Chapter 9 - The Real Proposal
It was pouring rain in Brooklyn.
Ava was standing inside a small, cozy flower shop, arranging a bouquet of white peonies. She had taken a job at a local florist to pay her rent. It was quiet, peaceful, and every time it rained, it reminded her of Julian’s gray eyes.
She wiped a stray tear from her cheek, telling herself for the hundredth time that she had done the right thing.
The bell above the shop door chimed.
“We’re closing in five minutes,” Ava called out from behind the counter, not looking up from the ribbons.
“I need a bouquet,” a deep, gravelly voice said. “For a woman who is incredibly stubborn, entirely too selfless, and who stole my heart and ran away to Brooklyn.”
Ava dropped the scissors.
She looked up.
Julian Vance was standing in the doorway of the tiny flower shop. His thousand-dollar suit was soaked with rain. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead. He looked completely out of place among the buckets of daisies and tulips. He looked terrified. He looked perfect.
“Julian...” Ava breathed, stepping out from behind the counter. “What are you doing here? The merger—the board meeting was today—”
“I blew it up,” Julian said, taking a step toward her.
“You what?!”
“I tore the contract in half in front of the chairman,” Julian said, closing the distance between them. He reached out, his large hands gently cupping her face, his thumbs wiping away the tears that were already falling from her eyes. “I told them the truth. I told them I started it as a lie, but that I fell completely, hopelessly, madly in love with you.”
“Julian, you lost billions of dollars,” Ava sobbed, leaning into his hands, unable to fight him anymore.
“I don’t care,” Julian swore fiercely, pressing his forehead against hers. “I would lose it all again. I would burn my company to the ground if it meant I got to keep you, Ava. You were right. I built my empire to protect myself. But I don’t want to be protected from you. I want you to wreck me. I want you to be my everything.”
He stepped back, right there in the damp, soil-scented floor of the flower shop.
The King of New York got down on one knee.
He didn’t pull out the ten-carat diamond. He pulled out a delicate, vintage gold band with a single, modest, beautiful diamond—a ring that meant far more than wealth. It meant forever.
“No contracts,” Julian said, looking up at her with a raw, exposed soul. “No conditions. No fake timelines. Just me, asking the woman I love if she will do me the honor of being my wife. For real this time. Marry me, Ava.”
Ava fell to her knees in front of him, throwing her arms around his neck, burying her face in his wet shoulder.
“Yes,” she cried, kissing his jaw, his cheek, his lips. “Yes, Julian. Yes, for real.”
Julian groaned, wrapping his arms around her waist, lifting her up off the floor and spinning her around in the middle of the shop as the rain pounded against the glass windows. He kissed her with all the passion, fire, and devotion of a man who had finally found his queen.
EPILOGUE
One year later.
Damian Cross sat in a prison cafeteria, wearing a faded orange jumpsuit, staring miserably at his watery oatmeal. He glanced up at the small television mounted in the corner of the room.
The entertainment news anchor was smiling brightly.
“...and the event of the year took place this weekend in the Hamptons! Billionaire Julian Vance officially tied the knot with Ava Knox in a stunning, private ceremony. The couple, who recently launched a $100 million foundation for underprivileged youth, looked absolutely radiant...”
The screen flashed a picture of Ava. She was wearing a breathtaking white lace gown, laughing joyously as Julian Vance dipped her backward for a kiss, his hand possessively resting on her lower back, his eyes looking at her like she was the center of the universe.
Damian looked down at his plastic spoon, the bitter taste of regret choking him as the television faded to a commercial.
Far away from the cold cells of the past, standing on the balcony of their Hampton estate, Julian wrapped his arms around his wife from behind. Ava leaned back against his solid chest, watching the sunset over the ocean, wearing his ring on her finger.
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She had started as a stepping stone.
But with the right man, she became the whole world.
