Chapter 9 - The Proposal Nobody Saw Coming
One year passed.
Our lives became quieter.
Not ordinary.
Never ordinary.
But ours.
Aleandro still had enemies.
I still sometimes woke from nightmares.
He still struggled with the instinct to protect me from every inconvenience.
But now he asked.
He didn't command.
That mattered.
One afternoon, I came home from the restaurant and found him waiting.
He looked nervous.
I'd never seen him nervous before.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"You're terrible at lying."
"I know."
He reached into his pocket.
My heart stopped.
"Alex—"
He dropped to one knee.
"No."
He laughed.
"That's not the response I expected."
"I mean, wait."
He smiled.
"Emma Blake, I loved you before I knew how to love anyone properly."
I covered my mouth.
"I lost you because I confused protection with possession."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I spent months trying to convince myself I could live without you."
He took out a small ring.
"I learned how to build a life that doesn't require you to surrender yours."
The ring wasn't enormous.
It wasn't flashy.
It was elegant.
Simple.
Exactly right.
"Will you marry me?"
I stared at him.
Then I thought about table seven.
The cracked chandelier.
The blue dress.
David.
The night Aleandro returned.
The gunfire.
The secrets.
His mother's return.
The father who never died.
The betrayal.
The fear.
And the man kneeling in front of me now.
Not demanding.
Asking.
"Yes."
He closed his eyes.
Relief crossed his face.
"Yes?"
"Yes."
He stood and kissed me.
The kiss was gentle.
No urgency.
No ownership.
Just love.
That weekend, Sofia arrived with flowers.
Marco complained about the wedding budget.
Vincent joked that Aleandro had finally become civilized.
David gave a speech.
It was terrible.
We laughed anyway.
Our wedding took place six months later.
Small.
Private.
Beautiful.
I wore a simple white dress.
Aleandro wore a black suit.
When I walked toward him, he looked at me exactly the way he had looked at me that night in Lucia's.
Only without jealousy.
Without fear.
Without the need to claim me.
Just wonder.
At the reception, the band played softly.
Sofia danced with her son.
Marco danced with three different women.
Vincent pretended not to smile.
David raised his glass.
"To Emma," he said.
"To the woman who survived every man in this room."
Everyone laughed.
I looked at Aleandro.
"Did you plan this?"
"No."
"You're lying."
"Maybe."
I kissed his cheek.
Later, we escaped onto the balcony.
The city glittered below us.
Aleandro wrapped his arms around me.
"I used to think the city belonged to me."
"And now?"
"Now I think I belong somewhere."
"Where?"
He looked at me.
"Where you are."
I smiled.
For a while, we said nothing.
Then I remembered something.
"Do you remember table seven?"
He laughed.
"The cracked chandelier."
"You noticed it?"
"I noticed everything about you."
I leaned against him.
"What would have happened if David hadn't invited me to dinner?"
"I don't know."
"You would have found me eventually."
"Probably."
"Then why did you come that night?"
He looked toward the city.
"Because I saw you laughing."
I frowned.
"What?"
"One of my men sent me a photograph from the restaurant."
"You had someone watching me?"
He looked guilty.
"Old habits."
I raised an eyebrow.
He sighed.
"Fine. Very old habits."
I laughed.
"You were jealous."
"Extremely."
"You nearly terrified an innocent lawyer."
"He's alive."
"That is your defense?"
"It's my best one."
I laughed again.
Then he kissed my forehead.
"I almost lost you because I was too afraid to lose you."
I looked up.
"And now?"
"Now I know love isn't about holding tighter."
He paused.
"It's about holding on without closing your hand."
I kissed him.
The city kept moving below us.
For the first time, nothing was chasing us.
No gunfire.
No secrets.
May you like
No lies.
Just tomorrow.
