I'm Not Daria
Applying (end )

Five years later

....

I bent over to check it through the glass. It's beautiful, but so are the others. I nudged Anna next to me

"What do you think of this one?" I asked, hoping he could help me pick something.

He examined it carefully. "As you said, everything you showed me, it's so pretty."

"That's not helping me, pick one!"

"Darla, how do I know which one is perfect? Everyone has different tastes and what you like is not necessarily Devan's. You know him best, so you choose."

I let out a breath. "Okay, all right." I stared at the sparkling wedding ring on my finger under the neon lights.

"Hurry, we've been here for an hour, I'm gonna go sit somewhere"

"Oh my God, I'm sorry. Yeah, sit somewhere. I'll make it quick and then we can go."

"Thank you." She put her hands on her back and my eight-month-long-pregnant best friend walked over to the seat.

Okay, I have to make a choice. I looked at each piece again before finally choosing something and I imagined Devan wearing it. It looks good worth the money spent.

"Okay, I'm done. Let's go."

"What did you choose?" Anna asked as she stood up and we walked towards the exit.

I opened and showed her and she looked at him with full judgment then nodded in satisfaction "Beautiful," she commented, "When are you going to do it"

"Tonight"

"Wow, you really can't wait any longer, can you?"

"I waited five years for this." Said reasoned. "I think it's time"

"really. I'm so happy for you"

.....

We arrived at the mansion and today was a special day Everyone gathered in that house for an impromptu family reunion but Devan and I had to go out sometime before dinner because of the day it's even more special for us but Devan doesn't know that.

Gio looked at us and ran towards us. "How are the twins?" He asked Anna and she rolled her eyes.

"I was out for a few hours, Gio, I'm fine and so are they"

Since Anna became pregnant again, she has become very protective of herself and the twins in her womb. She believes that one of the twins was the first child Anna aborted and returned to them, which is biologically impossible, but I think it makes them feel calm.

Gio looked relieved and he smiled brightly at me "Hey, Darla, have you chosen something you like?"

I nodded

"Good luck for today" he said. "We'll hear the good news tomorrow"

"Thank you." I went to hide my groceries in the bag and Gio drove Anna to the sofa nearby.

The living room is full of excitement and activity. Jess tries to hold two-year-old baby boy Liam and Nathalie, named Nathan. She is very cute and does not cry much like other babies in general. It made her very liked and Daria who did not like the baby very much admired her.

Sam and Liam were watching him and half paying attention to the cartoon that was being played on TV

I walked into the kitchen and heard a commotion.

"Devan, I swear to God if you don't delete that video. I'm gonna hack your Instagram and upload all the embarrassing photos that were there!"

"alright. I'll remove it!"

It was no surprise to me that he was so easy to comply with Daria's request because everyone knew he was a great programmer and hacker who was ethical, even very ethical, but it's not very ethical when it comes to Devan.

"What is the video about?" I asked.

"Gio said something funny. He was drinking milk and choking, milk coming out of his nostrils. It was a funny sight."

"DEVINE!!!"

"What's? You didn't forbid me not to tell anyone."

I laughed and kissed Devan. He was chopping apples into pieces for everyone. She stopped to kiss me and Daria made a face that clearly showed that she was disgusted.

"Don't ever do that in front of me. I don't like my sister kissing the trash."

Devan withdrew and looked at him with a smirk like he was waiting for something

Exactly two seconds later my mother's angry voice boomed in the kitchen. "Daria!!, take care of your attitude! Learn from your brothers!!."

Daria's face flushed. "MOTHER! I told you never to say that! That was the worst insult a big brother received!"

"That's why I said that." Mother retaliated. "And keep your tone. Learn something from your brothers!" Mom said just to piss him off again.

Daria groaning. "I don't have to learn anything from them! You know??, I'm going. I'll spend my night with Steven!!. It's definitely more fun to be around him." Daria rushed off without saying goodbye.

Steven is his girlfriend. She meets him at Darina's high school when she is mistaken for Darina. He was two years younger than her, but so far he was the only man she had ever had a serious relationship with.

My sister went into the kitchen, almost hit Daria. "I should teach him some manners." He said, looking back as Daria walked away.

Darina sat in front of us and looked at us with hope. "I can't stay for the reunion"

"We're not going either." Said Devan,

It seems like everyone wants to escape rather than spend the night with family and relatives. That's understandable considering it's Valentine's Day and it looks like my mother's plan to force us to attend this reunion is going to fail.

"What are your plans tonight?" much

"I don't have any plans. I've been so busy recording my new single lately. But Hans said he asked me out today, so I don't think I'm gonna sit here and get bored." He said while stealing a piece of apple and Devan looked at him with an unimpressed look.

Tomi Hans is her boyfriend whom she met when she ran away from her adoptive family. He is a singer in a boy band and they have been in a pretty strong relationship for five years.

"That's great. Why do you arrange a reunion on Valentine's Day?" my lament.

"Do you think he knows that today is Valentine's Day?" Darina laughed a little.

"Maybe not. I'd be surprised if he knew what month it was." I rolled my eyeballs imagining it.

She finished eating a piece of cake and jumped off the chair, "Alright, I'll sneak out, have fun."

We said goodbye and then she disappeared into the kitchen. I stole a piece of apple from the pile Devan was cutting for fruit salad and leaned against the table next to it so I faced it with a small back touching the side of the table

"So, where are we going tonight?" Devan asked while bribing me another piece after I finished with the first one. I took another piece and fed it.

"Only a private dinner where no one will bother us." I said and giggled as he tried to bite my finger.

"That sounds like what I want."

He finished cutting the last apple and put away the tray before grabbing my waist and sliding towards it. The action surprised me, but I wrapped my hand around her neck as her lips landed on mine.

I pressed her down and she wrapped her arms tightly around my waist. Our lips clenched together as we moved passionately

"Gee!" Luna and Bella's voice saw us and I went to pull away but she followed and our lips stayed connected for a few more seconds before Devan pulled back.

"Hi," I said gasping while looking towards them

"Find the room, not the kitchen" Bella said as she came and examined the apples.

"I suddenly want to eat fruit pudding, so I'm gonna steal these apples." He told me and Devan shrugged his shoulders.

"We're going to go out." I said

He gasps. "You missed a family reunion?!"

"You'd do the same thing if you had a boyfriend"

"You don't have to insinuate me like that" said Bella, sad that she spent the day of love with her family.

"It seems I'll stay alone forever. I don't get it. Why don't the men like me? All my previous girlfriends didn't last long either."

"Maybe because you stayed away from them before they even approached you." I answered.

"Yes, but I still want to have a boyfriend. Seriously, seeing everyone around me happy in their relationship for these five years except me, is pretty sad."

"I'm sure you'll find a good man, Bella." I convinced.

"Should we go on a date so we could both date?" Luna's joking.

"I marry you if I don't get a man in the next three years. Was your offer still valid at that time?"

"I'm not sure. But had I dated someone back then, I would have left that girl for you." Luna wrapped her arms around her waist, I smiled at their banter before saying goodbye.

I was playing with Jess and Nathan. Conversations with the adults present, including my parents, Devan's parents, Bella and Gio's parents, as well as Luna's father and his new wife. They complained that we were all leaving, but we apologized and said that today was not a day for family reunions.

....

Devan and I went to an old-fashioned restaurant with outdoor seating in the back where we had a lot of privacy, perfect for the night.

We ordered and the food was served at our table. The restaurant and the tables were decorated in a heart-red color and we both felt it was quite romantic

My hand subconsciously reached into my bag and clasped the thing I bought today, its presence made me feel comfortable and gave me the confidence I needed.

Devan excitedly raved about the delicious food and how he got so much better at cooking for so many years that he could become a chef.

"You don't have to worry about food all your life, 'cause I'm gonna cook and feed you".

"Now why should you do that when I'm a good cook?"

"Well then we can cook together. I cook myself when you feel too lazy to do anything, and that happens a lot."

"Hey"

Devan chuckles. "Handering. So how's your job?"

"Lumayan good. I mean, being a surgeon was my dream. I was very busy, full of pressure, but it was worth it. I love my job"

"I'm so happy for you."

We had finished dinner and were waiting for dessert. I see this as the perfect opportunity

"Devan," I said, caught his attention.

"We've been together for five years and I couldn't be more sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you." I watched him closely, analyzing his reaction.

"Of course, we've fought and had difficult times, but every relationship must have experienced that and the most important thing is that we're still together."

I got up and walked to the side of his desk, the little box clasped tightly in my hand. He looked at me with happy eyes, probably knowing where he was going, I knelt down and handed him the jewelry box, opened it with my other hand to reveal a ring.

"Devan john addams, will you marry me?"

My heart was pounding because I was so nervous, but I knew the answer before he even said it

"Yes, Adinda Darla Daralyn, I will marry you."

Then before he could put a ring on his finger, he reached into his suit pocket

"You beat me. I was just about to ask you after dessert."

He took out a box similar to mine and opened it to reveal an intricate ring

She was about to put it on my finger, but I stopped her. "I was the first to quickly pull the ring and tuck it into his finger.

"Okay, my gosh, I didn't know it was a competition". He said and slipped the ring on my finger after that.

He stood up and looked at my hand and said that the ring was a perfect fit for me. Then I finally realized. I'm getting married. I'll walk to the sewer. I'll have a child soon.

Devan stood up and hugged me. I returned his embrace, my eyes glazed with happy tears

"I love you" I muttered into his shirt.

"I love you too."

I grabbed his face and our lips met. It was a sweet kiss. When we pulled away, he wiped my tears with his thumb.

We heard the soft sound of cutlery and bowls being placed and we turned back to look at the waiter who was looking at us timidly.

"Sorry to interrupt your moment. Uh. here's the dessert. Congrats". He hurried off quickly and we laughed at him.

We sat down in our chairs and began to eat dessert.

"So where, when and how do you want our wedding?" Devan answered straight away.

"I don't know. I always loved weddings on the beach. Do you like weddings on the beach?"

"I don't mind. What about our honeymoon?"

I've always wanted to go to the island of Fiji Can we go there for a honeymoon?"

"Sure, then after that to the island of Santorini". His eyes sparkled with excitement

"of course. I want to learn to surf and we can snorkel in Fiji. What are we gonna do in Santorini?"

"The ancient ruins are something I want to see. You'll be happy there, we can also go up the mountain."

"Origin don't fall and sprain your ankles like they did five years ago." I reminded him and he chuckled a little remembering those memories.

"Hey, even if it falls, you'll be there to catch me. Otherwise, you'll carry me, right?"

"I did it five years ago! You don't know this, but I've had a lot of back pain since then."

"You lied. My weight back then was only one and a half kilograms?"

"It was still more than this weak back of mine could bear. I'm just telling you to watch your steps and you're not doing anything unnecessary. You can be so awkward sometimes"

"You're telling me, a twenty-nine-year-old kid not to do things that aren't right? I've obviously never done that."

"With the way you act when you're excited, you may still be twenty years younger. Now you're done with your dessert? Let's go to the cliff and see the stars"

"I'm not even finished yet"

I see he hasn't even eaten much. After ten minutes I waited for him more, told him to hurry up and he called me an impatient bean

"Can't wait? Wait five years to propose to you. If it was up to me, I'd have proposed to her two years ago." I said.

"Why not?" He asked, really curious

"Because you said you had no plans to get married before you were twenty-nine."

"What?" He said, his forehead wrinkled with concentration to remember exactly when he said that. "When did I say that?"

"You remember the article about you and Luna when you were dating? Someone asked me about my wedding plans and you said you wouldn't be married for at least five years. That's why I waited five years for you to be ready."

It took a while for him to remember.

"Ahh". Then he laughed out loud.

"You really waited that long to be ready for marriage? Darla, it's just something that's spoken without a second thought, I just don't want the marriage rumors to spread. If you had proposed to me back then, we would have been married for two years now."

"really? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"What am I supposed to say? Darla, have you got my permission to propose to me? Of course not."

"You're right. Maybe it's also the fact that I'm not ready to get married. Now at twenty-six years old, I feel like this is the right time."

"There's no point in rushing or putting it off if we know that we'll always be together." He shrugged his shoulders.

Thas right. We know that we belong to each other forever, so it doesn't matter when we get married.

He stretched out his hand on the table and weaved our fingers. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you"

I was beaming towards him. "And with you."

"I love you." He said for the second time that night.

"I love you too"

I must thank Daria for her decision to flee seven years ago. It causes all good things to happen.

Being kidnapped and suspected of being Daria was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I owe Daria a lot for that. And thanks to Daria, Darina has a family now. Not only did I meet my biological parents, but I also met a man I loved so much.

Finished