Chapter 14 - The Ring of Donna Maria
That evening, Dante arranged a private candlelit dinner for the two of us on the stone terrace overlooking the tranquil waters of Long Island Sound.
The air was sweet with the scent of jasmine and ocean brine. A soft violin melody drifted from the salon, and two crystal flutes of vintage sparkling wine sat beside a bowl of fresh figs and artisan cheeses.
Dante was dressed in an immaculate black bespoke tuxedo, his dark eyes watching me approach with an intensity that took my breath away.
I wore an elegant emerald silk gown that complemented the delicate mother-of-pearl rosary draped around my wrist.
After dinner, as we stood beside the stone balustrade watching the silver moonlight dance across the gentle waves, Dante reached into his breast pocket.
He pulled out an antique velvet jeweler’s box lined with white silk.
He opened it.
Inside rested the legendary heirloom ring of Donna Maria Caruso—a breathtaking, flawless five-carat oval sapphire surrounded by a double halo of rose-cut diamonds, set in an intricate platinum filigree band.
Dante dropped onto one knee upon the ancient flagstones of the terrace.
The feared warlord of the eastern seaboard looked up at me with tears shining in his obsidian eyes, his heart laid completely bare.
“Clara Evans,” Dante spoke, his deep voice trembling with raw, holy devotion.
“You walked into this house with an apron and left holding the soul of my empire. You refused to bow to cruelty. You protected Mama Nina when everyone else was looking away. You saved my life, you healed my family’s past, and you showed me what true love means.”
He took my trembling left hand into his large, warm fingers.
“Will you marry me, Clara? Will you be my wife, my partner, and the sovereign donna of the Caruso Empire?”
Tears of boundless, radiant joy spilled down my cheeks.
I slipped out of my chair, dropping to my knees on the stone beside him, wrapping my arms around his broad neck, burying my face into his collar.
“Yes, Dante!” I sobbed happily. “Yes! A thousand times, yes!”
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Dante slid the magnificent sapphire onto my finger—a flawless, perfect fit—and pulled me into a breathtaking, passionate kiss beneath the canopy of stars.
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