Chapter 20 - The Leverage
Later that evening, after the pizza was eaten and the boys were asleep, I walked into the master bedroom.
I found Adrian standing by the large bay window, looking out over the moonlit gardens.
He turned around when I walked in.
He was holding something in his hand.
It was a baseball.
"Evan found the one that broke the window," Adrian said, tossing it lightly in his palm.
I smiled, walking over to him.
"You should probably take that away before he breaks another one," I teased.
"Actually," Adrian said, stepping closer.
"I was thinking about what you told Evan on your very first day here."
I raised an eyebrow, trying to remember the chaotic first day.
Adrian held the baseball out to me.
"You told him that the ball wasn't a weapon," Adrian murmured, his eyes locking onto mine.
"You told him it was leverage."
I laughed softly.
"I did say that."
"Well, I need some leverage of my own," Adrian said quietly.
He twisted the baseball.
My breath hitched as the top half of the baseball popped open.
It had been hollowed out.
Sitting perfectly in the center, resting on black velvet, was a diamond ring.
It wasn't ridiculously gaudy or purely a show of wealth.
It was a vintage cut, elegant, fiercely beautiful, and exactly my style.
Adrian Vale, the most dangerous man in the city, dropped down onto one knee.
He looked up at me, his dark eyes filled with absolute vulnerability.
"Seventy-two hours was the trial," Adrian said, his voice thick with emotion.
"But I knew after the first ten minutes that you were going to change my life."
Tears spilled down my cheeks, but I couldn't stop smiling.
"You fought for my sons," Adrian continued.
"You fought for my soul."
"You are the light in this house, Nia."
"Will you marry me?"
I didn't hesitate.
I didn't think about the danger, or the past, or the crazy world I had stumbled into.
I just thought about the man who learned how to love again, and the four boys who finally called me Mom.
"Yes," I whispered, pulling him up by the lapels of his shirt.
"I will."
He slid the ring onto my finger, a perfect fit.
Then he kissed me, slow and deep, sealing a promise that no rival family, no traitor, and no nightmare could ever break.
May you like
My seventy-two hours were over.
My forever had officially begun.
