Chapter 14 - THE PROPOSAL IN THE CONSERVATORY
Two years after the poisoned cherry, Dante asked Elena to meet him in the conservatory.
She arrived wearing a simple blue dress.
The room glowed with warm lights.
White orchids lined the windows.
Elena smiled.
“What's all this?”
Dante looked nervous.
“Do you remember the first night Sophie came into the dining room?”
Elena laughed softly.
“How could I forget?”
Dante nodded.
“She saved my life.”
Elena's eyes filled.
He continued.
“But you both changed it.”
He took her hands.
“I spent years believing love was dangerous because it gave people something to use against me.”
He paused.
“But you taught me that love isn't weakness.”
His voice softened.
“It's responsibility.”
Elena began crying.
Dante knelt.
She covered her mouth.
He opened a small velvet box.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
“Elena Reyes, will you marry me?”
She laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
Dante closed his eyes.
She knelt beside him.
“Yes, Dante.”
He kissed her.
Then a small voice shouted:
“DID SHE SAY YES?”
Sophie appeared from behind a large planter.
Elena burst into laughter.
Dante smiled.
“She did.”
Sophie ran toward them.
“Then we're a family!”
Dante lifted her into his arms.
May you like
Elena wrapped her arms around both of them.
And beneath the white orchids, the room where Sophie had witnessed betrayal became the place where three people chose a future together.
