Chapter 7 - The Secret Wedding He Never Told Her AboutDominic proposed six months later.
Not in a restaurant.
Not in a ballroom.
Not with cameras.
He proposed at Golden Hour.
At 2:13 in the morning.
The bakery smelled like cinnamon and butter.
Sarah was shaping dough.
Dominic stood beside her.
“Sarah.”
She turned.
He was holding the walnut rolling pin.
He had polished it.
Her mother's initials were still carved into the handle.
“What are you doing?”
“I asked your father for permission.”
Her eyes widened.
“He said yes.”
“He did?”
“He told me you needed someone stubborn enough to keep up with you.”
Sarah laughed.
Dominic took a small box from his pocket.
“I don't want to own your life.”
“I know.”
“I don't want to save you.”
“I know.”
“I don't want to change you.”
“I know.”
He opened the box.
“I just want to spend the rest of mine being the man you choose.”
Sarah began crying.
“Dominic.”
“Will you marry me?”
She looked at him.
“Yes.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
Then he kissed her.
The wedding was planned for the summer.
Small.
Private.
Family.
But there was one problem.
Someone was watching.
A journalist discovered that Dominic had left organized crime.
Another discovered Sarah's connection to him.
Then another began digging into the Corsetti family.
By June, rumors were everywhere.
Sarah panicked.
“Maybe we shouldn't do this.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because I don't want to spend my life looking over my shoulder.”
“You won't.”
“You can't promise that.”
“I can make the world smaller.”
“How?”
He smiled.
“By becoming boring.”
She laughed.
The idea was absurd.
But he tried.
He turned Corsetti Holdings into a legitimate hospitality corporation.
He donated millions to community programs.
He opened culinary schools.
He bought abandoned properties and turned them into affordable housing.
He funded medical care for families like Sarah's.
And he gave Golden Hour a second location.
But he put Sarah's name on the sign.
MALONE BAKERY & GOLDEN HOUR
She stared at it.
“You're kidding.”
“No.”
“You didn't ask me.”
“I learned.”
She smiled.
“You're still learning.”
“I plan to.”
Their wedding day arrived.
Sarah wore a simple ivory dress.
Dominic waited beneath an oak tree.
When she appeared, he forgot every word he had prepared.
“You look beautiful.”
She smiled.
“You look nervous.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
They laughed.
Arthur walked Sarah down the aisle.
Dominic's eyes filled.
When they exchanged vows, Sarah said:
“I spent years wondering if anyone would choose me.”
She looked directly at Dominic.
“Then I met a man who taught me that being chosen isn't about possession.”
“It is about seeing someone clearly and choosing them anyway.”
Dominic took her hands.
“I spent my life believing love made people weak.”
He looked at her.
“Then you taught me love is the strongest thing I've ever had.”
They kissed.
The guests applauded.
For once, Dominic didn't hear the noise.
May you like
He only heard Sarah whisper:
“I choose you.”
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