Chapter 10 - Bloodlines of the Atlantic CoastThe private master terrace on the third floor looked out over the sparkling, deep blue waters of Long Island Sound.
The autumn breeze was crisp and invigorating, rustling the golden oak leaves along the shoreline.
Cassian stood beside the stone balustrade, his arm resting comfortably around my waist, pulling me close against his broad, solid warmth.
He reached into his jacket pocket and produced an antique velvet jeweler’s box lined with white silk.
My heart began to hammer against my ribs like a trapped bird.
“Cassian...” I whispered, looking up into his handsome, rugged face.
He didn't hesitate.
He dropped onto one knee on the flagstone terrace, taking both of my hands into his massive, warm palms.
He opened the box.
Resting inside was not a commercial, modern diamond bought from a retail catalog.
Inside sat Donna Elena Vance’s original engagement ring—a magnificent, hand-forged platinum band set with a flawless, six-carat cushion-cut blue sapphire cradled by two delicate silver nightingales carved from white gold—a custom ring Albert Vance had crafted forty years ago, which had been recovered from the safe-deposit vault in Zurich.
“Nora Hayes,” Cassian began, his deep baritone carrying an emotional tremor that shook my entire being.
“Two months ago, you entered this house carrying serving trays and cleaning suites to keep your mother alive. You were surrounded by wealth, arrogance, and deceit, yet you never let this world tarnish the pure gold of your spirit.”
He looked up into my eyes, all the terrifying power of the syndicate sovereign dissolving into the vulnerable, unyielding devotion of a man who had found his sanctuary.
“You stood in my ballroom and spoke the truth when forty armed men looked down at their plates. You protected my mother’s voice, you brought justice to her memory, and you taught me what family really means.”
He lifted the sapphire ring, holding it poised before my trembling finger.
“Nora Hayes, will you marry me? Will you be my wife, my partner, and the true Donna of my life, my home, and my heart?”
Tears of pure, unadulterated happiness spilled over my lashes, hot against my cheeks.
“Yes,” I choked out through my laughter, throwing my arms around his neck as he rose to his feet. “Yes, Cassian! A thousand times yes!”
Cassian swept me up into his arms, lifting me off the flagstones, spinning me beneath the vast autumn sky before bringing his lips down onto mine in a fierce, breathless, deeply tender kiss that sealed our destiny forever.
May you like
He slid the sapphire ring onto my finger.
It fit with absolute, divine perfection, gleaming brilliantly beneath the Long Island sun.
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