Chapter 13 - The Question on the Terrace
Tessa’s breath hitched as she looked at the small black velvet box.
She looked up at me, her eyes wide with shock.
“Vincent... what is this?”
“Open it and find out,” I replied, walking around the desk to take her hand, pulling her gently to her feet.
She opened the box with trembling fingers.
Inside rested a flawless, emerald-cut sapphire surrounded by a halo of micro-diamonds, set in platinum. It wasn't the cold, oversized diamond I had once bought for Arya to display corporate power.
It was deep blue—the color of the ocean at sunrise, the exact color of the scrubs she had worn the morning she walked into my bedroom and refused to let me die.
“Vincent...” tears sprang to her eyes. “It’s... it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I took the box from her hand, set it on the desk, and knelt down before her on one knee.
My knee was strong. My spine was unbowed.
“Six months ago, I was a prisoner in a dark room,” I said, looking up into her face. “I thought loyalty was something you bought with contracts and bank transfers. I thought love was a transaction between powerful families.”
I took her left hand in mine.
“You showed me that real loyalty is standing in the dark when everyone else runs. You showed me that real strength is choosing to fight for someone who has nothing left to give you. I don't want an empire without you, Tessa. I don't want a tomorrow where you aren't by my side.”
I took the sapphire ring from the box.
“Tessa Miller, will you marry me?”
A single tear spilled over her lashes, tracing a path down her radiant cheek.
May you like
She let out a joyful, breathless laugh and pulled me up into a fierce embrace.
“Yes,” she whispered against my neck. “A thousand times, yes.”
