Chapter 9 - Adrien Asked the Question No One Else Had Ever Asked
On our second anniversary, Adrien took me back to the Whitmore estate.
The place looked different.
Warm.
Open.
No secret rooms.
No hidden guards.
No fear.
He led me into the old dining room.
The same room where he had first chosen me.
The same table.
The same chandelier.
The same end seat.
He pulled the chair out.
“Sit.”
I smiled.
“You're recreating the night?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to change one thing.”
He stood at the opposite end.
“Everyone here once decided where you belonged.”
He walked toward me.
“I don't want to decide.”
He knelt.
I stopped breathing.
“Elena, will you choose me again?”
My eyes filled.
“Yes.”
He slipped a ring onto my finger.
Not a diamond.
A simple emerald.
The same color as the pendant my grandfather gave me.
“I don't need a bigger ring,” he said.
“I know.”
“I need a woman who chooses me freely.”
“You have her.”
He kissed me.
Then the dining room doors opened.
Victoria stood there.
“You two are disgustingly romantic.”
I laughed.
Adrien sighed.
“Why are you here?”
“Dinner.”
My grandfather's old family chef had prepared everything.
May you like
For the first time, every chair at the table had a purpose.
And no one sat at the end.
