THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 278: I Have A Proposal

"Hey? What are you doing here?" Lauren asked when she was sure he had remembered who she was.

Instantly, Steffan drew a veil over his mind. He didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone related to Kathleen.

As a matter of fact, she was the reason he was here in the first place— to forget about her for good.

Why continue to cry over spilt milk. He knew he was no match for Shawn in fighting for Kathleen’s love, moreover he could tell that Kathleen only had Shawn in her heart despite making things difficult for Shawn all these years.

Not only that, but if his family finds out that he deliberately wants to break apart a family who was trying to find ther bearing, Shawn’s anger and alienation would be a child’s play compared to what he would get from his family members.

As a matter of fact, they might even force him to get married to Benita to save themselves the embarrassment he would have caused them.

He sighed inwardly, "Look, I’m here to clear my head, so I’d rather be alone."

Lauren, not fully understanding Steffan’s words, leaned in,. "Oh, perfect! I was hoping to run into someone I know. Mind if I join you?"

Steffan hesitated, contemplating how to politely decline, but Lauren had already taken a seat beside him.

"Actually, I’d prefer some alone time," he said bluntly, no longer trying to sugarcoat his intentions.

Lauren frowned, genuinely puzzled. "Is everything okay? You seem like you’re avoiding me."

Steffan sighed, realizing he couldn’t escape the conversation. "It’s not about you. I just wanted some time to myself, you know?"

Steffan hesitated, then decided to share a bit of his struggles. "Just dealing with some personal stuff. Needed a break from reality."

Lauren’s expression softened, and she nodded understandingly. "I get it. We all need an escape sometimes. Sorry for barging in."

Appreciating her understanding, Steffan managed a small smile. "No hard feelings. It’s just one of those nights, you know."

He extended his hand for a handshake, "I’m Steffan, Steffan Rosse. As you already know, I’m a doctor at Medstar Hospital."

"Nice to officially meet you, Dr Steffan," Lauren smiled. "I am Lauren Holmes, I run a little coffee shop, somewhere in this town."

"I bet it’s not as little as you made it out to be," Steffan said, returning the smile.

Judging from the fact that she was a friend to such a renowned personality like Kathleen, he could imagine how "little" her coffee shop would be.

"So why are you here?" he asked. She doesn’t look like the type that frequent places like this.

"Long story," she replied, emptying her glass of drink in her mouth.

"That’s why I’m actually here— to decongest my head."

"Take it easy with that," he said with concern as he watched her drown the beer in one go.

"I don’t plan to go easy on it tonight," Lauren responded as her eyes, which seemed to be dancing to the pulsating beats of the music scanned the crowded room and settled on the dance floor where people were moving sensuously to the music.

"Do you care to dance?" She asked all of a sudden.

Glancing at the energetic dancers, Steffan shook his head. "I don’t think that’s a good idea. Dancing isn’t my forte."

Lauren laughed heartily. "Who cares, I’m a terrible dancer myself. It’s just for the fun anyways, not for us to win any competition."

After a moment of contemplation, Steffan chuckled. Wasn’t it also a way of ridding his head of those haunting thoughts?

"Come on, Let’s hit the dance floor," he said, causing Lauren’s eyes to sparkle with excitement. "Let’s see how bad we are at this together."

Lauren removed her coat and flung it over her chair as the heat in the club was a far cry from the cold air outside.

They made their way to the dance floor, the music pulsating through their bodies as they began to sway to its beat, initially awkward but soon finding a rhythm of their own.

Their laughter filled the air as they moved in sync, not caring about perfection but reveling in the spontaneity of the moment.

Surprisingly, despite their claims of being terrible dancers, they fell into a rhythm that seemed almost natural.

As they twirled and swayed, Steffan couldn’t help but notice the smile on Lauren’s face and for a moment he found himself captivated by her beauty,

It was as if the music had cast a spell on him as he stared at those two dimples gracing each sides of her cheeks.

He suddenly snapped out of his daze when Lauren mistakenly stepped on his feet. After an apologetic laugh, he got back into the dance. As they danced, the energy between them was so infectious that it ended up drawing smiles from other onlookers.

After dancing to two songs, they returned back to their seats in high spirits.

"That was damn exciting." Lauren said as she tried to catch her breath.

"You can say that again," affirmed Steffan. "It’s been long I enjoyed myself this much. Thanks to you."

"Nah.. I did nothing,"

As they engaged in their little banter, Steffan couldn’t help but notice the way her dress hugged her figure, accentuating her beauty.

"I have to say that your dressing looks amazing," Steffan complimented with genuine admiration in his eyes. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Although she hadn’t paid much attention to what she had worn since she had angrily left the house before changing from her work clothes, she still smiled, appreciating the compliment.

That morning, because she was working at Hudson corporations, she had dressed a bit better than the way she normally does if she was going to her coffee shop.

She had worn a knee-length, navy blue pencil skirt that hugged her curves with tailored precision. Although the crisp white button-down shirt was slightly ruffled now, the simple ensemble still carried an air of casual sophistication.

"Thank you!," she said amidst smiles. "I must say that your taste isn’t limited to just medicine, doc?" She added jokingly.

It was the first compliment she was receiving from the man her heart had chosen, so doubtless, it meant a lot to her.

Steffan chuckled, "Seems like it extends to fashion as well. But seriously, you look stunning," he complimented, against his better judgment.

’What is happening to me tonight? My mouth seems to be having a mind of its own," Steffan lamented inwardly. ’Maybe it was the drink and the infectious atmosphere of the nightclub," he concluded.

But as the night unfolded, he couldn’t help but marvel at Lauren’s ability to bring a sense of lightness to the night, distracting him from the troubles he had hoped to escape from by coming there.

As his mind was eventually distracted from Kathleen, he discovered that he could actually flow with Lauren’s chatter.

Her laughter was infectious, weaving through the thumping music, creating a bubble of warmth around them.

Her genuine and carefree spirit added a special effect in the midst of the pulsating beats, that made the night more memorable than he had anticipated.

As they shared a few drinks, the conversation flowed naturally and Lauren discovered that Steffan, like her, was also facing pressure from his parents to settle down.

At that moment, a realization dawned on her.

Since they were in similar situations, they could potentially help each other, right?

She looked at Steffan with a spark of mischief in her eyes.

"I have a proposal, Steffan," she said without thinking too much.

"I hope it is not a marriage proposal," Steffan joked.

Lauren nodded. "Something like that," she said causing Steffan to almost choke on his drink.

"What! I don’t want to get entangled so soon," he spat out after recovering from the shock.

Lauren arched an eyebrow. "So soon?"

"Forget it." There was no way he was going to tell her that he was trying to get past his feelings for her friend who already had a husband.

Seeing that Steffan was not ready to explain what he meant, she proceeded with her own thought. "Anyway, it’s not really a marriage proposal," she began.

She had only tried to test his reaction towards that.

"What do you mean," Steffan asked in a cautious tone.

Ignoring the suspicious look Steffan was giving her, Lauren said,

"What if we pretend to be in a relationship? It could take the heat off us."

Steffan raised an eyebrow, considering the idea. "You mean a fake relationship to get our parents off our backs?"

Lauren nodded. "Exactly. We set some ground rules, make it believable, and hopefully, they’ll stop pestering us about finding someone."

Steffan chuckled, "It sure is a crazy idea, although it sounds like great fun."

"So are you in on it," Lauren asked expectantly.

As Steffan stared at her he somehow felt if he refuses, Lauren might not really be cool with it although she has made it sound like it was an afterthought but he was not a kid.

He understood when a woman was interested in him and he could tell that the one before him was, but what surprised him was the fact that he was not repulsed by that knowledge.

"Hey! It shouldn’t take you that long to come up with an answer," he heard Lauren say as she waved her hands in front of him.