Chapter 13 - Letters Burned in the Hearth
That afternoon, Adrian called me into the private library.
A fire crackled softly in the marble fireplace.
On his desk lay a single document: the formal adoption decree granting me legal
co-guardianship of Lucy and Owen.
Beside it was a small velvet jeweler’s box.
Adrian stood by the tall arched windows, looking out over the lawns where the
three children were playing soccer.
Lucy was guarding the goal, waving her arms and laughing as Owen tried to kick
the ball past her.
“When Maria died,” Adrian said quietly, turning to face me, “I thought the only
thing I could offer my kids was armor. Money, walls, guards with guns.”
I walked toward him, stopping beside the desk.
“You protected them the only way you knew how.”
“I protected their bodies,” he murmured.
“You protected their souls.”
He reached out, his warm, strong hands cupping my face.
“You taught Lucy that her voice mattered, even when she didn't make a sound.”
Tears prickled behind my eyelids.
“She’s an easy girl to love, Adrian.”
“And so are you,” he whispered.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box.
He opened it.
Inside lay an antique platinum ring set with a brilliant emerald, surrounded by
clusters of small, sparkling diamonds.
His mother’s ring.
He didn't drop to his knees like a movie hero.
He stood tall, looking directly into my soul with unwavering devotion.
“Rachel Bennett,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“Will you share this life with me? Not behind the table. Not in the shadows.”
“Beside me. As my equal. As my wife.”
He lifted his hands and signed the words as he spoke them:
I choose you. Forever.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
May you like
I lifted my hands and answered him in the language that had brought us together:
Yes. Always.
