Chapter 14 - THE SECOND VOW
Another year passed.
Navy and Diego began seeing each other occasionally.
At first, it was coffee.
Then dinner.
Then long walks through Brooklyn.
They talked about the past.
The mistakes.
The pain.
The things that could never be undone.
Diego never asked Navy to forget.
Navy never pretended the scars had disappeared.
But slowly, they began building something new.
Not a marriage based on revenge.
Not a treaty between criminal families.
A relationship between two people who had learned the cost of control.
One evening, Diego invited Navy to dinner.
They sat beside a window overlooking the river.
After dessert, he reached into his pocket.
Navy stared.
"Diego."
He smiled nervously.
"Relax."
He placed a small box on the table.
Inside was a simple silver ring.
No enormous diamond.
No family crest.
No symbol of ownership.
Diego looked at her.
"I'm not asking you to marry me tonight."
Navy raised an eyebrow.
"Then what are you asking?"
He took a breath.
"I'm asking whether you'd consider building a future with me."
Navy looked at the ring.
Then at him.
"Why silver?"
He smiled faintly.
"Because you once told me you wanted things that didn't look expensive."
Her throat tightened.
He continued.
"And because I don't want to give you something that feels like a chain."
Navy stared.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then she reached for the box.
"I'll think about it."
Diego nodded.
"Take all the time you need."
May you like
She smiled.
And for the first time, she believed the future might belong to her.
