She said yes.

As much as Robin could not believe it, she cannot believe it herself. It is one thing to shy away from having a relationship with someone but to agree to marry?

Robin surely has changed her and her stance in life. Gone is the woman who settles for meaningless sex. He slowly returned her to the woman she was before meeting Graham. He made her believe that love is possible for her again, that it is okay to trust someone again with everything that she has.

Yes, she does not regret saying yes. She can actually see herself spending the rest of her life with Robin. It's a good dream and one she yearns to come true.

She is in a daze for the following days after Robin's unexpected proposal. She has not told anyone yet about it because she is being selfish. She wants to savor the moment for herself before the rest of the world finds out about it.

When she came home that day, energy depleted from work, she found Robin carefully setting up the table. She moved quietly so she would not startle him. He is lighting up candles over the dining table. She can see that he prepared a lot of food…all of her favorite food.

When he moved away from the table, his eyes found her and he made a face about being caught again.

"You have a knack for spoiling surprises, haven't you?"

"It's not my fault you're not as subtle as you think. What's all this?"

He greeted her with the most passionate kiss that took her breath away.

"This is our moment together. So…if you please…" he took her coat and ushered her to the table.

He really went all out with everything. She cannot remember seeing some of the ingredients he used in their fridge so it meant that he left work earlier than usual to get them.

"Seriously, Robin. What is this for? I am pretty sure it's not your birthday. Otherwise, David and Killian would be hunting me down to plan a surprise party for you",

"It's not mine. It's yours",

She turned to him with an arched brow. "Robin, my birthday was a week ago",

"I know…and since, we're not able to celebrate it because someone forgot to tell me about it so, we're doing it now. Happy birthday, my love", he responded.

Yes, her birthday is not something she celebrates but for Robin, it seems like he is into birthday celebrations.

"Robin, about that…I'm sorry I did not tell you. It's not that I purposely kept it from you because I did not. I just don't celebrate it really so I literally forgot about the day until Mother called. My birthday…I don't find anything special about it",

He crouched next to her so he can look at her better.

"Well, I found something special about your birthday. It's the day the love of my life came to this world. It's the day the heaven sent my future wife and I cannot be more grateful because that day gave me you. That's why it's worth celebrating", he said.

No one has really paid attention on her birthday. Of course, her mother would scoff at her on that because she would argue about the countless parties she organized for her but all of those things, they were not for her. The gifts, the greetings, they're not for her. She has not experienced a birthday celebration that was really intended for her happiness.

Staring at Robin's blue eyes, seeing the effort he put in just to give her the birthday dinner she never got in her life, it is changing the way she sees her birthday. He's considerate and loving. He went out of his way just to do the things he knows would please her, down to the music playing on the stereo.

"Thank you, Robin. I really appreciate all of this and this is the best birthday I've ever had…late birthday", she said.

As if it was not enough, Robin took out a small box from his pocket. Despite knowing what's in it already, her heart is still pounded in her chest.

"I did promise you that I will get you a ring and…it took me a while to find the right one but I did it. Also…my proposal at the lake was really crappy", she laughed because it was really expected. "So, let me do that again. Hopefully, your answer will remain the same",

He positioned himself, kneeling in front of her, hands on the red velvet box.

"Regina Mills, I love you with every fiber of my being and you're the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

He then opened the box, revealing a silver ring with a nicely cut diamond on top. She has seen many jewelries in her life and though it's not as elaborate nor as expensive as those ones, it's the most beautiful ring she has ever seen. It is simple and yet so special. She can see why Robin has chosen it for her.

"You can ask me a thousand time, Robin, and I will always say yes to you. I would very much love to be your wife", she answered.

He almost picked her up from her chair as he wrapped her around his arms. "Oh, wait…" he carefully took the ring from the box before sliding it on her finger. To her surprise, it fits perfectly. He got her size right.

"Wow…it looks beautiful, Robin. Thank you",

"Yeah…beautiful", he muttered and when she turned to him, he was not looking at the ring but at her. "Now that I can officially call you my fiancé, why don't we start this birthday dinner? I am dying to know what you think of that pasta because it was a pain in the ass to make",

He started rambling about not remembering half of Granny's instructions on how to make it. She listened to all of it with a smile on her face because yes, this is the life she has always wanted and she cannot believe that she finally has it.


"Oh my god! You dirty little bitch! Let me see that hand!" Mal exclaimed as soon as she walked into her office.

She has not told her yet about her engagement and the secretary must have seen her ring and eventually told…well, everyone.

Mal inspected her ring like it's a big case and she waited anxiously for what she has to say.

"I cannot believe you kept this from me. Me! I am your best friend and you did not tell me",

"Relax, Mal. I have not told anyone yet. I just…well, I just want to savor it first, you know. It's still new and I want to cherish the feeling",

Her friend sighed before sitting across from her. "How do you feel?"

"To be honest? I feel like I'm still floating. It's not like I have not done this before, but this time it's different. I don't know why. For the first time in a long time, I feel so…happy. Does that make sense?"

Mal smiled at her before holding her hands over the desk.

"Of course, it does. You're no longer the naive young girl who fell for the handsome guy. You know better now and life made you tough. This is real. You've fallen in love with the right guy this time and you have every right to be happy",

It's probably that. Robin is the best one she could ever ask for. She really got lucky because she could have had any neighbor and it was him she met that morning.

"So…how did he propose?" Mal then asked and she could not help but smile wider.


When she got home, she heard voices coming from the back which made her frown. Robin did not tell her that he's having guests over. It's not that she minds but a little warning in advance would have been nice.

She put down her bag before heading towards the back. There she found Robin being surrounded by David, Killian, Emma, and Mary Margaret.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Oh…good you're here. Congratulations!" Mary Margaret beamed at her before pulling her in for a hug.

Her first instinct is to pull away but they've come so far now for that hug to be unwelcome. They're almost friends and if given time, they could be real friends.

"Thank you",

"Now, I want to see that ring because Robin does not even want to show us the picture", Emma said.

She allowed the blonde to inspect her ring before frowning at Robin.

"Oh, don't blame him. He just told David and David told me and then I told Emma and then Emma told Mary Margaret. It was chain reaction so to speak", Killian explained.

Of course…none of them can keep a secret.

"So…when's the wedding?" Mary Margaret then asked.

She looked at Robin in horror because, yes they're engaged but they have not talked about the wedding. None of them felt the need to rush it anyway so they're taking one steps at a time.

"We're not there yet. There's no need to rush. We'll let you know when we finally set up a date", Robin responded to rescue her.

It did not stop Mary Margaret from giving out suggestions about the place, caterers, where to order the flowers, the dresses. She even recommended a priest.

They let her since she's in a zone of excitement although Emma is close to bolting out of the house. The woman is a bundle of energy that none of them could match.

"Are you mad?" Robin whispered to her as they sat next to each other.

"Why would I be mad?"

"I know you don't want to tell people yet but I could not help it and I told David",

She smiled at him and pressed a kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry. I get it. He's your best friend. Besides, Mal found out today. Secretaries are more observant than we thought and before the day ends, everyone in the building knew about our engagement", she said.

Robin snorted before shaking his head.

"I bet a lot of people in your work are pissed off at me now",

"For what?"

"For taking you out of the market. You know how many men are basically throwing themselves at your feet. Believe me when I say that they're not happy with me", he answered.

"I don't care about them. All I want is you",

Emma suddenly groaned as she got up from the couch.

"Seriously, I cannot take all this lovey dovey moments so I am going to head out and do patrol. You can…I don't know, do what you want", she complained before heading out.

Killian only shrugged his shoulders before following his girlfriend. Mary Margaret and David offered their congratulations before leaving too.

Now, they're alone in the house which she prefers more.

"I saw the sold sign outside of your house",

Robin has put it in the market three days back. It's not a surprise that it was bought quickly.

"Yeah…finally sealed the deal and we can use that money for our wedding", he said.

"Oh…I don't need a big wedding, Robin. Honestly, I prefer it to be small, more intimate. There's no need to be grand",

She had done that before and she did not enjoy one bit of it. Too many people she didn't even know. At the end of the night, she was too tired to even move a muscle which did not stop Graham from completing the whole tradition and having his wedding night. It was just a horrible day.

"Anything you want, my love. I have no problem with that although…" he trailed.

"Although?"

"I have been meaning to talk to you about this but our neighbors just invaded the house so…"

"Robin…just say it", she cut off his rambling.

"I have to inform my parents about our engagement", oh…that, "I know the last time we went up there was a disaster but I just want them to know that this is real. What we have is real and I am not going to hide that from them",

Personally, she has no intention of telling her parents about it. They don't deserve to know anyway but it's different with Robin's parents. They have different relationship than hers. She cannot take that away from him.

"When's the trip?" She asked.

"Are you sure?"

"Robin…when I said yes, I meant everything that was entailed with it. I am in this so, when are we going to see your parents?"

He kissed her and they both landed on the sofa, giggling like teenagers.

"How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's perfect", she responded.