Chapter 8 - Unbreakable Rules
Adrien dropped to one knee.
Right there, on the linoleum floor of a cheap bakery in Chicago, the most dangerous man in the city bowed his head.
“I don’t want your time,” he said, looking up at her with a vulnerability that stripped him bare. “I want your life. I want you.”
Lena stared at him, tears finally spilling over her lashes.
“My world is dark, Lena. It’s violent. I will never be a good man.” He swallowed hard. “But if you let me, I will be your man. I will build an empire just to keep you safe inside it.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a velvet box.
He opened it. Inside was a diamond so flawless it seemed to catch the meager light of the bakery and set it on fire.
“Marry me,” Adrien commanded, though it sounded like a plea. “Come back home. Touch me, and make the noise stop. Forever.”
Lena looked at the ring. Then she looked at the man who had bought her for two weeks, only to surrender his entire lifetime to her.
She smiled, wiping a tear from her cheek.
She reached down, took his large, calloused hand, and pulled him to his feet.
“On one condition,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Adrien’s hands immediately settled on her waist, pulling her flush against him. “Anything.”
“You never fire me from your booth again.”
A rare, genuine laugh rumbled deep in Adrien’s chest. It was a beautiful sound.
“The booth is yours, mia regina (my queen). The restaurant is yours. I am yours.”
He kissed her, tasting of rain and forever.
Lena closed her eyes.
May you like
She wasn’t exhausted anymore. She wasn’t desperate.
She had touched the untouchable mafia boss, and in return, he had given her the world.
