Chapter 9 - The Proposal Nobody Saw Coming
One year after Victor's conviction, Adrian took Lena to the place where they'd first met.
Creston Market.
She laughed when they arrived.
"You brought me back here?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You hate this parking lot."
"I do."
"Exactly."
He led her toward the spot where Ethan had once blocked her car door.
The space was empty.
The orange light looked different.
Softer.
Lena remembered how terrified she had been.
Now she remembered something else.
Adrian's voice.
Let her go.
He stopped.
"Lena."
She turned.
He took a small box from his coat.
Her breath caught.
"No."
He smiled.
"That's usually not how proposals begin."
She laughed through tears.
"What are you doing?"
"Something I should have done sooner."
He opened the box.
Inside was her mother's pearl necklace.
Lena gasped.
"I thought it was gone."
Adrian nodded.
"Your father had hidden it after your mother's death."
He lifted the necklace.
"I had it restored."
He stepped closer.
"This belonged to your mother before it belonged to you."
Lena touched the pearls.
"And the ring?"
He smiled.
"That belonged to my grandmother."
Her eyes filled.
Adrian took her hand.
"I can't promise you there will never be danger."
She nodded.
"I can't promise I'll always know what to say."
She smiled.
"I know."
"I can't promise I'll always be easy to live with."
"Definitely not."
He laughed.
"But I can promise you something Ethan never understood."
He dropped to one knee.
"Your life is yours."
Lena covered her mouth.
"I don't want to save you."
He looked up.
"I want to stand beside you."
She began crying.
"Adrian."
"Will you marry me?"
She laughed.
"Yes."
He slid the ring onto her finger.
People nearby applauded.
Lena laughed harder.
"Did you arrange this?"
"Maybe."
"You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
She kissed him.
Then she noticed something.
A little girl nearby was selling handmade flowers.
Lena bought one.
She handed it to Adrian.
"For luck."
He smiled.
"I don't need luck."
"Everyone needs luck."
He shook his head.
"I found you."
She smiled.
"That's luck."
They married three months later.
The wedding was small.
Family.
Close friends.
The children from Clover Lane made paper flowers for the tables.
Noah carried the rings.
Sofia stood beside Lena.
Elena cried through the entire ceremony.
Adrian's men stood outside.
Not to intimidate anyone.
To protect the family.
When Lena walked down the aisle, she wasn't afraid.
She wasn't looking for exits.
She wasn't wondering whether she had made a mistake.
She was walking toward a man who had given her something she had never expected from anyone again.
A choice.
Adrian took her hands.
"You came."
She smiled.
"Of course."
The ceremony was simple.
Beautiful.
When the officiant pronounced them married, Adrian kissed her.
Everyone cheered.
Lena laughed against his lips.
And for the first time, she understood something.
May you like
The opposite of fear wasn't courage.
It was freedom.
