Chapter 3 - The Proposal Made of Cold Iron and Diamonds
Two weeks later, the snow outside fell in heavy, silent sheets.
Sarah sat propped against a mountain of goose-down pillows in the master bedroom.
The room was vast.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the frosted pines.
A roaring fireplace crackled in the hearth, casting long, golden shadows across dark walnut furniture and plush velvet rugs.
She wore a soft cashmere robe that had been delivered that morning by a silent stylist who had taken her measurements without asking a single question.
Her black uniform was gone.
Burned, she suspected.
Leo was sitting on the rug near the foot of the bed, carefully constructing a fortress out of magnetic blocks.
Every few minutes, his blue eyes would flick up to check if Sarah was still there.
Every time she offered him a small, reassuring smile, he would place another block with quiet satisfaction.
The heavy double doors swung open.
Gabriel walked in.
He had discarded his overcoat, wearing only a tailored charcoal vest and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing dark, intricate tattoos winding down to his wrists.
He carried a velvet box and a thick manila folder.
Leo looked up, scrambled to his feet, and gave his father a brief nod before returning to his blocks.
The distance between father and son was still wide, but the tension had softened.
Gabriel stopped at the bedside.
He set the folder on the nightstand and looked down at Sarah.
“How are the ribs?”
“Better,” she said quietly.
“Dr. Silva removed the drainage tube yesterday. I can walk to the bathroom on my own now.”
“Good.”
Gabriel pulled a heavy leather armchair up to the edge of the bed and sat down.
He didn’t waste time.
He never did.
“The Moretti family is preparing a full-scale war,” he said flatly.
Sarah went cold.
“Because of the failed hit?”
“Because they know I am hunting them down one by one,” Gabriel corrected.
“The commission in New York is fracturing. The other families are looking for weakness. They think because my wife died and my son was almost killed, the Rossi family is vulnerable.”
He opened the manila folder.
Inside were legal contracts, deed transfers, and trust funds.
“They are looking for a crack in my armor,” Gabriel said, his slate eyes locking onto hers with terrifying intensity.
“I need stability. I need to demonstrate that this household is unbreakable. And most importantly, Leo needs a legal mother.”
Sarah’s heart hammered against her bruised chest.
“A mother?”
“If something happens to me during this war,” Gabriel explained, his voice entirely devoid of sentiment, “my capos will divide the assets. The state will try to take Leo. My relatives will pick his bones clean for the inheritance.”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
“Unless there is a wife. A widow with full, undisputed power of attorney and absolute legal custody.”
Sarah stared at him.
Her breath trapped in her throat.
“You want me to marry you?”
“I am offering you a contract,” Gabriel said.
“You will have the Rossi name. You will have unlimited access to my accounts. Fifty million dollars will be placed into a private offshore trust in your name the moment the papers are signed.”
“I don’t want your money, Mr. Rossi!” Sarah blurted out, her voice trembling.
“I saved Leo because he was a helpless child, not because I wanted a payout!”
Gabriel’s eyes darkened slightly, but he didn't raise his voice.
“I know that, Sarah,” he said.
“If you were greedy, I would have handed you a check and put you on a plane to Europe. It is precisely because you threw yourself onto hot lead for my son that I am sitting here.”
He reached into his pocket and placed the velvet box on her lap.
He popped the clasp.
Inside rested an emerald-cut diamond the size of a bird's egg, set in platinum and flanked by tapered baguettes.
It was breathtaking.
And heavy as a shackle.
“You become Mrs. Rossi,” Gabriel continued.
“You live in this house. You mother my son. In return, I will give you an army of men who will die before anyone touches a hair on your head.”
“And you?” Sarah asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“What do you expect from me?”
Gabriel held her gaze.
A dark, dangerous flicker of raw desire flared in the depths of his cold eyes, gone as quickly as it appeared.
“Loyalty,” he said roughly.
“Absolute loyalty. You wear my ring. You stand beside me in public. And when the bullets start flying, you let me be the shield.”
Sarah looked down at the ring.
Then she looked at Leo, who had stopped playing and was watching them with wide, hopeful eyes.
She had no family left.
No one outside these steel gates.
She had bled for this child.
And now, the devil himself was offering her a kingdom just to keep him safe.
“Okay,” Sarah whispered.
Gabriel didn't smile.
May you like
He simply took her hand, his warm fingers enveloping hers, and slid the heavy diamond onto her left ring finger.
“It’s done,” he said.
Related Stories
