Chapter 943: I Do

A sea breeze blew from behind her. A little girl with blonde curls leaned against the viewing platform on the ferry's rear deck. Resting her pointed chin in one small hand, she stared intently at Alcatraz Island fading into the distance. The island held her most beautiful memory to date—she had just acted in a movie.

Even though it was just a minor role with a single line of dialogue, and the director was a relatively unknown newcomer, she was still overjoyed. It felt like every dream she'd had recently had just become reality.

The little girl lowered her head, completely unable to hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

In the master bedroom of Duke Manor's Eye-Shaped Villa, a sea breeze blew in through the half-open window, ruffling the sleeping Scarlett Johansson's long blonde hair. Her face, turned away from the window, wore a beautiful, childlike smile.

As the ferry sailed steadily toward San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island gradually disappeared into the setting sun behind them. The Golden Gate Bridge off to the side of the ship was already hidden in the thick fog, but the little girl was still recalling her strange and wonderful experience filming earlier.

Distinct, rhythmic footsteps sounded behind her. The little girl turned around to see a young man walking across the deck. He looked to be in his early twenties, his figure somewhat thin but exceptionally straight. His black eyes seemed deeper than the ocean beneath the ship, gleaming with an indescribable brilliance that looked as if it could see through everything in the world.

This was the director of the movie they had just filmed. He was somewhat of a stranger, yet he gave the girl an unusual sense of familiarity.

It was as if he were the person closest to her in the world, more so than even the mother who had accompanied her to Alcatraz Island.

"Hello."

Once he stepped onto the viewing platform, the little girl turned to him and flashed a bright smile.

"Mr. Director."

The young director nodded at her.

"Hello."

Seeing that deeply familiar smile, the little girl couldn't help but scratch her head hard. She felt like there was more between them than just an actor-director relationship, as if they were connected in other ways, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

The young director didn't say much. He seemed a bit aloof, looking thoughtfully toward the Golden Gate Bridge off to the side.

'Who exactly is he?'

The little girl thought and thought, almost pulling her blonde curls out in her effort. 'What kind of relationship does he actually have with me?'

"Duke..."

A woman with long brown hair walked over briskly and placed a document in front of the young director.

"You promised to let me copy the film," she said with a slight nasal tone. "I need you to sign here."

'Duke? Duke Rosenberg?'

The little girl was suddenly startled. Everything associated with the name Duke instantly flooded into her mind. The man standing next to her was the number one director in the world in her heart, the strongest and most decisive man...

And most importantly of all, he was her boyfriend!

But why was he so tall, while she was so short?

At this thought, the little girl scratched her head hard again. But she remembered very clearly what her godmother had once said: if you want to get anything, you have to lock onto your target and chase it unwaveringly.

After the brown-haired woman with the nasal voice left, the little girl turned around and walked straight up to the young director. Following the etiquette her godmother had taught her, she held out a small hand.

"I'm Scarlett Johansson," she said. "I'm your girlfriend..."

"Of course you're my girlfriend..."

A doting smile appeared on his aloof face. "Miss Scarlett Johansson."

After speaking, he pulled something out of his pocket with one hand and slipped it onto the middle finger of her left hand. The little girl watched with a hint of surprise, wanting to see exactly what he had put on her finger. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see it clearly. It felt as though that short one-foot distance was further away than the entire Pacific Ocean.

'Why can't I see it? Why can't I see it?'

The little girl screamed in her heart, but no matter how loud she yelled internally, and even as tears of grievance welled up in her eyes, she still couldn't make out what was on her finger.

She stared and stared, her eyes opening wider and wider...

Long blonde eyelashes fluttered twice. Scarlett Johansson suddenly opened her eyes, though her beautiful pupils were filled with confusion. She didn't seem fully awake yet. Even in her groggy state, her first reaction was to bring the middle finger of her left hand right up to her eyes.

Her beautiful eyes widened to their limits, her vacant gaze gradually finding its focus. Seeing that her left middle finger was bare, Scarlett couldn't help but shake her head vigorously. Once she was a little more awake, she looked again, but there was still nothing there.

She suddenly laughed, realizing that it had all just been a dream.

Sighing, Scarlett looked to the side. Duke was no longer there. She reached out to feel the temperature of the sheets; he had clearly been gone for a while.

Thinking of Duke, Scarlett shook her head again, thoroughly convinced that everything just now could only have been a dream.

Checking the time on the wall clock, she threw on a bathrobe and walked into the bathroom. Duke had been busy lately with early preparation work for multiple film series. He was constantly buried in work, so it was common for him to get up early to handle business.

Out of all the directors she had ever met, Duke might not have been the most talented, but he was undoubtedly the hardest working.

Only someone by his side like her could truly see how much effort he had put in to achieve his current success and status.

After washing up and changing into loose loungewear, Scarlett stepped out of the bedroom and walked down the long corridor to the stairwell. Perhaps because she was thinking about her dream again, she walked downstairs rather slowly.

Scarlett obviously knew exactly what the unseen object in her dream was. She also knew that she was already incredibly happy right now. Furthermore, she understood Duke well enough to know that, unless she messed up somehow, the chances of them separating in the future were exceptionally low.

It was just... just...

When she reached the first floor, Scarlett let out another long sigh, a faint trace of regret surfacing in her heart.

Just like Duke's unwavering perseverance, Scarlett was the type of person who never regretted the things she did or the words she said. Even though some of her past remarks had caused a rift between her teenage self and Duke, she still hadn't regretted them; they had simply helped her see what she wanted more clearly.

But now, Scarlett regretted one thing she had said—that monogamy went against human nature...

"How could I have said something like that?"

As she walked toward the dining room, she muttered to herself.

"Did those words make Duke overlook something? I was really such an idiot back then!"

Arriving at the entrance to the dining room, she grumbled internally, 'Scarlett Johansson, you're literally dumber than a cow!'

"Hey, honey,"

An incredibly familiar voice rang out. Scarlett immediately stopped her self-deprecation, her ears naturally catching Duke's next words.

"You seem to be spacing out."

"I was thinking..." Scarlett paused briefly. She walked over to the side of the dining table opposite Duke, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Giving him a smile, she continued, "I was thinking about whether we'd have any special dishes for breakfast today."

"Of course we do!"

Hearing Duke say this, Scarlett actually found it a bit strange. The two of them both stuck to fixed diets and rarely ate anything out of the ordinary. This was especially true for her; now that she was thirty, she had to think about maintenance and keeping her figure, so her diet was even stricter.

Emma, the housekeeper standing behind Duke, clapped her hands lightly. The sound of high heels clicking against the floor echoed out. Even though the person hadn't yet turned the corner from the hallway connecting the kitchen to the dining room, Scarlett was already certain from the familiar footsteps that it was undeniably Tina Fey.

'Tina is bringing me breakfast?'

Scarlett was slightly baffled.

It was true that she and Tina were good friends, but Scarlett was also well aware of Tina's status within Duke's capital group. It was no exaggeration to say that Tina was far more important than she was. Furthermore, Tina only ever answered to Duke; she had absolutely no need to curry favor with her.

Tina walked out from the hallway, and Scarlett's eyes immediately landed on the tray in her hands. It was an exquisitely crafted mousse cake. It was her favorite kind from when she was a child, but as she grew older and started worrying about her figure, she had gradually distanced herself from high-calorie foods like this.

There seemed to be something else on top of the cake, but from this distance, Scarlett couldn't quite see it clearly. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Duke.

Scarlett knew full well that this had to be Duke's doing.

Even her own parents might not know that she loved this kind of cake. The only people who truly knew were her godmother and Duke.

But why had Duke suddenly prepared a mousse cake for her?

Before Scarlett could figure it out, Tina had already walked over and placed the tray and cake on the oak dining table in front of her.

"Scar, enjoy this blissful moment," she said meaningfully.

"Uh..."

Giving Tina a bewildered look, Scarlett dropped her gaze to the cake. She immediately realized that this was no ordinary mousse cake. After all, why would an ordinary mousse cake have something strange sitting right in the middle of it?

'What is that? Is it reflecting the dining room lights?'

As if unable to believe what she was seeing, Scarlett forced her eyes wide open, staring at it over and over again. It took her five seconds to confirm that there was nothing wrong with her eyes and that this wasn't a hallucination. Sitting squarely on top of the very center of the mousse cake was, undoubtedly, a ring.

A sparkling diamond ring!

Scarlett parted her lips slightly, looking across the table at Duke in shock, as if completely oblivious to what this meant.

Duke looked at her earnestly. There might be plenty of criticism surrounding her, but he didn't care at all. Besides, the outside world had far more criticism for him than they did for Scarlett. If a person really cared about those voices, they could forget about ever living happily in this world.

"Honey, are you willing to walk hand in hand with me for the rest of our lives?"

Hearing those words from Duke, Scarlett didn't even have to think. She immediately blurted out subconsciously, "I do!"