up, gripped her glass tightly and strutted towards her parents. "Dad. Mum."

"Daphne darling," her mother beamed. "You look ravishing."

"Daphne. Glad to finally see you here," her father said and she gave him a small smile while turning to their companions to greet them. "Excuse me for a bit," her father said. "I'd like to speak to my daughter privately." He held Daphne gently by her arm and steered her away from the crowd to an almost empty corner of the room. "You are late," he said.

"You said I should be here before the Kings. The Kings are not here yet," Daphne countered.

Having nothing to say to that, he slipped his hand into his trouser pocket and brought out a small jewelry box. He handed it over to Daphne. "Here."

"What is this?" she asked, turning the box over.

"Your engagement….." Before her father could finish his sentence, she had already opened the box and let out a small squeal at the gorgeous diamond ring sitting in the box. "Ring," her father finished.

"It's beautiful," she said, with glazed eyes as she picked it and slid it into her finger. "So beautiful."

Her father sighed. "Yes it is." Then, he turned and walked away from her back to her mother and their friends.

Daphne started to walk back to the crowd. She stopped another waiter, dropped her empty glass and picked up another glass of wine.

"Hey, stranger," Lucy voice said behind her and she turned.

"Oh, Luce."

"You look beautiful," Lucy said. "That dress looks so good on you."

Daphne beamed with pride. "It does, doesn't it?"

"And is that a ring I see?" Lucy nearly squealed as she grabbed Daphne's left hand. "Well, hellooo," she whistled. "This looks beautiful. And it obviously cost a lot of money."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Duh, obviously."

"So, did Adrian give this to you? Did he propose? How did he propose?" Lucy asked, an excited smile on her face.

A frown covered Daphne's face. "He didn't exactly ask," she muttered. "He gave my dad the ring to give to me."

"Oh," The smile on Lucy's face disappeared. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah, whatever." Daphne waved her hand dismissively. "I'm still getting married to the Adrian King. That's s freaking exciting!"

"It really is." Lucy raised her head, staring at the doorway. "And I think your fiancé and his family are here already," she informed Daphne who quickly turned around to catch a view of what Lucy was talking about.

What she saw knocked her breath right out of her. Mr. and Mrs. King walked into the hall, dressed in a suit and a black evening gown. That wasn't what surprised her though. What surprised her was seeing Adrian King behind them in all his handsome glory, in a black diamond suit.

Daphne stared at his face – his, oh so perfect face and could almost feel herself hyperventilating. "Oh my God," she breathed.

"Easy girl," Lucy teased. "You look like you are about to faint."

"He looks even better than before. How the hell is that possible?!"

"I don't know."

A wave of jealousy overcame her as she noticed the girls ogling Adrian King. Luckily for her, none of them could build up the courage to approach him. Adrian King was known for his arrogant and unapproachable manner. That didn't stop people from fawning over him though. He was so handsome and so physically appealing that they immediately forgave him of all his faults.

Daphne watched and studied the Kings' as they approached people, greeting them and welcoming them to the event.

"I think you should go meet your parents," Lucy said, leaning closer to her.

"Why?"

Lucy shrugged. "They are about to go greet your parents. Wouldn't you want to be there?" she asked.

Daphne whirled around. "No. I'm my own person and they can come and greet me while in standing here," She answered. She grabbed another glass of wine from a tray as a waiter passed by.

Lucy rolled her eyes but said nothing. After a while, she said, "Looks like your wish is about to be granted. They are coming over."

Daphne quickly turned back around, trying hard to not make eye contact with either of the Kings'. "I think you should leave, Luce," she said in a quiet tone.

Lucy opened her mouth to argue, a pained look crossing her face. Then, she snapped it shut and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. Good luck." She turned around and started to walk away.

Daphne whirled around, facing the Kings' who were approaching her. Her hands tightening around the glass, she plastered a wide smile on her face. "Anna!" she exclaimed, referring to the middle aged Mrs. Kings' She started to walk towards them, meeting them halfway.

"Daphne," Anna King answered, releasing her husband's arm as she and Daphne embraced each other. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you so much," Daphne grinned. "And so do you. That gown is just so flattering on you."

"Thanks honey."

Daphne turned to the old Mr. King. "And Oliver, it's just so nice to see you again." She leaned closer to him hugging him and giving him a smacking kiss on his cheek. "You look handsome," she said.

Oliver King grinned at her.

If there was one thing Daphne knew how to do, it was to flatter the right people.

"Daphne, it's so good to have you here."

"Thank you. I'm excited to be here too."

He slowly held her hand, raising it up to stare at the ring. "I can see that your father has given you the ring. What do you think?"

"It's really gorgeous," she said, her eyes darting to Adrian as she spoke. He has a frown etched on his forehead and he looked everywhere but at her. "It's beautiful," she said, turning back to Oliver. "Your son has an impeccable taste."

"Doesn't he?" Oliver grinned. He turned to his son, Adrian. "Adrian, you've met Daphne Rodriguez. Daphne, Adrian."

Daphne turned fully to Adrian King, a bright smile on her face. "Mr. King," she said in a formal tone. "It's nice to see you again."

Adrian finally turned his gaze towards her, and his lips pulled down in a scowl as he looked at her. "Miss Rodriguez," he practically snapped.

"Please, call me Daphne."

The frown on Adrian's face deepened.

"So," Anna King said with an excited smile on her face. "We will leave you two to it. Spend some time with each other," she said as she slid her arm into her husband's.

"Is that really necessary?" Adrian asked, sounding pissed off as he glared at his mother.

She returned his glare with her hard one of hers. "Yes," she said. She faced Oliver. "Talk to your son."

"Listen to your mother," Oliver replied simply. "And don't forget you are the one announcing the engagement," he added.

"How can I?" Adrian snapped. "You've been saying it for hours."

Ignoring him, Oliver turned to a delighted Anna, giving her a kiss on her cheek before leading her away from Daphne and Adrian.

As soon as they left, an uncomfortable silence reigned. Despite the fact that the people around them chatted loudly and the hall was pervaded with loud music, Daphne and Adrian said nothing to each other. While Daphne was trying hard to not hyperventilate in his presence; keyword: trying.

"So…." Daphne finally said.

Adrian purses his lips, turning his icy eyes on her. "We don't need to talk to each other," he says in an incredibly deep but cold voice that made Daphne flinch. "Just stand close to me to give people the impression that we are together."

"Right," Daphne gulped down the remaining contents of her glass and shuffled her feet towards him to stand beside him. As soon as she saw another waiter passing with a tray of wine glasses she grabbed one and gulped the content down again. When she raised her head, she saw Adrian staring at her with a deep frown on his face. "What?"

"Do you have a drinking problem?" he asked. She opened her mouth to reply but he didn't give her a chance to speak he continued saying, "I can't marry a woman with a drinking problem."

"I don't have a drinking problem," she answered, turning away. "I'm just nervous."

He snorted, looking away from her.

The rest of the night was incredibly awkward. The two said nothing to each other, just staring ahead. And they stood like that for hours as the event moved on smoothly until it was time for Adrian King to give his announcement.

Daphne watched him as he swaggered up to the stage in a certain kind of pride and arrogance, his big, lovely hands reaching out for the microphone. The look on his face as he spoke was blank and a little cold and indifferent, yet, he managed to charm everyone in the room. They were all smiling from ear to ear as he spoke, his deep sexy voice coming out from the speakers and filling the atmosphere.

A dreamy smile appeared on Daphne's face as she stared at Adrian King. Yeah, her was definitely her type and she would do anything I her power to get married to him.

Daphne didn't pay attention to half his words as he spoke, yet, she certainly heard her name, "Daphne Rodriguez." She glanced up at him, ignoring the stares the people around her gave her. He motioned to her to come up the stage and she did.

She dropped the glass in her hand and began to walk up towards him amidst the claps of people.

This was it. If there was anything she was good at, it was being in the spotlight.

She walked gracefully to the stage, not even stumbling in her heels as she climbed up to meet Adrian King, who was officially now her fiancee.

The applause that filled the room was deafening.

"I am excited to announce that Daphne and I are now engaged," Adrian said. To the amateur ear, he probably sounded excited. But to the people like his parents and Daphne, he sounded stilled. At his announcement, the applause became even louder.

He dropped the microphone and turned to Daphne. He move his head closer and closer until their noses were touching.

Daphne could see the clenching of his jaw.

Then, he cupped her chin and kissed her on her lips.

The audience went crazy, howling and clapping.

Daphne couldn't describe the feeling she had as he kissed. She quickly wound her hands around his neck, pressing herself closer to him and kissing him even harder.

She could feel herself drowning in excitement.