Chapter 1: Proposal

Nolan Dawson was sleeping soundly, with a face filled with exhaustion and tiredness. He had worked his ass off last night as a part time worker so the sleep was evident to the stressful work.

As Nolan slept, he dreamt of a better life for himself and those he loves. In the dream he saw himself being able to live a comfortable and luxurious life but he himself knew all that is far from reality. He was poor so how could such a dream ever happen.

Suddenly, he was jolted awake by the sensation of water splashing onto his face. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and saw a young male standing over him, a bucket of water in his hand.

"Get up, loser!" He shouted, his voice filled with frustration. "You are just too lazy. Everyone is up already, do you want to get picked out of class again?" The male laughed, as he yelled out those words.

Nolan frowned with a face filled with shame and anger. He was Nolan Dawson, a university student on a scholarship. This has always been the way he was treated by his roommates. The person who had just splashed water on him happened to be one of them.

"Why did you drench me, and what's with the 'loser' wake-up call?" he groaned. "I bet you wouldn't pull this on our other roommates if they were asleep."

His male roommate snorted, "So what? Consider yourself lucky I woke you up; otherwise, your lateness would have earned you some punishment." With that retort, he walked out of the room.

Nolan sighed but didn't dwell on it for long. He knew lingering much on it would make him late, so he hurried to take a quick bath before leaving his hostel room.

Stepping out of his hostel and making his way to the school field, Nolan observed a chaotic scene: students running about with different expressions of both shock and excitement on their faces.

"What's happening?" Nolan couldn't help but mutter to himself. There wasn't any upcoming party, so this intrigued him.

Maintaining a puzzled expression, he halted one of the rushing students. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea. All I know is that something interesting is happening in the school hall," the student replied before hastily departing, leaving Nolan with more questions. 

With a curious expression, he began to make his way toward the school hall. As he drew closer to the hall, the boisterous sounds of students reached his ears.

"Just accept it! Wow! I'm genuinely blushing. Accept!"

Gasp!

Upon reaching the hall, more than 80 percent of the school's students had gathered. 

"Could it be the school authority is addressing the students?" That was the only thought he could think of.

Yet, a few moments after scanning the hall, he realized there were no school authorities present. "So, what could be the reason for this gathering?"

"Hey, why is everyone gathered?" He halted a rushed young man.

"It's Hansel. He's asking a girl to be his girlfriend," the hurried young man conveyed before departing.

"Oh."

Nolan fell silent. He was familiar with Hansel. Hansel hailed from a wealthy family, and his father was renowned as a businessman. Not only was he recognized as the son of a wealthy man, but he was also notorious for his arrogance and popularity among girls. 

He switches girls every two weeks without formally asking them out, so the young man's words didn't surprise him. However, what piqued his interest this time was that Hansel was proposing, instead of his usual style. Shaking his shoulders nonchalantly, he too became interested and decided to join the crowd. 

With this shoulder shrugged, he made his way forward as he struggled to squeeze through the large crowd. Having spent a full three minutes squeezing past the crowd, he finally was able to get a clear view of what's happening. 

He smiled faintly, realizing he could now get a glimpse of the unfolding events.

"Yo, yo, yo! You've got this!"

Amidst the cheers, Hansel gracefully knelt on the floor, holding a rose in a romantic yet proud manner.

In front of Hansel stood an elegant young lady. Nolan couldn't see her face as she had her back turned, but her slender figure hinted at her beauty. 

An indifference and disinterested gaze appeared on Nolan's face. There wasn't much to see other than a proposal that seems out of the ordinary, so he found it pretty nonsense. 

As he was about to leave, the hall fell into silence, all thanks to Hansel's voice.

"Darcy, don't make me kneel for too long. Become my girlfriend, and you'll experience all the luxuries I have to offer.

"Hmph!" 

Nolan scoffed with a bored expression, having known what the girl's response might be. 

Although he wished to leave, the growing crowd of students blocked his path in the hall.

Maintaining an indifferent demeanor, he averted his gaze from the surrounding crowd, attempting to find a way to pass through the crowd. Amidst his search, the loud exclamations of the crowd reached his ears.

"Darcy accepts!" 

"I still can't believe it. Hansel is proposing to Darcy Bardot!"

"Both of them look good. Darm, I'm jealous! One is the son of a wealthy man, and the other is the school belly."

Heave! 

Nolan froze in place. His eyes ceased searching for a way to leave. The words echoing from the crowd left him petrified and shocked.

Darcy Barlot!?

Nolan nearly stumbled backward, a horrified expression etching across his attractive face.

"Did I just hear...?" he wondered, initially thinking he must have misheard. However, the ongoing screams from the students confirmed his fears.

He swallowed hard, attempting to verify what he had heard. Unfortunately, he couldn't get a clear image of the woman Hansel was proposing to from his angle. 

Struggling to maintain a composed demeanor, he turned towards the crowd and grabbed a cheering male.

"What...!? Which Darcy Barlot is that?"

The enthusiastic male gaze at Nolan oddly. "Are you serious, or are you pulling my leg? Who doesn't know Darcy Barlot in this college?" He practically shouted the question, casting a suspicious glance at Nolan.

Nolan hissed in impatience. "Just tell me, which Darcy Barlot is it? Quickly!"

He wasn't concerned about the weird stares the cheering male was giving him. All that matters to him now was to have an answer to his question. 

The male cheerful face turned tense as he noticed Nolan's bloodshot look. "Darcy is the school's popular belly." He hurriedly spoke, before promptly leaving in fear. 

Gasp!

Cold beads of sweat trickled down Nolan's face, his face void of expression. 

With a disoriented mind, Nolan made his way back to the show's center. 

As he stood, he heard the voice of the lady. "Yes, of course I'll love to be your girlfriend."

The words of the lady caused a collective gasp from everyone. 

The joy and pride in the lady's voice wasn't left unnoticed by Nolan, however the expression on Nolan's face was far from horrible. 

The voice seemed both distant and familiar to him.

"Hooray! Darcy is officially mine!" Hansel jubilantly declared, drawing closer to her.

Anticipation hung in the air as he approached, with the crowd already sensing what would happen next. 

"Go Hansel!" One of the crowd screamed.

Another confessed, "I'm blushing scarlet here!" 

Nolan's face drained of color as Hansel brought Darcy closer, revealing her identity.

"Darcy Barlot!" Nolan's resounding voice filled the hall, sending tremors through the crowd.

The interruption didn't only startle Hansel but also prompted him to drop the rose subconsciously. 

"Who's that bastard!" Hansel seethed his teeth in anger.

He was vexed because the loud voice had stopped him from doing what he had planned on doing. 

All eyes turned to the voice owner, curious as to who was bold enough to interrupt Hansel's proposal. However, as they turned and saw Nolan, a collective hiss escaped their mouths. 

Darcy's face revealed a combination of surprise and confusion upon spotting Nolan.

"Ah, look who's here, our dear poor fellow. What's going on with him?" Hansel exclaimed with a silly grin when h

e realized who had arrived.

"You...!" Before anyone could react, Nolan swiftly approached Hansel and delivered a punch to his face.