Chapter 12 - THE WEDDING WITHOUT A CONTRACT
Ethan proposed again three months later.
Not because the trust required it.
Not because the company needed it.
Because he wanted to.
We were in the greenhouse behind our old high school.
The building had been renovated.
But the orchids remained.
Ethan stood beside a table covered in yellow roses.
I stared.
“What is this?”
He smiled nervously.
“A question.”
I laughed.
“Ethan, we're already married.”
“I know.”
He took my hand.
“The first time I asked you to marry me, I offered you a contract.”
I smiled.
“A very detailed contract.”
He laughed.
Then his expression softened.
“But I didn't offer you what mattered most.”
He knelt.
My heart stopped.
“Claire Summers Whitmore, I love you.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“I love your stubbornness. Your kindness. Your terrible jokes. The way you talk to flowers when you think nobody is listening.”
I laughed through tears.
“I love that you challenge me. That you see me clearly. That you never needed my money to know my worth.”
He opened a small velvet box.
Inside was a simple gold ring.
“Will you marry me again?”
I covered my mouth.
“Yes.”
He stood and kissed me.
We renewed our vows two months later.
Mia cried.
Again.
Margaret Shaw attended.
Ethan's grandfather smiled from his wheelchair.
Charles did not come.
That hurt Ethan.
But he didn't let it ruin the day.
I wore a simple white dress.
Ethan wore navy.
This time, there was no business agreement.
No deadline.
No expectation that love would remain outside the arrangement.
Only two people choosing each other.
When Ethan kissed me, I whispered:
“To honesty.”
May you like
He smiled.
“To forever.”
