Chapter 14 - THE PROMISE BENEATH THE OAK TREE
Z
Two years after Gabriel's recovery, the Falcone mansion looked different.
The private medical wing had been renovated into a rehabilitation and respite center operated by an independent nonprofit.
The old security checkpoints were gone.
The household staff had elected representatives.
The gardens were open for community events.
Gabriel had sold or closed several businesses and cooperated with the legal processes necessary to disentangle the remainder from criminal activity.
It had cost him money.
Influence.
And some relationships he once believed were permanent.
But he slept better.
One evening, Gabriel invited me into the garden.
The oak tree near the fountain was covered in tiny white lights.
A table stood beneath it.
Two chairs.
A vase of roses.
I stopped.
"What's all this?"
Gabriel smiled.
"Dinner."
I looked around.
"Just dinner?"
He hesitated.
Then laughed.
"You're making this difficult."
I smiled.
"Good."
We sat beneath the tree.
He told me about the first time he noticed me.
Not the broken glasses.
Not Carmine's cruelty.
Months earlier.
I'd been helping an elderly gardener carry heavy bags of soil.
Nobody had asked.
Nobody had offered to pay me extra.
I'd simply helped.
Gabriel smiled.
"I remember thinking you were the only person in the house who didn't seem interested in impressing me."
I laughed.
"I was terrified of you."
"I know."
Then he stood.
My heart began pounding.
Gabriel reached into his jacket.
He removed a small velvet box.
"Matilda Higgins."
I covered my mouth.
He knelt.
"I was declared dead once."
His voice trembled.
"And the world moved on without me."
Tears filled my eyes.
"But you stayed."
He swallowed.
"You gave me a chance to live differently."
I shook my head.
"You chose that."
Gabriel smiled.
"Yes."
He opened the box.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
"Will you marry me?"
I began crying.
Then laughed.
"Yes."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked overwhelmed.
Then he stood and embraced me.
May you like
I kissed him.
And beneath the oak tree, the man who had once been feared by an entire city finally looked completely at peace.
