Chapter 6 - I Asked Clara to Marry Me in the Diner Where Lily First Learned She Never Had to Disappear AgainThe proposal wasn't planned.
At least, not originally.
I had bought the ring months earlier.
It sat in my desk.
I kept waiting for the perfect moment.
There wasn't one.
One night, the diner closed early.
Lily was doing homework.
Clara was cleaning.
I stood behind the counter.
She looked up.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“That's creepy.”
I laughed.
Then I walked toward her.
“Clara.”
“Yes?”
“I don't know how to do this.”
“That makes two of us.”
I took the ring out.
Her eyes widened.
“Alessandro.”
“I spent my entire life believing control was the only way to stay safe.”
I knelt.
“Then you came into my life.”
She started crying.
“You and Lily.”
He smiled through tears.
“You taught me that home isn't something you protect with guns.”
“It is something you build with trust.”
She covered her mouth.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
Lily screamed from the kitchen.
“She said yes!”
We laughed.
The wedding was small.
Family.
Friends.
Staff.
No criminal associates.
No weapons.
No secrets.
Lorenzo Moretti, an old family friend, walked Clara down the aisle.
Lily carried the rings.
Poppy wore a tiny bow.
When Clara reached me, I whispered,
“You're late.”
She smiled.
“You waited.”
“I always will.”
We married.
That night, Lily climbed onto our bed.
“Are we a family now?”
Clara looked at me.
May you like
I answered.
“We always were.”
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