Chapter 14 - THE FINAL TRANSLATION
One year after the night at Loro, Selene received a package from Cambridge.
Inside was a restored photograph of the original manuscript and a letter from the university formally correcting the academic record.
Her authorship had been recognized.
The disciplinary findings against her had been withdrawn.
Professor Harrow's misconduct had been documented through the completed institutional investigation.
Selene sat at her desk reading the letter.
For a long time, she felt nothing.
Then she began to cry.
Not because the letter could restore everything she'd lost.
Because it meant she no longer had to carry the lie.
Dante found her there an hour later.
He stopped in the doorway.
"Selene?"
She looked up.
He saw the tears.
"What happened?"
She held out the letter.
He read it carefully.
Then looked at her.
"They corrected it."
She nodded.
He smiled.
"Doctor Rostova."
She laughed through tears.
"Don't."
"Professor Rostova?"
"Dante."
"World-renowned linguistic genius?"
She threw a cushion at him.
He caught it and laughed.
Then crossed the room.
"May I hug you?"
She nodded.
He held her while she cried.
Later that evening, they returned to Loro.
Henderson nearly dropped his reservation book when he saw them.
"Mr. Valerio. Dr. Rostova."
Selene smiled.
"Hello, Mr. Henderson."
He looked embarrassed.
"I owe you an apology."
She raised an eyebrow.
"For what?"
"For the way I treated you when you worked here."
Selene considered.
Then said, "Pay your staff properly. Protect them when customers behave badly. That would mean more than an apology."
Henderson nodded.
"I will."
Dante looked at her with unmistakable admiration.
They sat at table ten.
The same table where everything had begun.
Dante ordered wine.
Then reached into his jacket.
Selene stared.
"Please tell me that isn't another ancient manuscript."
He smiled.
"No."
He placed a small velvet box on the table.
Her breath caught.
"Dante."
He took her hand.
"I spent most of my life believing every problem had a price."
His voice trembled.
"Then you walked up to my table and proved that the most important things couldn't be bought."
Selene's eyes filled.
He opened the box.
Inside was a simple ring.
"Will you marry me?"
She stared at him.
Then whispered, "Only if you promise never to offer ten million dollars for another translation without consulting me."
Dante laughed.
"Agreed."
May you like
Selene smiled through tears.
"Then yes."
