Chapter 12 - A New Rhythm
Damien reached me, gently prying the suitcase from my fingers and dropping it onto the driveway.
"Nothing about us makes sense, Ellie," he said, his dark eyes intense and pleading. "I am a man bathed in blood. You are a woman who heals people. But I cannot let you walk away."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.
My breath hitched.
He opened it. Inside sat a breathtaking diamond ring, elegant and timeless.
"I don't want you as my nanny. I don't want you as my employee," Damien said, stepping closer until our chests were almost touching. "I want you as my wife. The mother of my children. The queen of this family."
Tears streamed down my face. "Damien, your world... it's dangerous."
"I have secured my world," he vowed fiercely. "No one will ever touch you. No one will ever threaten you again. You brought light into the darkest corners of my life. You brought a rhythm to my chaos. Please, Ellie. Marry me."
I looked at the ring, then up into the eyes of the terrifying mafia boss who loved me with a fierce, unbreakable devotion.
I didn't need a normal life. I just needed him.
"Yes," I whispered.
Damien let out a breath he sounded like he’d been holding for months. He slid the ring onto my finger, pulling me into a desperate, passionate kiss.
The world faded away—the mafia, the danger, the past.
Suddenly, a joyful shriek came from the open nursery window above us.
We broke apart, looking up.
I laughed, wiping my tears. "I think they approve."
Damien smiled, wrapping his strong arm around my waist and pulling me back toward the front door. "Come inside, Mrs. Moretti. Let's go see our sons."
As the heavy oak doors of the mansion closed behind us, I realized something profound.
I hadn't just saved two babies in a restaurant.
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I had saved myself, and I had found my family.
And for the first time in my life, every single beat of my heart was perfectly in tune.
