Chapter 15
The snow began to fall softly over Manhattan, dusting the city streets in a blanket of pristine white.
Inside the restaurant, the warmth of the hearth fire chased away the winter chill.
Emma looked out the frosted window, watching the snowflakes drift past the amber streetlamps.
Her law degree was waiting for her in the spring.
Her mother’s name was exonerated in every legal archive in the state.
And the man sitting across from her—once a feared shadow in the underworld—had become her anchor, her partner, and her equal.
Dante followed her gaze toward the window, then back to her face.
“Thinking about the restaurant?” Dante asked quietly.
“I was thinking about how strange life is,” Emma admitted, swirling her wine. “One receipt. One split-second decision. And everything changed.”
“You didn't just make a decision, Emma,” Dante said, his gray eyes holding hers with absolute intensity. “You chose courage when everyone else would have run.”
He reached into his pocket and placed a small, velvet box on the table between them.
Emma looked down at it, her breath catching slightly.
“What is this?” she asked, a sudden smile pulling at the corners of her lips.
“A permanent retainer,” Dante said smoothly, his eyes warm and steady. “For the rest of our lives.”
Emma opened the box.
Inside rested a simple, elegant platinum ring, gleaming softly in the candlelight.
She looked up at him, her heart soaring higher than it ever had during the darkest nights of the city.
“I accept,” she whispered.
Dante leaned across the table, his lips meeting hers as the jazz band played a gentle, timeless melody in the background.
May you like
Outside, the snow fell thick and fast over New York, blanketing the city in peace.
THE END
