Chapter 9 - THE QUESTION MIA ASKEDTwo years passed.
Mia was five.
She was fearless.
She adored pancakes.
She hated broccoli.
She called Marco “Uncle Marco.”
She called Daniel “Daddy.”
And she called Vincent—
“Vinnie.”
Nobody knew where she had learned it.
Vincent pretended to hate it.
He secretly loved it.
One Sunday morning, Mia walked into the kitchen wearing a princess dress and announced,
“I have a question.”
Everyone stopped.
“What?”
She looked at Vincent.
“Will you marry Mommy?”
Elena nearly dropped her coffee.
Marco laughed so hard he choked.
Daniel turned away.
Vincent stared.
“Well.”
Mia waited.
“You're taking too long.”
Vincent looked at Elena.
She was bright red.
Then he knelt.
“Mia.”
“Yes?”
“What if I asked her?”
“She'll say yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she looks at you like Mommy looks at pancakes.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Even Elena.
Vincent shook his head.
“That is the strangest proposal advice I've ever received.”
Mia crossed her arms.
“Are you going to ask?”
He looked at Elena.
Then smiled.
“Yes.”
That evening, Vincent took Elena to the garden.
The lights glowed beneath the trees.
A small table waited beside the fountain.
There were no reporters.
No guards nearby.
No cameras.
No business associates.
Only them.
Vincent reached into his pocket.
Elena's eyes widened.
“Vincent…”
“I know our story isn't normal.”
She laughed.
“That's an understatement.”
“I lost my daughter.”
“I know.”
“I lost my brother.”
“I know.”
“I lost my empire.”
“You rebuilt it.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I rebuilt my life.”
He opened the ring box.
“I spent years believing family was something you inherited.”
He took her hand.
“Then I met you.”
Her eyes filled.
“And you taught me family is something you choose.”
He knelt.
“Elena.”
She covered her mouth.
“I don't need you to save me.”
She cried.
“I don't need you to forgive my past.”
He squeezed her hand.
“I only need you to let me be part of your future.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
He stood.
Mia screamed from the balcony.
“I KNEW IT!”
Everyone laughed.
Vincent looked up.
“You were spying?”
Mia shouted,
“Yes!”
Marco called out,
“I told you she takes after her father.”
Daniel laughed.
Vincent kissed Elena.
For the first time, the estate felt completely different.
May you like
Not because the walls had changed.
Because the people inside them had.
